Any opinions on Dodge Journey?

Wife and I are looking into grabbing a 2012 model. Anyone have any personal experience with this SUV?

BIL bought one, he really likes it. Pretty comfortable, not as slow as I thought(he has a 4 banger).

We rented one for work some months ago. Quite possibly the most uncomfortable seats I've ever experienced. Generally crappy ride and car overall.

Ian is being a little hard on it; it is perfectly fine as a mom mobile. It has space, it runs, looks decent and goes where it is asked to. Not a sports car; just transportation.

A guy at work has the AWD version. Only one company made tires for it in his exact factory size. $1,000 for a set.

He has 100,000+ miles and has a few minor irritations.

My brother has one, and while he rarely drives it (it's his wife's car) he's happy with it. He's taken the family (they have 4 kids) on several 7+ hour road trips and aside from being stuck in a car for 7 hours with 4 kids, he's been happy with the comfort level and amenities (his DD is a late model BMW 550). He jokes that his favourite part of the Journey is that it allowed him to get a minivan without having to admit it's a minivan since Chrylser calls it a crossover.

If you've got any specific questions/concerns let me know and I'll ask his opinion.

Thanks for the initial inputs, fellas. We are not looking for a sports car, like chandler mentioned. We have two children with us and want a roomy SUV/van at an affordable price.

Schmidlap, I'm simply looking for unbiased opinions so if your brother has any more to add, feel free to post it. Does he have the third row seating? If so, does he use it and how does it work out?

Keep them coming!!!

chandlerGTi wrote: Ian is being a little hard on it; it is perfectly fine as a mom mobile. It has space, it runs, looks decent and goes where it is asked to. Not a sports car; just transportation.

Maybe, but as basic transportation I found it lacking in both comfort and space. Of course I am admittedly biased against SUV's in general and if I needed something in that size range I'd buy a minivan, probably a Chrysler.

I had the R/T AWD for a week. It was pretty comfortable. Moved a bunch of stuff for a recently single friend and had it packed to the gunnels with suitcases, boxes, kitchen crap... and a large cage containing an english bull terrier. Not great on gas though: 12.4L/100 km.

I think you would do fine with a 2012 model. I believe the 2010 and earlier ones have the 1989 Ford Escort-spec interior and terrible seats (yes, briefly drove one as a rental, they are THAT bad) and the crappy 3.5 engine. A 2012 will net you the redesigned (MUCH better) interior and excellent 3.6 V6. There really is no comparison.

-2010 model

2011+

In reply to qdseeker:

We need to make a new rule.

The new rule I propose is as follows.

qdseeker is no longer allowed to make a post on any of the GRM forums without including at least one picture of his Civic

I remember reading that the Journey is the old small wheelbase minivan without the sliding doors. Does the one you're looking at have the Pentastar and the 6 speed? I like that combo in the Caravan so far. Honestly, though, I would just buy the caravan.

Fiat was the best thing ever to happen to chrysler...

Pretty comfortable, not as slow as I thought(he has a 4 banger).

You should try the pentastar 3.6 then. Pretty sure they run low 15s, along with the freaking jeep wrangler

As per your title:

Opinion: It's not an SUV, it's a Minivan x Wagon, a la Ford Flex...

Comment: See Opinion

Side-Comment: Sad day when car companies call wagons and minvans suvs or cuvs in a desperate attempt to make their car not fit a 20+ year old idea of car classification. Just give me a damn wagon.

Go with the 2012 as the 3.6L is a great engine and the bearings in the trans are now made in Germany and not China (not joking). Overall we ( the dealer) have not seen many issues with the 2012, now the 2010 and 2011 had some "bugs" to work out.

Good luck Paul B

qdseeker wrote: Thanks for the initial inputs, fellas. We are not looking for a sports car, like chandler mentioned. We have two children with us and want a roomy SUV/van at an affordable price.

If those are your criteria, then you're really better off with a minivan. Screw the "image" thing with minivans, I've never understood that. They're far roomier and more versitile than any SUV (unless you need to tow heavy things a lot) or crossover. I think there are a lot of better choices on the market than the Journey.

qdseeker - talked to my sister-in-law (since she's the one who drives it most often) and she says she'd definitely recommend it. They use the 3rd row seating all the time (they have 4 kids under 12 years old) and it works just fine for them, though she says only the kids ride back there (climbing back there is a bit awkard for adults). She likes it better than the Yukon she had been driving because it feels smaller to drive but feels roomier on the inside and is a lot more comfortable. Other than that, she says it's basically just a normal car - it's nothing special, but does everything she asks it to without annoying her.

nicksta43 wrote: In reply to qdseeker: We need to make a new rule. The new rule I propose is as follows. qdseeker is no longer allowed to make a post on any of the GRM forums without including at least one picture of his Civic

Lolol. Good rule!

Yes, we are getting the Penta Star V6/6 speed version. We're going after the Crew model. Should be placing the order for it this Saturday.

Thanks, Schmidlap for the update.

Went from a new Odyssey to this Journey and then to a 5 year old Odyssey and now nothing.

Thanks to my employer.

In reply to SlickDizzy:

Your link to the interior photo isn't working for me. Here's one:

qdseeker wrote: Went from a new Odyssey to this Journey and then to a 5 year old Odyssey and now nothing. Thanks to my employer.

???

I don't think the pictures of the 2010 interior really convey how garbage those cars are to sit in. Everything you see in that picture that should be soft-ish to the touch is not, and everything is hollow. The 2012 should be a much nicer place to spend time.

Oh, and to Vigo, I think the best thing to happen to Chrysler was the AMC purchase, but the Fiat situation is a close second in my book. Amazing what spending a few bucks and trying to not make obvious garbage can do to a product line-up.

So you got fired, gave the journey back, bought a 5 y/o odyssey, and gave that back, all in the last 11 days?

Sounds like you shoulda been taking that several hundred dollars every month and putting it into an emergency fund rather than buying cars... unless im reading you wrong.

Amazing what spending a few bucks and trying to not make obvious garbage can do to a product line-up.

aint that the truth. For all the ways that Daimler screwed Chryco, the only thing they put out that was worth much of a E36 M3 in the last decade was the semi-benz LX platform. Glad to see it turning around.

Vigo wrote: So you got fired, gave the journey back, bought a 5 y/o odyssey, and gave that back, all in the last 11 days? Sounds like you shoulda been taking that several hundred dollars every month and putting it into an emergency fund rather than buying cars... unless im reading you wrong.

You're reading me quite wrong. The Journey, as was the Odyssey was out of my comfort zone monthly payment wise. I had found a 2008 Odyssey that we were going to sign papers on yesterday. Friday, though, changed it all. My employer (still) decided that I (and the rest of the fleet that I'm on) seemed to have been making too much money. They cut our pay quite literally in half with a restructuring of the pay scale. It was a completely unexpected blow and has really knocked everyone for a loop. I was always scared to get into a car note because of this very reason...considering the nature of my employment. And my fears came true; lucky for me, before I signed the line.

In reply to qdseeker:

Wow, sorry to hear that. Hope nobody goes postal on the job over those recent developments. Just sayin, you never know what will push someone over the edge. A large pay cut with little to no warning will do just that.