New Dodge Durango declares the SUV is not dead

High gas prices and the emergence of electric cars would suggest that the SUV has gone the way of the dinosaur, but the 2014 Dodge Durango makes a convincing argument for its continued survival, having evolved into a modern, connected vehicle that improves on its fuel efficiency.

My road testing of this Dodge Durango encompassed a trip down to the Los Angeles Auto Show, involving a significant amount of freeway driving and a bit of cutthroat LA traffic. For the latter, the Durango’s imposing size worked in my favor, as other drivers could not ignore it when I needed to merge.

However, I initially chose the Durango based on the idea that its capacious interior would keep the editorial crew I was bringing down to the show content for the long drive. It certainly pleased CNET’s video crew, who loaded up the back with all the camera equipment they didn’t want to take on their separate flight down.

In either sense, the Durango proved an able vehicle.