The front seats are comfortable, neither too soft nor too firm, and the four-spoke steering wheel is nice. Upholstery materials have been revised for 2007, and the standard YES Essentials fabric in SLT is said to be stain, odor, and static-resistant. The SLT has orange-hued wood trim, while the Limited presents a cleaner look with its brushed aluminum. And that trim is real wood and real aluminum, not plastic.
A new option for '07 is bucket-type seating in the second row, replacing the standard 40/20/40 bench. A second-row floor console is part of the bucket-seat package. And if you order the optional heat for the front bucket seats, the second-row buckets get it, too. As a compromise for customers who need to carry five adults, a 40/20/40 bench with recline feature remains standard on Limited, optional on SLT and Adventurer. Separate rear-seat climate controls are standard on those models and optional on SXT; that's a useful feature when carrying dogs. For '07, Durango models with rear-seat HVAC also come with a 115-volt power inverter.
Also new for '07 are power windows that operate in express mode both up and down. A new one-touch lane-change feature allows the driver to quickly activate a three-blink turn signal when changing lanes.
Details are carefully thought out, including convenient grab handles cleverly molded into the stubby rear leg of the second-row seat, which ease climbing back to the third row. Once back there, a small bubble in the ceiling provides additional headroom for third-row passengers. A one-piece third-row bench is optional on SXT and standard on SLT and Adventurer. On Limited models, the third row is split 60/40 for additional convenience. SLT and Adventurer (but not SXT) buyers can order the 60/40 split at additional cost.
Behind the second row of seats is 68 cubic feet of cargo space, equal to the total for many SUVs. Put the second row down, and there's 102 cubic feet of cargo capacity. The distance between the wheel housings is 48 inches, so full-size sheets of plywood can be loaded flat. Speaking of loading cargo, this task is aided by the liftgate, which opens very easily. A power liftgate is also available. The cargo floor is relatively low, thanks to the rear suspension design, making loading and unloading easier.
The second and third rows are notably easy to access because the rear doors open an exceptionally wide 84 degrees. The second-row seat easily flips forward with the touch of one hand, and the seatback flops flat just as easily. This is no small virtue.
Instrumentation is clean, handsome, easy to read and easy to operate. It looks classy. We especially like the simple black-on-white gauges and rectangular black Venetian-blind style heating and cooling vents. The center console is deep, under a removable tray. On Limiteds it is now covered in leather. Forward of that is another important compartment designed to serve as a fast-food bin. Two integrated cup holders with removable neoprene for different sizes of drink containers are provided.
We found the SLT's manual heating controls and the wiper controls fussy, and the high beams seemed a little lacking one wintry night. The Limited model's high-tech climate-control panel with automatic temperature adjustment is better. And we welcome the availability of seat heaters.
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