Journey in the Journey
After reading dozens of hands-on reports from the Dodge Journey, all positive, I finally snookered one myself, though only for a few days. So far, I’m very impressed. It doesn’t feel anything like the current Sebring or Avenger; the interior looks great (mine is black, and because it’s an R/T (AWD) there’s chrome accents everywhere); and the ride is quite good, without giving up much in cornering. Acceleration is pretty good, with the 3.5 liter V6 quieter than I’ve ever heard it, and sound insulation is excellent. I think Chrysler has a winner here - especially once it gets the Phoenix engine, diesel option, and automatically-shifted manual transmission to edge the gas mileage up. In the meantime, I look forward to getting my hands on the thriftier four-cylinder.
By the way, EPA-rated gas mileage on this one - remember, it’s AWD - is 15 city, 22 highway. Ack! Full sized minivans can beat that. The price clocks in at around $28,000 base - but mine is pretty well loaded to the gills, with a sticker of $34,240. That’s more than a Hemi Charger and, I think, more than the Challenger R/T… but it has all sorts of options like a sunroof, big wheels, and rear seat video. That stuff all adds up.
I picked up a 4 cylinder model for a company car about two weeks ago. You’re right about it not even closely resembling a Sebring or Avenger on the inside. The dash and door panel materials have a much softer feel about them even in the Base model that I have. The weight of the vehicle does make the 4 cylinder seem to labor even harder than in other vehicles. I have a lot of hills where I live which makes it even worse. I love the way it rides. Not too soft but not as harsh as probably the more sporty editions are. My first tank full of fuel returned 22.5 MPG with one highway trip of about 70 miles in there. Hopefully it will do well even though a lot of people are already bad mouthing it since it now has a rebate on it.
Yes, I cannot BELIEVE they rebated the thing. Supposedly it was selling at triple the rate they expected. Why a rebate? Why not just cut the price if they needed to? Who’s thinking over there?
PS> They did the same thing to the LX series. I couldn’t believe it. It’s like they’re afraid to have a success. PT Cruiser lasted a pretty long time before rebates - so did the LH series and the Neon.