2009 Dodge Durango Hybrid

Dodge offered short test-drives of the 2009 Durango Hybrid earlier this week, and provided a few specifications as well. The Durango and Chrysler Aspen will use the same two-mode hybrid system that we experienced earlier this year in the hybrid Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon
The system was developed in cooperation with General Motors and BMW. This means it can run on electric motor only (as it does in reverse and for low-speed forward trundling) or it can use the electric motor to augment the big gas motor.

Think of it more like a Prius than a Honda Accord Hybrid, which is a so-called mild hybrid. Chrysler estimates that the Durango Hybrid will get about 40 percent better fuel economy in the city. The average Hemi Durango can't even manage 15 miles on one gallon of fuel around town.

One similarity to Honda's soon-to-be-discontinued Accord Hybrid is that both use cylinder deactivation to improve highway fuel economy. Dodge says that the addition of the electric motors mean that the V8 will run on four cylinders more often than a standard Durango and should account for a 25 percent improvement to the Hemi Durango's 19 mpg highway performance.

Eventually, Chrysler is expected to do a two-mode hybrid powered by one of its upcoming family of V6s. The company's current V6s have no cylinder-deactivation capability