Minivan Convenience - SUV Style

The 2009 Dodge Journey

Not long before the Journey was brought out, Dodge dropped its short-wheelbase minivans, leaving many to compare the Journey to the former Dodge Caravan.  Crossovers are becoming an increasingly popular segment of the market, and the Journey gets Dodge into this game.  Since for all intents and purposes the Journey is yet another mid-size crossover with few truly unique qualities, yet somehow the Journey is found to be an excellent option for those who need minivan capacity such as families, but are not eager to be a part of the minivan image.  The Dodge Journey is available in five- and seven-seat versions. Available with four-cylinder or V-6 power, the Journey can have either front- or all-wheel drive. The Journey's competitors include the Ford Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Tribeca and Toyota Highlander.  It has an EPA fuel economy of 16 - 19 mpg in the city and 22 - 25 mpg on the highway.  The 2009 Journey has a starting MSRP of $20,925 - $29,335.

Power for the Journey

 The Dodge Journey is offered with a choice of two powerplants: a 173-horse 2.4-liter four hitched to a four-speed automatic or a 235-horse 3.5-liter V6 connected to a six-speed. (Only the latter is available with all-wheel drive.) The Journey?s V6 provides sufficient acceleration but few thrills- unless you?re turned on by mild torque steer.

2009 Design Features

The Journey is a relatively good-looking vehicle with a solid stance, an elegant tapered greenhouse, and a square-jawed mug. Large front and rear fender flares accent wheels as large as 19 inches in diameter. The Journey measures 192.4 inches long overall, 72.2 inches wide and 69.9 inches tall with the available roof rack. The liftgate has a small spoiler. Basically, it appears to be a tall, stretched Avenger, which is more or less what it is. It may not be aggressive or unique, but few shopping for a crossover family vehicle are really looking for either of the two. The Journey's boxy but not boxy enough to make a statement exterior is totally, completely, forgettable. Even with flared fenders, the Journey has nothing to make it stand out in a crowd.

Journey Drive

The rear doors open 90 degrees, which makes access much easier unless you're parked in between other cars, in which case you'll be missing those sliding minivan doors. The Journey has excellent road manners. The sound insulation is excellent, protecting occupants from blasting stereos of other vehicles as well as wind noise.  From the driver's position, visibility is good going forward, but the rear window is fairly small and does not allow much visibility to the immediate rear of the tall crossover; and the rear quarter panel has a hopeless blind spot when the middle row of seats is up, compounded by the headrest of the rearmost seats.

Inside the Dodge Journey

The second-row seats slide and fold forward for third-row access in a one-handed operation, and the third-row seatbacks split, fold forward, or recline up to six degrees. Whereas Dodge's Grand Caravan minivan can have Stow 'n Go or Swivel 'n Go seating, the Journey offers a new Flip 'n Stow system, which is essentially a storage bin under the front passenger seat cushion that's revealed by tilting forward that cushion. The rear doors open nearly 90 degrees for ease of entry and loading, and there's a clever concealed storage area under the front-passenger seat cushion. Like the occasional-use rearmost seats, the middle seats can fold down to make more room for cargo; if all seats are up, there is very little cargo room. Front seats are firm but moderately comfortable; middle seats bring up the joke about scientists discovering a material harder than diamonds, which is being put to use in Chrysler seats. The rearmost seats are likewise made of park-bench materials.  The rear seat video is good quality and has a nicely sized screen; and the system provides a mounting point for the roof-mounted rear climate controls, which may be too high up for younger passengers.

As one would expect from a vehicle designed to replace minivans, there are plenty of storage places, including a center armrest in the back seat that doubles as a cupholder; map pockets with integrated large-drink holders on every door; a dual glove compartment whose upper level is designed to keep a large drink bottle cold; a small but deep covered center bin; a smaller center bin and a large bin under the center stack; an upper storage area aboe the center stack; a sunglass bin that doubles as a clever mirror to let parents keep an eye on all five rear seats; and underseat storage. The most unique aspect of the vehicle by far is the standard, removable underfloor cooler/storage. The second-row seats slide and fold forward for third-row access in a one-handed operation, and the third-row seatbacks split, fold forward, or recline up to six degrees. The rear doors open nearly 90 degrees for ease of entry and loading, and there's a clever concealed storage area under the front-passenger seat cushion.  The front head restraints angle a bit too forward. To Dodge's credit, the Journey's interior is much better than that of the Avenger at least in upper trim levels, thanks to a tasteful sprinkling of chrome.

Summary

The Journey offers every feature a family could ever need, such as theater-style seating, a window line low enough for children in back to see out, an optional emergency-size split third-row seat for carpool day (on SXT and R/T models), available rear-seat entertainment, and integrated booster-seat cushions in the second-row bench, which slides fore-and-aft nearly five inches.  For another look at the Journey, check out Motortrend's review.  All-disc antilock brakes, side-impact airbags for the front seats, three-row side curtain airbags, a tire pressure monitoring system and an electronic stability system are standard.  For more details on pricing and specifications, click here.