Two days after I picked up the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak, I woke up to some of the worst air quality in the entire world. A raft of devastating wildfires ripping through Northern Ontario blanketed Toronto in smoke so thick, it looked like someone turned on the piss-tinted color filter from Need For Speed: Most Wanted. As a blanket of ash fell on the paintwork, the skies looked like the end of times. Good thing I had the red key to a party at the end of the world.
Is there poignancy that the key itself starts an instrument of destruction? Perhaps. We all know that, in a global automotive landscape, rip-snorting supercharged V8s won’t be around forever. They’re conceptually inefficient and in some circles, antisocial. However, when the pale horse rides past, would you rather cower in fear or party in defiance? When all is said and done, all we’ll have are scars and stories. Even though this 710-horsepower SUV might catch side-eyes from people who post in neighborhood Facebook groups, every tap of the throttle is a reminder of what it means to live. Let’s raise a little hell, shall we?
Full disclosure: Dodge Canada let me borrow this Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it clean with a full tank of premium fuel, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Engine: 6.2-liter supercharged intercooled 90-degree overhead-valve V8.
Transmission: Eight-speed torque converter automatic.
Drive: Full-time all-wheel-drive with limited-slip rear differential.
Output: 710 horsepower at 6,100 RPM, 645 lb.-ft. at 4,800 RPM.
Fuel Economy: 12 MPG city, 17 MPG highway, 13 MPG combined (20.5 L/100km city, 13.8 L/100km highway, 17.4 L/100km combined), premium fuel required.
Base Price: $82,985 ($140,390 in Canada).
Price As-Tested: $92,040 ($151,370 in Canada).
Why Does It Exist?
For much of the past two decades, Dodge has built a brand on being the automotive equivalent of Powerthirst. Big displacement, big sound, big attitudes. In a way, it’s only natural that one of the marque’s most powerful engines has made its way into a three-row family SUV. I mean, come on. SRT would Hellcat everything if given the choice. Hell-cifica, Hell-master, even a Wrang-hell-er for good measure. As for the Jailbreak designation, it’s just a way to enable extra factory customization. Mix-and-match paints, interiors, wheels, badge finishes, you name it.
How Does It Look?
It feels ridiculous to say that a big red SUV with nostrils and stripes looks refreshingly subtle, but aside from some badging, it takes a keen eye to notice a Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak over, say, an R/T. Beyond that though, it makes the Ford Explorer ST and Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 look like shrinking violets. That deep bumper, that aggressively ventilated hood, optional stripes that signal ill intent from chopper level. Is it perfect? No. The fuel door on my test example was a slightly different tint of red from the rest of the bodywork, but that cosmetic defect aside, this thing means business.
What About The Interior?
Inside the Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak, it’s an unusual mix of now and then. For instance, the soft-upholstered dashboard and door cards that come in the Premium Group are conceptually up-to-the-minute but materially not as convincing as some of today’s high-tech pleathers. The big infotainment screen looks modern, but the indicator stalk can really be traced back through the years. This isn’t necessarily a bad theme, because it means there’s absolutely no capacitive-touch nonsense whatsoever and you rarely have to go through the screen to do anything. The dashboard sports knobs for volume, tuning and fan control, along with a litany of buttons for everything else. Does the exterior temperature gauge on the dashboard read a disgustingly high number? Just press the real button for your cooled seat. Easy as pie.
As for space and comfort, it’s largely rather good. Wide front seats offer plenty of support, the second-row bench is properly wide enough for three passengers, and there’s even enough space in the wayback for fully grown adults. Speaking of the optional third row, it’s thoughtfully designed with sturdy plastic handles to fold the seatbacks and a remote fold-down function for the head restraints that enhances the Durango’s solidly above-average visibility. Minor demerit points go to the old-school flip-and-fold second-row seats that wouldn’t work so well with child seats installed, and the lack of a dead pedal. Still, this is a spacious, comfortable, practical SUV with some of the best third-row legroom in its class.
How Does It Drive?
Of course, nobody buys a Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak for an upholstered dashboard. It’s a nice upgrade over molded soft-touch plastic, but the real attraction here is what’s under the hood. Some 11 years ago, the mad scientists at SRT emerged from the lab with a 6.2-liter nuke. Thanks to a massive 2.4-liter twin-screw supercharger bolted into the vee of the block, this modern Hemi started life with more power than a Lamborghini Aventador and only grew stronger from there. Dubbed the Hellcat, it quickly became the single most famous engine of the past 15 years. Don’t believe me? What other engine from the same timespan had its name assert dominance over the model name of any car it came in?
In the Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak, this bar-brawler of an engine kicks out 710 horsepower, which is enough to make this family bus hilariously quick. We’re talking zero to 60 mph in well under four seconds, and if you have a long enough closed course, a top speed of 180 MPH. Fantastic stuff, only rivalled by the sheer array of wildly intoxicating noises it produces. It twitches and convulses at idle like it’s possessed, emits a pure banshee supercharger shriek under part load, then beats its chest and bellows like the king of the jungle when you mash the skinny pedal through the floor mat.
Partial credit for all of this goes to the benchmark of automatic transmissions, ZF’s 8HP eight-speed unit. It’s tuned a bit sluggish when left to its own devices, but select Track Mode, engage the paddles, and it’s as quick as you could ever want. Plus, downshifts elicit a supercharged yelp, like the Hellcat’s got its paw stuck. Antisocial? Perhaps, but come on. Take a walk on the wild side.
Of course, given how many high-performance SUVs either ride like they’re on triangular wheels or go running scared when they see a corner, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak is some sort of back-breaking one-trick straight-line wonder. It’s really not, and part of that’s due to its origin. It’s to the W166 Mercedes-Benz ML what the Ford Flex is to the original Volvo XC90, and as a result, it’s more sophisticated than you’d expect a fundamentally 16-year-old SUV to be. You notice the weight of the wheels and tires, but it’s still quite comfortable over potholes, well-insulated on the highway, and the adaptive dampers have huge range so you can really firm things up in the corners without ever feeling punished for it. It’s obviously not as controlled as a Porsche Cayenne, but its balance of comfort and control is better-judged than that of a BMW X5 M.
Downsides? Well, as you’d expect, a 710-horsepower Dodge Durango doesn’t so much have fuel economy as it has fuel consumption. Over a week of driving, I averaged 11 MPG. Hey, what’s the over/under on getting a Christmas card from OPEC? Also, the steering ratio is rather slow, resulting in lots of armwork when parallel parking. Otherwise, this is a remarkably liveable family SUV that happens to have more power than a Ferrari GTC4Lusso.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
While the Durango did receive a refresh for 2021 that included a fresh dashboard, Dodge’s three-row SUV is now starting to show its age in the gadget department. Even in fully-loaded spec, you don’t get a 360-degree camera system, the screen in the gauge cluster is tiny and sluggish, and the rear seat climate controls are very Great Recession-ish. However, you still get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, powerful cooled front seats, automatic power windows, a power liftgate, parking sensors, wireless phone charging, LED lighting, blind spot monitoring, and remote start. Nice toys, but if you’re a tech enthusiast, this isn’t the car for you.
As for the 19-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system, it’s plenty loud but not especially great. Harsh highs almost like improperly-EQ’d metallic-dome tweeters aimed right at you and an overabundance of not especially tight bass are the first things you notice, momentarily followed by just how much the system scoops the mid-range. With a flat three-band equalizer, guitars can just disappear.
Three Things To Know About The Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak
- The Hellcat engine is even awesomer than you think.
- The Hellcat engine is even thirstier than you think.
- It’s surprisingly user-friendly and comfortable to live with.
Does The Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak Fulfil Its Purpose?
As a muscle car for families, the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak hits the picture nail on the head with a 20-pound sledge. It has three real rows of seats, plenty of buttons, reasonable ride comfort, and no learning curve – but it never lets you forget the wrath on tap. It’s also largely devoid of natural competitors. A Ford Explorer ST is much slower and doesn’t offer the same soundtrack, a Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 is far pricier, and if you want a new Jeep with this engine, it doesn’t exist.
Mind you, the Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak isn’t exactly cheap. At $82,985 to start, including freight ($140,390 in Canada), it’s luxury car money for what is essentially a 16-year-old SUV with an 11-year-old engine. On the other hand, the closest comparable experience of hellacious supercharged grunt in a hefty family hauler is the Cadillac Escalade V, and that’s an order of magnitude more expensive. So, if you want a dose of blue-collar brawn but want to bring the whole family along for the ride, the Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak is it. Yeah, it’s excessive. Yeah, it’s wasteful. Yeah, it’s extreme. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s The Punctum Of The Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak?
Satan of suburbia.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
i support lack of electronic replacement of buttons and switches SO MUCH. Keep my dash and pedals analog!! Everything else please continue to use electronics in the pursuit of stupid hp and handling.