2011 Dodge Journey
Here's what I didn't like about the 2010 Dodge Journey mid-size crossover: anemic engines, lacklustre handling and, worst of all, a low-budget interior. For me, the hidden storage bins and big rear doors were hardly a consolation.
Ah, but the price - since it arrived in 2009, the Journey has been affordable, starting at less than $20,000.
This brings me to the 2011 Journey. Same vehicle name, new story. The improvements are big and noteworthy. If I were shopping for a five- or seven-passenger crossover, I'd test drive a Journey.
I mean, this Dodge is a family-friendly size and it's affordable. The lacklustre four-banger (173 horsepower) in the base model isn't much, though it does come in a version of the Journey starting at $20,995.
The wide-opening rear doors are still part of the package, too. Most of all, however, Dodge has buffed up the 2011 Journey with a sophisticated interior and many useful features. Ride and handling may not be best in class, but everyone should applaud the tighter suspension and steering. A significant step up, without a doubt.
Now if you can swing it in your budget, forget about the four-banger; get a Journey with the new, more powerful 3.6-litre Pentastar V-6. At $30,995, my R/T tester with all-wheel-drive proved to be powerful (283 hp), and delivered decent if not astounding fuel economy: 13.0 litres/100 km in the city, 8.4 on the highway.
Dollar for dollar, the R/T is the most rewarding Journey in the lineup. The cabin, with its soft-touch plastics, is no longer an embarrassment of bruising plastic with cheap graining and dull colouring. I am also a fan of the large touch screen in the dash. The readouts are huge and make for easy access to both audio and climate controls.
Before going further, let's just consider what $31,000 gets you. In the Journey, it gets you more size and features for the money than similarly priced crossovers such as the Honda CR-V, Kia Sorento and Toyota RAV4. At the same time, Dodge is offering a package close in size to the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Flex and Toyota Highlander - for considerably less money, feature for feature.
The R/T, well, it comes with all manner of standard features, from dual-zone climate control and distinctive interior and exterior trim, to cruise control with steering wheel controls, a 60/40-split and folding rear seatback and leather seating surfaces - not to mention heated front seats and a power driver's seat with adjustable lumbar support.
The safety gear includes antilock disc brakes, stability control with a rollover sensor, traction control, active front head restraints, front-seat side airbags, a driver-side knee airbag and side curtain airbags for all three rows. For the record, the Journey is a Top Safety Pick by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety - earning its highest "Good" rating for both frontal-offset and side impacts.
All well and good and this focus on features and crash test scores threatens to have all of us overlooking the Journey's top-quality interior with its sleek new design. The word that comes to mind is "refined."
What's that mean? Well, the new dashboard is a low-gloss, one-piece padded panel with zero-gap tolerances. Looks expensive, but obviously isn't. A new steering wheel and black-on-white instruments are both standouts, too. For parents with young kids, the long and wide-opening (nearly 90 degrees) rear doors are a blessing when car seats are in the equation. Behind the second row is a useful amount of cargo space.
For an extra $1,375, Dodge will sell you a Journey with a third row of seats. Not particularly roomy seats, mind you, but okay for small kids on short hops. Oh, another interesting option are the $200 built-in child booster seats. This crossover is aimed squarely at suburbanites with youngsters.
Driving this Journey is not an unpleasant experience, regardless. A redesign of the suspension and steering gear has transformed things. While not exactly silky smooth, the Journey is now competent in cornering and in a straight line at highway speeds it feels confident and stable. The steering, for me, feels too light, but I suspect many target buyers (non-enthusiast women with children) won't agree.
Dodge rightly focused on the Journey's interior and chassis, gambling that the styling - essentially unchanged - is solid enough. True, all Journeys get a new grille and V-6 models have a square-jawed front bumper. Circular LED taillights and a revised rear bumper give the rear end a softer look, too. The 19-inch wheels nicely fill up the wheel wells, too.
What hasn't changed at all is over-the-shoulder visibility. Not great. The Journey's high waistline and chunky pillars create sight-line problems. At least the revised second- and third-row headrests drop forward on to the seatbacks when not in use, a little detail aimed at improving the driver's vision.
Here we are, three years after the Journey arrived, and it looks like the designers and engineers are back running Chrysler, not the leveraged buyout artists who lived only by the "cut costs at all costs" mantra and did much to drive the company into the ditch.
The Journey is now the crossover it should have been from the start.
jcato@globeandmail.com
2011 Dodge Journey R/T AWD
Type: Mid-size crossover
Price: $30,995 ($1,400 freight)
Engine: 3.6-litre V-6
Horsepower/torque: 283 hp/260 lb-ft
Transmission: Six-speed transmission
Drive: All-wheel
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 13.0 city/8.4 highway; regular gas
Alternatives: The Journey is an interesting size, straddling the line also in terms of pricing features between the Honda CR-V, Kia Sorento, Toyota RAV4, Chevrolet Equinox and Hyundai Santa Fe, and the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Flex, Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX-9, Honda Pilot