I bought a 2008 chrysler aspen. When i found out they were no longer making them I was depressed. I love the vehicle so much and extended my waranty so I could wait for the new line to continue. I was told the new derango would be a great car for my family. What a let down to say the least! there is no room for anything in the new durango compared to the Aspen. I have a family of five. It was the perfect vehicle for us at a price we could afford wirhout buying a Navigator or Escalade. Luxury and affordibility all in one It would have been the Icing on the cake for their new add campaign. There are many families who do not want to drive around in a mini van. This is a huge market for the stay at home parent who is a man. It is a mini van during the day for the kids can tow and was perfect for a night out on the town. Everyone thought it was a escalade and the cost was affordable unlike ford and GM. Chrysler needs this vehicle back. It was practical and glamour for a price the working middle class family could afford!

 

If Chrysler brought the Apen back, it would be like the new Durango. I have not sat in a new Durango yet, but I have read good things about it. I agree though, the 07-09 Apsen has excellent room.

 

If they were flying off the lots, Chrysler would still be making them. The fact is, they weren't selling well, and the gas mileage sucks.

We plan to drive our Aspen until the wheels fall off, but it's not a cheap vehicle to own. The new Durango is light years ahead in terms of vehicle architecture, fit and finish, and quality of materials. Have you seen the interior compared to the previous Durango/Aspen? There is no comparison.

Agreed that I wish they could have made it larger, but the market (and the gas prices) does not support a vehicle like the 2nd gen Durango/Aspen these days.

 

The reason we chose the Aspen had a lot to do with the roominess and interior space for the size SUV it is. We tested pretty much every thing in the midsize SUV class (i.e. didn't want a Suburban or an Expedition size SUV), and the Aspen and the Honda Pilot where our top pics. What sold me on the Aspen was the Hemi. The Pilot was very nice, but honestly real world MPG numbers in it are only slightly better then the Aspens. Not enough to make that much of a difference in my opinion. But the difference between the capability of the Aspen with the 5.7 (performance and towing) versus the v6 Pilot is significant, so we went with the Aspen. Definetly have been happy with it. I worry about it's longevity though since it has so much electronic gadgetry. If our Aspen where to be gone today, I would probably not buy a new Durango (or Aspen if they had one out). I've seen them and am just very dissapointed with them. We'd probably go with a new Honda Pilot.

 

The Aspen never had a chance. They did not market it well at all due to Chryslers financial situation. It was simply the best looking and practical SUV for the price! I would love to have tested the new Durango for my family and I would have given it a F compared to the Aspen. Yes, Gas milage sucks with the Aspen, but it could Tow,look classy for buisness meetings, hall my family of five with room to move and hall allot groceries and suplies from home centers! The new Durango Might as well say station wagon on it. I would be happy to sacrafice a few miles per gallon for room for my kids! Besides they could market a only a hybrid model! Although I found that the more you spend for a hybrid could have paid for the gas a non hybrid would have used anyway. The durango may have leather and a be better on gas but it lacks space for the family and In my view is a more like a station wagon than a SUV. I also have to say those in the market for a high end SUV do not care much for Gas vs Practicality.

 

Well, you could always step up to a Sprinter! haha..plenty of room and diesel too!

 

Explorer or Durango > Pilot in every way. If I were shopping for 3 rows, Explorer or Durango would be my only choices. I'll never go to the dark side.

 

When we where in the market, we where replacing a Jeep Liberty that we really liked a lot. It was perfect for us in almost everyway, but we just where out growing it. We needed something bigger for the growing family, but not grotesquely big. I wouldn't have thought I would go to the "dark side" either since in addition to the Jeep, my other vehicle is a Dodge Ram. But them I sat in the new Pilot. It is very nice. As far as fit, finish, roominess, and all around user friendlyiness, it was far superior to anything we looked at from Ford, Chevy, Chrysler and even other import brands in our price range. The Durango Limited and the Aspen where the only ones we thought compared, and offered the room we needed, in our price range, and without going up to a bus sized SUV. My biggest complaint about the Pilot though is that it is basically built on the same platform as the Odyssey minivan. In fact, I asked if the Pilot could be equiped with skid plates, and they said nothing existed for it, I'd have to have it custom made. So even though the Pilot had lots of pluses going for it (including its history of reliability that seems to leave Chrysler in the dust), in the end, we still needed something that could handle how we use a vehicle in Colorado, which includes towing up steep mountain passes (so need real power) and being off-road sometimes. Not like rock crawling or anything, but when you drive dirt roads, go camping, and do misc things in the woods, having a simple skid plate is just nice piece of mind. My Aspen is well protected in this regard, and met all our other requirements as well. like I said, I was dissapointed with the new Durango because I was hoping it would be a similar offer to what the Aspen was for us when we bought it. Perhaps the new Grand Cherokee.....?, but I think it only seats 5.

 

I'd rather Chrysler take it's time & get the next gen Aspen right. The new Durango is cool but they made it smaller (WTF?) I know gas is an issue but every brand has a somewhat full size SUV, tahoe, yukon, armada, seqouia, expedition....Where is the big body MOPAR? 07-09 Aspen/Durango I guess. I do like the fact they got rid of the steering column shifter. (most hated part of my Aspen) Anyway cars come & go all the time...shoot look @ Pontiac/Saturn owners...the whole line-up was cut (no more gto's or firebirds huh). The fact that production has stopped for Chrysler's 1st suv makes it more unique if you own 1. Look @ the '96 style Impala...produced for 94-96 then faded away until 2000. I know people that would kill for that 90's bodystyle (96 was the best). At the end of the day I love my aspen & will probably drive it til it doesn't drive at all. Just ordered a flowmaster exhaust to show my love lol

 

I have a Aspen that fits my family well. A couple of car seats a double stroller in the back. The size does not compare to the new durango. When I compare it to the cadillac and yukon models I was at almost 40k with the options listed. My Aspen model came with tons of options for under 30k. It has worked out for me.
Plus remember when this suv came out gas was at a all time high, no body was selling suvs and the hybrid craze was at its peak.
My Aspen gets plenty of attention and compliments.