Tell me I'm completely insane for even considering this........

[CINISI]

I'm not the right person, but I have a theory. And theories are like opinions, so stop reading now if you expect this to smell good ... you have been warned. LOL

Jeep has a long history of ugly, unstable, and unreliable. You don't just pee on your own history, do you?

Hmm ..my family started buying Jeeps in 98' and we've had at least one between us since then.
I cant say we've experienced anything out of the norm regarding reliability. I mean we're comparing them to Ford right?
Of course one persons experience doesnt speak for the masses but you can run into a lemon with any brand.

Just go for whatever will make you happy because if you dont you'll end up spending more money.

 

[belacyrf]

I'm in the same boat... going back and forth b/w the Raptor and something else (though my dilemma is more about being practical vs getting my dream truck). But having looked at many dodges and rams and owning a Wrangler Rubicon for a few years. You are going to be sorely surprised at your resale value and unfortunately "electrical" issues that commonly plague the CDJR family of vehicles.

The Wranger is the only thing that keeps it's value (extremely well) but as you said, not at all great on long trips. The new Ram 1500 in the luxury trims have PHENOMINAL interiors. The durango SRT (IMO) interior is seriously lacking. It's fine, but it's like the corvette and other similar "go fast" american made cars. Bulky, crowded and just no luxury feel.

For me, the Raptor gives it all, awesome luxurious interior, all the options I could ever want (sans massaging seats which I never used in my old platinum). It has plenty of go, and the looks is just the absolute best on the market (just wish 2022 had better color options). It's got it all, it looks mean and tough, great ride, great comfort, luxury options, and IF you want to blast off-road.. it is fully capable, more so than any other production vehicle on the market today! Plus a truck has more uses. I have learned to "always" have a truck in the family, you never know when you need it.

To me it's a no brainer.. I'd take the Raptor all day over the Durango ManWagon

 

[787Jet]

Only need a second signature to get OP hauled off to the looney ward…

I understand the wait! I ordered a 2022 Tundra TRD Pro last summer, started cross shopping and now have a Raptor on order as well. Like you, been a fan from afar, wait it out! Unless you placed your order before 12-31-2021

 

[BellHeli407]

One thing I’m surprised no one has mentioned is your altitude. The Raptors snails are going to make power at 6500 feet the 392 is naturally aspirated so it’s going to loose power up in your home town and not be making what it’s advertised for. One great thing about turbos!

 

[RaptorFan1988]

You're the right person to ask this question to:
Why has Dodge's reliability gone up quite a bit (per JD Power) over the last few years while Jeep's remains so low?
No one I"ve asked has been able to provide an answer to this mystery, but this in part is another reason I considered the Durango SRT over the Rubicon 392 (in addition to my needs, ride quality, etc)

I'm also not the right person to ask but between my wife, father, and myself we’ve owned many grand Cherokees: a 96 (ZJ), a 2002 (WJ), a 2009 and 2011 (WK), and now 3 WK2s (2014/16/19) – these were leases. We’ve also had 2 XJ Cherokees (99 and 2002), and a 97 wrangler TJ. I can say without a doubt that these vehicles have steadily declined in reliability as time has gone on. Part of it makes sense that way more technology has been added over time which leaves more room for error, but my first Jeep, the 96, went 265K without giving many issues at all. For the WK2s we’ve switched to leasing and I’m thankful for it. Each one has had sunroof failures, uconnect issues, rattling of interior parts/seats, but luckily no powertrain issues because we always stuck to the 3.6L and were low mileage. Things that frankly shouldn’t be so common for a 50k+ vehicle. My sister is on her second newer generation Cherokee and will not be getting a third she’s had so many electrical gremlins.

It's not that the TJ and XJs didn’t rattle (of course they did), but we gave them a pass because we expected that for the price point and their off-roady design. Also having the 4.0L and a 5 speed helped the fun factor. Those were the most enjoyable to own out of the bunch.

 

[bruin1md]

You sound a lot like me! I did have a Durango SRT... traded it for a 2020 Gen2. Loved the Durango. Very fun to drive, handled great for it's size, could tow my race trailer easily (7500#) and sounded awesome. It had the utility I mostly needed... but it wasn't a truck. After 6 months, I traded it on my loaded 2020 Gen2. I am a truck guy... and have done the SUV back and forth dance a couple of times, but always miss a truck in the end.
Do what makes you happy... the SRT may look like a soccer mom suv, but it's no joke. It did a lot of things very well.

Did you miss the exhaust note of the 392 after you got your Raptor?
And yeah, from the reviews I've read and videos I've watched, the Durango SRT is no joke. It tows great and is a ton of fun to drive and hauls stuff. But where I think I will regret not having a truck or more off road capable SUV is b/c of where I live. There are always times I think about veering off the road to explore this or that and have lots of chances to do that up here. Then of course there is the opportunity to check out the desert in the Raptor.

 

[FordTechOne]

Hmm ..my family started buying Jeeps in 98' and we've had at least one between us since then.
I cant say we've experienced anything out of the norm regarding reliability. I mean we're comparing them to Ford right?
Of course one persons experience doesnt speak for the masses but you can run into a lemon with any brand.

Just go for whatever will make you happy because if you dont you'll end up spending more money.

Agreed. 214k on my ‘06 Grand Cherokee, it’s been a great truck.

Anecdotal and second hand accounts of reliability are meaningless. Use case, maintenance, care, and customer perception are all things that need to be accounted for. For example, people will pair an incompatible device to the infotainment, crash the system, and then bad mouth the vehicle and brand as “unreliable”.

 

[allllaann]

While I can understand the appeal of the 392, I don't think I'd ever consider a Durango in the same list as the Raptor - but that's just personal preference.

 

[GSXR]

After owning a Raptor for 2.5 years I can honestly say with no "FanBoy" attitude that I will not go thru life without a Raptor.

 

[SurfRaptor]

You're the right person to ask this question to:
Why has Dodge's reliability gone up quite a bit (per JD Power) over the last few years while Jeep's remains so low?
No one I"ve asked has been able to provide an answer to this mystery, but this in part is another reason I considered the Durango SRT over the Rubicon 392 (in addition to my needs, ride quality, etc)

I'm not sure that I would trust anything JD Power is putting out, but I also think more people own Jeep than Durango. More vehicles = more problems. I'm a Jeep Wrangler owner for 14 years, 221k now. There is no stopping this thing off-road, and most of my off-road is in Baja. If you plan on having this as an off-road weekend toy, then I would go with the wrangler. If its any type of daily driver, I'd go with the Durango. I'd also go with the Wrangler or Gladiator if you plan on doing your own mechanical work. Wrangler has the biggest aftermarket part world. Many people list their jeep as being reliable, but I'm willing to bet they are changing oil often and performing proper maintenance. If you don't do that with Chrysler, it will blow up on you. Two things that were not mentioned here about Chrysler is their terrible electronics in vehicles and terrible techs at the dealership. Let you be fully warned they have electronic issues frequently which are sometimes the hardest to diagnose and what's worse is the lack of training and knowledge the jeep techs have. I've had the easiest warranty work done incorrectly and sloppy multiple times, along with hundreds of other members in our group. Maybe @FordTechOne can comment, but the rumor is that they get paid per job and are not on salary. Rush to complete as many jobs as you can per day for your paycheck doesn't equal great warranty work.