Racing stripes entirely appropriate on Durango SUV

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in Cruisin’ News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

Sacramento, California -- You know your full-size sport-utility vehicle test drive experience is going to be different when the big brute shows up wearing racing stripes.

Meet the Dodge Durango SRT 392 AWD, a three-row sport-ute with the soul of a Dodge Charger.

Under the hood is finely crafted 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 rated at 475 horsepower. And oh, what it can do!  For starters, it makes the zero-to-60-mph run in 4.1 seconds.

But that's just a small part of the story.

The power plant on the tester was so robust that I had to get used to the idea that it was propelling a big-shouldered SUV around like it was an overloaded muscle car.  "Should I really be going this fast in a vehicle this size?," I kept asking myself.

I felt like I was thumbing my nose at nature, and physics.

What took me even longer to get used to was learning to go from a standing start without bolting forward like a bucking bronco.  Whoa, boy!

Honestly, the eight-speed transmission hookup was like a hair trigger, and several times I lurched away from intersections looking like a 16-year-old getting his first minutes behind the wheel of an old-school Corvette.

Once settled down, I was able to appreciate the fact that I was riding in the lap of luxury.

The base price on this hot rod SUV was $65,877, but the bottom line on my sticker read a lofty $82,757.  Was it loaded?  Yeah, like the Presidential Suite at the Four Seasons.

Besides the long list of state-of-the-art safety technology and driver-assist features, the opulent interior included suede touches, a wireless charging pad, a power liftgate, a rear seat video system and carbon fiber interior accents.

For me, all this added up to a serious family-geared vehicle, with plentiful room for cargo and multiple entertainment options for kids young and old.  You could take this Durango on the road for weeks and feel right at home ... make that comfortably at home.

You will need to pay for gas, however, and the tester's fuel mileage ratings of just 13 miles per gallon in the city and 19 mpg on the highway require careful calculation, given today's fuel prices.

This Durango is for motorists who have major money to spend. It buys them a luxurious experience and a high-performance rush. And I'm betting those buyers will not feel short-changed.