I want any new people to Durango to know that as many times as I've told myself that I'm done with this car or company, and there have been many, I've never actually done it. Something has always pulled me back. I don't really have much time to get to a track so maybe that would change if I were as active as many others are. There are a few things that I do love about the car and the company and obviously many things that I don't like. There are many things that I don't like or agree with in every other company as well.
My favorite thing about the 210 is the gearbox. I love it. I love the versatility of rear motor or mid motor as well as the 3 vs 4 gear options, although I do personally hate 4 gear. I don't believe that there's a design compromise to having a car that can do both mid or rear motor. I think that's a convenient excuse among the other manufacturers to dissuade anyone from purchasing their competitors product. I like that the slipper is so compact with the adjustment sticking out the opposite side of the case rather than hanging so far off of the same side. This allowed the versatility of giving the option of mounting the rear shocks either behind or in front of the rear arms. I personally like them in front. Look at the B6. Unless you have the lay down gearbox, there's no room for the shocks in front of the arms. Durango was the first with arm inserts that allow you to easily change rear toe, front axle trail, and front caster without having to replace entire parts. For all the flaws that the car has, they innovated in many areas that are now standard. I do prefer the vertical ball stud mounting on the aluminum rear hubs but they are horribly expensive parts and machined too tight which makes the toe inserts difficult to deal with.
I prefer a few things that Exotek did with the car better than the original design and if Durango ever comes out with another car, I hope they integrate those designs. One is the arms mounts. The way that Exotek allows you to easily shim the RF mount to quickly change rear kick was brilliant. I personally use the Exotek rear bulkhead which removed the camber links from the gearbox to it instead. That's less stress on the gearbox which on V1 models was prone to breaking. I'd like to see the option to mount the rear shock tower on this bulkhead so gearbox removal could be easy but at the same time that would remove the option to mount the rear shocks in front of the arms, where I like them.
The front end absolutely needs the RDRP steering rack. Period. I'd prefer not to see ackerman adjustments in this area anyways as I'd prefer them done at the hub end.
I believe that the V1 rear shock length and rear tower are superior to the later ones. I also believe that the V2/3 front arms used with V1 front shocks but a slightly taller front tower would be the perfect setup. The car needs more suspension up travel and this combination gives it.
Obviously the chassis needs to be dealt with. They must give us different battery orientation options. Again, Exotek got this right. I personally prefer carbon fiber to aluminum anyways.
I think the main reason I haven't left is because of Chris Doughty. He's just an all around standup guy and I think people above him in his company are making it hard on him. He is always very friendly and is easy to reach out to. I love to support good people.