The lease is about up on wife's Pilot, no more Honda. My wife wants the Dodge, I want the Ford because that's my brand. I have read all types of reviews and reports online. The Durango always seem to perform well. Did any of you consider the 2011+ Durango before purchasing the Explorer? Any advice is appreciated.

 

When I bought my '14 Sport I gave serious consideration to the Durango. Some of the things I gave consideration to: Dodge makes their vehicle go-fast the old fashioned way with big V8's and to hell with gas mileage. Ford subscribes to the newest way - turbos. Not that great a difference in fuel mileage but a little. Your preference. But my determining factor at that time was that Ford had a pretty decent reliability rating and Dodge's was dismal. I find that the coffee in most dealerships service department waiting areas is pretty bad. In the 3 years I had it my Sport never went back to the dealer. Not once.

 

I like the lines of the Durango over the Explorer. But the Durango is longer and takes up more space in the garage. I think both offer similar power and mileage with the standard V-6. Both are reliable and both have their issues. I went wth what the wife likes, the Explorer. I wanted a Sport, but couldn't justify the $5k premium for something she will not use (the turbos)! I only drive it occasionally.

 

Either way, the motor will be the base 3.5 in Ford or 3.6 Pentastar in Durango. Both V6's seem pretty dang realiable

 

Can't s[eak to the std 6, but we too looked hard at the Durango when we got the 13 sport...

but one drive in the sport and the wife said that one !

We have 90k+ miles on it now and no plans to get rid of it...
it's been in the shop once for something other than normal oil changes, etc...
Many fewer times than the previous 'luxury' Audi Q5 !

and the one visit was for the plastic electrical socket cover over the outlet on the rear of the front console - the granddaughter was destructive even at 2 years old