Supercharged power makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk the better buy, even with the price difference.
Last month, I had a chance to spend a week in the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT, followed by a week in the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. It was an incredible experience of high-performance driving in some of the most powerful American SUVs ever, and I loved every minute of it.
Even though they are not direct competitors—the Durango SRT essentially being the rebodied, three-row version of the Grand Cherokee SRT—I found that many people in the Mopar community are cross-shopping the 475-horsepower Dodge and the 707-horsepower Jeep.
In fact, I’ve read countless online discussions where the owners of one of these two highly-powered SUVs were debating whether they made the right purchase. With this popular online discussion, coupled with people frequently regularly I have been asked which was better for the money, here is a head-to-head comparison of two awesome sport utility vehicles.
Key Differences
The 2018 Dodge Durango SRT and the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk are built on the same chassis platform at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. They are both high performance, full-sized sport utility vehicles with premium interiors and a big price tag, but four key points differentiate the two – exterior appearance, interior space, the engine and the price tag.
Exterior appearance is a matter of personal opinion, so I won’t get into debating which is “better.” I will say that I love the look of both vehicles, but I do wish that they had some features that allowed them to better stand out in a crowd.
The Trackhawk looks just like the SRT 392 models with the exception of the badging and the yellow-painted brake calipers while the only things separating the Durango with the 392 Hemi from the other models are the badging and the brake package.
Of course, they also have unique wheels, but it would be nice if both of these SUVs got something around the outside that was unique to these models – and that is an opinion that is echoed throughout the community.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
