There’s a rug store here in Brisbane called Rugs-a-Million. It seems like every year, they’d air a new commercial where a man would shout they were closing down and to get in quick to get a great deal on a rug. Well, they’re still in business after umpteen “closing down” sales. The Dodge Journey, like its stablemate the Grand Caravan, is also still on sale despite its advanced age and planned cancellation. Both keep getting reprieves so I can’t really say, “Hurry, get in quick – this is your LAST chance to get a great deal on a three-row Dodge!” But while rugs don’t have to comply with safety and emissions standards, cars do and so the Journey’s days are numbered.
Demonstrating the sheer popularity of crossovers – and perhaps the tantalising profits of an old platform surely amortized by now – the 2009-vintage Journey is back for the 2019 model year (and possibly more) even as newer products from other domestic automakers, like the 2017-vintage Buick LaCrosse and 2015-vintage Chevrolet Impala, are being axed.
In 2015, I had the opportunity to drive my brother-in-law’s 2012 Dodge Journey and I wrote up a review as part of an online competition (I didn’t win). The funny thing is, I could almost publish that review as-is as the Journey has had no changes since 2015. Seriously. Oh there has been a shuffling of trim levels and options but that’s it. While that’s not really a good thing, the Journey has some core competencies that still make it a decent buy at an inevitably discounted price. That recommendation comes with two seemingly contradictory caveats: don’t spend too much but, conversely, don’t settle for the base four-cylinder.
Striding in like a group of brash outlaws in an old Western, the Dodge range arrived in Australia in 2006 ready to cause a ruckus. The outlaws – named Nitro, Caliber and Avenger – were a bit rough around the edges but they were boldly styled and aggressively priced. But the Aussie townsfolk found these miscreants too uncouth and drummed them out of town and, indeed, out of Dodge. That is, except for the sharpest gunslinger of the bunch, the latecomer crossover they called Journey. After the Nitro, Caliber and Avenger left, this mid-size crossover was left to fly the Dodge flag solo and with little in the way of marketing support. Combined Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers were the only reason the Journey sold as decently as it did in Australia – its likely many buyers were looking at the much more popular Jeep brand when they stumbled upon the little-advertised Journey at the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep showroom.
The Dodge posse looked a little different in North America. The Journey always travelled with the brash, rear-wheel-drive Charger and Challenger over there. Although those full-size Dodges soak up all the glory and marketing money, the Journey and Grand Caravan account for a significant chunk of Dodge’s sales – 10% of Dodges sold in 2017 were Grand Caravans and another 20% were Journeys.
Undoubtedly, a large percentage of those 89k Journeys were to fleets. And if you’ve reserved an SUV at a car rental agency only to get a Journey and thoroughly hate it, it was probably the four-cylinder variant. While I haven’t driven a four-cylinder Journey, I experienced its engine in two 2014 Chrysler 200 rental cars. It was raucous and lacking in grunt in them and it can only be much, much worse in the Journey which, at 3800 pounds, weighs 400 pounds more.
Producing only 173 hp at 6000 rpm and 166 ft-lbs at 4000 rpm, the Journey 2.4 is anemic. To make matters worse, it’s mated to one of the market’s few remaining four-speed automatic transmissions. Fuel economy is a paltry 19/25 mpg (21 combined), numbers achieved by much heavier and much more powerful crossovers. For example, Dodge’s own Durango – weighing almost 4700 pounds – gets the same with a 3.6 V6 and eight-speed automatic.
You can get that V6 in the Journey with a six-speed automatic and it’s still thirstier than the Durango but a little quicker – 0-60 takes around 7.5 seconds, while fuel economy is 17/25 mpg (19 combined). The cheapest V6 Journey also costs around $7k less than the base Durango.
The Pentastar 3.6 V6 is a grunty unit, with 283 hp at 6350 rpm and 260 ft-lbs at 4400 rpm. It’s powerful enough to squeal the tires with ease in front-wheel-drive examples like my brother-in-law’s; unlike the four, the V6 is available with all-wheel-drive and the commensurate 1 mpg drop in city and highway fuel economy. The Pentastar V6 is a competitive engine but, in the Journey at least, it has a surprisingly gruff engine note.
In markets like Australia and Europe, the Journey was also available with a diesel engine. First, there was a Volkswagen-sourced 2.0 turbo diesel with a dual-clutch transmission, producing 138 hp and 229 ft-lbs. In 2011, this was replaced with two Fiat 2.0 MultiJet diesel options, one with 138 hp and one with 168 hp. Both had 258 ft-lbs of torque and came standard with a six-speed manual but only the more powerful of the two had the option of a six-speed automatic. The Fiat diesels were only used in the badge-engineered Fiat Freemont which was sold predominantly in European markets but which was eventually introduced to Australia and sold concurrently (and in the same showrooms!) with the Journey.
Being a family crossover, the Journey isn’t built for the Nürburgring but it comports itself well enough. It stays flat in corners and body roll is relatively well-controlled. The ride is nicely damped, but the steering is overly light and lacks feel. Its six-speed automatic is a smooth-shifting unit and can be manually shifted, should you desire. Unusually, manual shifting is accomplished by moving the shifter left and right rather than the more traditional up and down.
Against newer crossovers, the Journey looks dated. Its fuel economy is mediocre, it lacks modern safety features like autonomous emergency braking or blind-spot monitoring even on its top trim level, and its (admittedly inoffensive) exterior styling is little changed from the 2009 Journey. It’s inside where the Journey shows its worth.
One reason for the Journey’s success, undoubtedly, is its practicality. Both the second and third row seats easily fold flat, creating a spacious load bay. The cabin also has various little nooks and crannies, such as a storage compartment in the front passenger seat cushion and a natty storage bin in the second row, equipped with a drain, which is an ideal spot for a bag of party ice. The third row can seat two adults in a pinch but is best occupied by children. With the seats up, cargo space is modest but there is under-floor storage and a removable flashlight. For 2018, all US-market Journeys received the third row standard.
Interior quality is a huge improvement over the 2009 model, the Journey receiving a huge interior overhaul in 2011 along with the rest of the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep lineup. Cabin presentation and material quality is generally good and the black leather interior in my brother-in-law’s Journey has held up particularly well against three young children. The uConnect interface is one of the better infotainment systems, easily navigable and well-presented; it’s nice and easy to connect your phone and stream audio via Bluetooth. Lower trim levels have a cheap-looking 4.3-inch screen, while the Crossroad and GT (formerly R/T) have a much nicer 8.4-inch screen. The only chink in the uConnect system’s armour is the low resolution of the reversing camera.
There are two reasons the Journey has clung on this long. One, it’s a well-packaged and good value crossover. Two, Chrysler doesn’t have anything else like it to sell. Rumored Chrysler-badged crossovers have yet to eventuate while Jeep has introduced seemingly every type of crossover except one with three rows of seats. That unique (for its corporate parent) selling point allowed the Journey to continue the Dodge brand’s presence in Australia for five years after every other Dodge had been dropped. And even when FCA introduced the almost identical (and cheaper) Fiat Freemont, the Journey still posted some decent sales numbers for an orphan product from a (here) little-known brand. Both the Journey and the Freemont were axed from FCA’s Aussie lineup in 2016, leaving the corporation with zero three-row crossovers here. That’s unfortunate for happy owners like my brother-in-law, whose Journey has had no problems in six years of ownership except for a minor Bluetooth issue that was fixed under warranty.
What also helps the Journey is the inconsistent availability of a third row of seating in rival crossovers. No, you can’t fit Grandma and Grandpa in that farthest row, but it does come in handy when you’re carrying an extra passenger or shuttling your kids’ friends. Toyota dropped the third row from its RAV4 for the fourth-generation redesign, while Nissan discontinued the third-row option from its Rogue for 2018. Honda’s new CR-V offers a third row in other countries but it isn’t available in North America yet. Those automakers are trying to push you into a larger, more expensive three-row Highlander, Pilot or Pathfinder. That leaves the Journey in a class of three with the Mitsubishi Outlander and Volkswagen Tiguan, the only other crossovers at this price point with an available third row.
Comparing the Journey with the Outlander shows a surprising amount of tit-for-tat. The Outlander is less powerful but it’s also a few hundred pounds lighter. It’s a couple of grand more expensive but it has more features, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a raft of optional safety features like cross-traffic alert which are completely unavailable in the Journey. There’s an optional V6, too, but it’s only available in the highest trim. Its four-cylinder engine is about as underwhelming as the Journey’s but its fuel economy numbers are vastly better – 27 mpg combined in the 2WD, four-cylinder Outlander, a whopping 6 mpg higher than the equivalent Journey. But it’s also slightly shorter and narrower than the Journey.
Any misgivings you may have about the Mitsubishi brand aside, the Outlander on the whole seems to be a better buy than the Journey and it certainly looks a lot fresher. Buyers have flocked to the Journey by more than 2-to-1 but Mitsubishi’s much smaller dealer network probably had a large hand in that.
The Tiguan commands a similar price premium but also bests the Journey in power and fuel economy. It is, however, shorter than the Dodge and doesn’t have an optional larger engine.
If you want a cheap, three-row crossover with a new car warranty, the Journey is still an acceptable option if you remember those two caveats: haggle hard and don’t touch the four-cylinder. Soon enough this rug store is going to have to shut its doors and there’ll be big savings they’ll pass onto YOU.
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Completely derided on any and all enthusiast sites as the “car for someone who knows nothing about cars – nobody else would touch them”, the Journey is proof that there’s a significant amount of car buyers out there who don’t give a damn about cars. All they want is reliable, comfortable transportation at a decent price, and they really don’t care if alternative X or Y are slightly better. Or that they’d be driving the oldest designed vehicle out there with the least amount of current whiz-zoom features.
All they want is a car that works, at a price they’re willing to afford.
Journey delivers.
Exactly Syke, it’s a vehicle that does the job with decent value and that’s what a lot of folks want.
Case in point one of my co-workers transferred to Canada from the South Africa office. It’s been a real cross cultural trip for her family, they had Audis in SA but wound up with a Journey here for the utility and pricing.
I’m glad your brother’s particular car has been a good ‘un, but too many Aussies got dodgy Dodges, and for them, it was too often about the Journey and not the (unreached) destination.
For years here, this car was the cheapest new seven-seater available, by some margin, and folks that need as many seats usually also need low repayments. Hence the sales.
Otherwise, Chryco-made products have an atrocious name in the trade, with the cheapo Caliber the worst of all. Aus Chrysler-Jeep sales went from about 30K in 2014, to a bit over 8K in 2017, in a booming SUV market too. Brands usually fail for a reason.
Good article. But I’m still not buying a rug, not even next week.
Thanks to the corporate ‘troubles’ (local CEO & others misappropriating funds, giving/loaning cars to celebs, signing dodgy deals with suppliers they had associations with) there were apparently big problems with getting warranty work approved or paid for.
The warranty was needed too. A co-worker bought a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, had some transmission noises dismissed as normal then when she reported a different one they said bring it straight in, and she got a new transmission.
That never occurred to me, but ofcourse. There’s no doubt the products were sub-standard (see saabsellers comment below, for eg), but the rip-off by the Aus MD and his connections was gobsmacking, and such a mentality would very likely be the type to ignore warranty obligations. Irritatingly enough, FCA settled their suit against the man in 2016, doubtless to avoid further brand damage, so it’s never been fully ventilated. But according to articles at the time (2015), FCA was selling 43000 cars here in 2011 only on the basis of the then very high AUD. Any slim profit was utterly drained by multi-millions of Aus head-office fraud. Once the dollar fell, and Michigan couldn’t not notice the masses of red ink, they finally sent auditors, who found a loss-making crooked business.
The brands would have always had long-term issues here because of the quality, but if it had all been managed honestly, their name wouldn’t be anything like the trash it is now, nor their sales in the toilet.
So I was wrong. Brands can also fail because, as in any industry, there are sharks about who care for nothing but their next meal.
An incredible tale I’d quite forgotten.
Funny thing about the Caliber, the ones I see still on the road tend to look well cared for and looking way better than cars with their reputation should look.
Another thing is, they remind me of the Subaru XV from rear 3/4 view.
Chrysler, is there any other car company that has been mismanaged more times througout its history and still be in business? I know FCA is not the same as the old Chrysler but still, it has to be some sort of record.
Oh, indeed, the Caliber’s looks were predictive of the unlovely, thickset, frumpy n’ humpy Sube (and too many others), something I have to be most tongue-bitingly aware of when I visit a good friend who is much taken by the looks of her Subaru SexlessV.
As for Chrysler, it has defied all of the concerted managerial attempts on its life, rising unflushably eternal from the S-bend.
“As for Chrysler, it has defied all of the concerted managerial attempts on its life, rising unflushably eternal from the S-bend.”
Never a truer word was spoken.
There will always be a thriving market for inexpensive transportation, and really the Journey is better than average for low-buck specials. It’s decently reliable, versatile, and (imo) good looking, doesn’t shout “cheap” to onlookers, and as noted it has FCA’s excellent UConnect infotainment and the option of a powerful Pentastar V6. It does muddy Dodge’s image though, which is split between muscular RWD V8 sedans and coupes, and bargain-hunter crossovers and minivans.
Also, the VW Tiguan does have a third row seat in the US; indeed it’s mandatory on FWD models. Which is unfortunate because it’s too small even for some kids, and steals space from both the second row and cargo area. Canadians apparently can get a two-row FWD Tiguan; VW offers subtantially more option and equipement flexibility in Canada than the US.
Ah, Volkswagen snuck that one in there without me noticing. I’ve amended the text, thanks for that la673!
Before anyone mentions the Kia Sorento, that’s even more expensive than the Outlander and Tiguan.
At least here, (Canada) to me, the Sorento is showing up as cheaper in base FWD form than the Tiguan. ($27,995 vs $29,225). Admittedly, that is close to a Dodge Journey with V6. My neighbors got a Sorento EX V6 last year and seem quite happy with it. Personally, being an only child has solved the need for a 3 row anything, so I cannot personally comment on their attributes.
Maybe you were thinking of the “old” Tiguan which is still sold here as the Tiguan Limited. That one was two-row only
We rented one of these several years ago when my moms car was in for a recall, I honestly don’t remeber a whole lot about it.
Rug stores are probably the same on every continent. Below is a collection of photos over 4 decades showing the same dang carpet store here in Virginia, with a Huge Sale going on in every photo — including a “Liquidation Sale” in 1991. Yeah, right.
A carpet is good analogy to the Dodge Journey. Most of us probably never notice them on a daily basis, and even their owners likely don’t give them much thought.
Ah. Kamp Washington!
That’s in what we used to refer to as the Hi-Gear center, which was named after the anchor auto parts store. Spent time shopping with my father at both Hi Gear and the Paint and Wallpaper store.
Yep — that’s it! Here’s an expanded view of the 1991 picture, which shows Hi-Gear:
We had one of those rug stores in Geelong that was always having a closing-down sale for years on end. The only thing that finally made them close down last year was the building being condemned!
Speaking of rug stores going out of business……from the late, Seattle-based local comedy show, ‘Almost Live’….
MoparDave,
Great one, very funny!
Here in the Baltimore area, it’s more of a Mattress Store analogy.
To quote some comedian whose name escapes me, “Are mattresses ever NOT on sale?”
I was leery of these for the first several years, concerned about any new vehicle coming out of Chrysler during its darkest period. I have been amazed at the long life this one has displayed.
And wow, a 4 speed automatic? I thought that idea was as dead as the VHS tape.
The Corolla only recently ditched its 4 speed auto…
For a CVT.
School district has 4 V6 FWD 2009 Journeys in their fleet. It is the old pre-bankruptcy model where the plastic is cheaper and it is the older V6.
They have held up perfectly well except one that ended up with a new radio head unit for some reason (and a clear aftermarket one at that) – I assume that something happened out of warranty and the motor pool decided just to slap a Pioneer unit in over the factory radio.
If you look at it as an Avenger Wagon (which is what it is) then it makes perfect sense. I bought a used Highlander in 2014 for a price that I could have likely had a NEW V6 AWD Journey. There are times when I think maybe that was the direction I should have gone.
Perhaps, but I’d wager that your bought-used Highlander will always be worth more than the bought-new Journey. So even if you keep it for many years, you’ll still come out ahead when you sell or trade it.
Yeah but my 2010 Highlander was part of peek “cheap Toyota” – you can tell in the plastics. The interior of a 2014 Journey (after FCA was trying harder might actually be nicer… lol)
Nice review William, thank you.
I could share the same feelings about my Fiat Freemont Mjet AWD which has been giving 100000 happy miles in the last three years.
Though a bit different from the Journey starting from the engine and chassis tuning, I would take it again without any doubt.
Only drawbacks, the miserable headlights and the unresponsive 6 speed automatic trans.
You can haul stuff, kids love it, it has great HVAC system and it’s perfect for long trips thanks to the excellent lather seats.
It is generally derided as a bulky appliance embodying many stereotypes on US cars, but this stops when my guests take a seat in it.
Tipically, it’s the subject of derision among our company fleet only to redeem itself when I happen to switch to other cars and start hearing the same comment: everytime:- Why didn’t we take the Freemont?
By the way, customers are still wondering why Fiat suddenly decided to stop importing it back in 2015.
Nor a flashy type neither a high tech one but a lot of hidden virtues at least for me.
Freemont? That was the name of Mr Wilson’s dog on the tv show Dennis The Menace. IIRC, Freemont was a stubborn little terrier that absolutely refused to learn any new tricks.
Hard to say which brand = credit challenged customer more: Nissan, Mitsubishi or Dodge.
I don’t know why Nissan gets such a bad rap. I have a 2016 Rogue and I’m extremely happy with it. The Maxima is a nice car and the 2019 Altima looks great. And I am not a sub prime buyer. Yes, the Sentra is crap. But doesn’t everyone need a jumping off point?
I’m glad you compared the Journey and the Outlander, because they are commonly shopped together as value-oriented three-row crossovers. They do take different approaches. The Outlander is narrower because it’s a compact crossover with some extra length behind the rear wheels. Meanwhile, the Journey uses a compact platform that’s been blown up to midsize proportions all around. In addition to the Tiguan (presumably the LWB version that we get in the US), the Rogue is another similarly-sized three-row compact crossover.
Oh, they removed the third-row option, which you mentioned.
There was a tidbit in a post yesterday about how the 1G VW Golf was built and sold in South Africa through 2009.
And why not? It was a perfectly suitable design that was good enough to suit the needs of many drivers.
Design changes seem to be mostly driven by Marketing Departments, not by actual needs of actual people.
People who actually have the cash\credit to buy new or CPO usually want a fresh look, unless it’s a car where the whole point is that it looks familiar.
Aussies were prepared to give Dodge a go when they came back to our market, and for a while Neons were fairly common, but you never see them now. The other Dodges were never anywhere near as common. Someone in my town had a Caliber, but he worked for the dealer. And I think I’ve seen more Freemonts than Journeys, but less than five in total.
Asked to name a car company starting with D, Aussies are more likely to think of Daihatsu or maybe even Dacia than Dodge. Market awareness of the brand: zero. Kinda like, well, Fiat.
Had one of these for a week rental last year while on vacation. I only remember two things about it. First was putting $75 or $80 worth of gas in it every single day and sometimes twice a day. We never left Nova Scotia. The second thing was the nav system. We could only operate it in park with the engine running. One morning I entered the day’s planned route with all the planned stops on the way only to have it wiped out because I did so before starting the car. Which cleared it out. Don’t get me started on the road closed sign where the hotel was. From the airport it took us off the correct exit only to encounter the closed road. Fear not! It’s recalcuating, bringing us back the way we came, then back on the highway again and off at the very same exit so we could see the road closed sign again. I hope it was just one glitchy vehicle. Lucky I pack my own gps on every vacation. If that touch screen driver distraction device wasn’t needed for practically everything else I would have stuck my gps right in the middle as a giant FU to Uconnect.
I almost forgot about the week long camping trip in a borrowed 2013 with the four banger. What an awful experience when fully loaded. Just adequate with only 5 passengers on all flat ground.
Man our 2013 Journey V6 went from Hamilton, Ontario to Washington DC on one tank of fuel. Better fuel economy than my old Mustang Ecoboost.
After reading this, I saw 3 in the space of a block and a half this afternoon.
“If you want a cheap, three-row crossover with a new car warranty, the Journey is still an acceptable option if you remember those two caveats: haggle hard and don’t touch the four-cylinder. Soon enough this rug store is going to have to shut its doors and there’ll be big savings they’ll pass onto YOU.”
These are to be avoided at all costs, speaking from the perspective of a dealer – worth nothing – not worth listening to the poor sods who have them – but I want blah$ blah$.
Jeeps – avoid them all too. Don’t even park a stinking Alfa on my block. My list of banned cars on the yard grows longer by the day.
KJ in Oz
The best thing about the Journey, I think, is how much better it seems in every way than the Calibre.
I have a secret desire to be assigned one of these when I rent the next time, alas it hasn’t occurred yet. I simply can’t imagine they are as objectively horrible as the majority of car sites seem to think (at least with the V6). I actually think they are attractive in a low-key way, the interior seems nice enough and it seats seven (ok, 5+2). And even if something goes wrong, how much can it possibly cost to fix a Dodge with an engine produced in the millions every year? To get someone to work and back or sightseeing for a week or two or for dropping the kids at school or, God forbid, driving non-stop from St Louis to Denver after a flight cancellation, it’s likely a fine car and especially at the typical transaction price. Sure it’s a bit of a gas guzzler but gas is cheap (for now).
Great write-up Will, I’ve been waiting for someone to not piss all over the car. Thank you.
Interesting I followed one a few KMs yesterday Ive not seen a Journey in a while, so they are still sold new, I didnt know.
The Outlander is meant to be good a friend has a PHEV version he absolutely loves, they were available i Peugeot flavour with the excellent PSA diesel engine as well as regular Mitsubishi, petrol only.
I think you guys are missing the real target demographic of the Journey. Chrysler released a new version of the minivan in 2008. When they did, they discontinued the true heir to the minivan, the SWB version. That is the Journey’s position in the line-up, to take the place of the previous SWB Caravan. Since minivan’s have long since went out of favor with SUVs being the hot ticket, the Journey’s crossover between the SWB minivan and SUV has surely garnered more sales than if Chrysler had continued with the true SWB minivan.
So, yeah, the Journey as a CUV is not so great. But as an ersatz SWB minivan replacement, it’s sure sold much better than the real thing.
And, frankly, as long as the Grand Caravan stays around, so, too, will the Journey. In fact, the original game plan was for the Pacifica to take over the ‘mid-size’ minivan market, while a brand-new crossover was going to replace both the Journey and Grand Caravan models. The only problem is that the Grand Caravan just keeps on selling too well to cancel it.
I’ve been considering picking up a 2013ish Journey, ideally with AWD, but am concerned about reliability – some of the comments here are not reassuring, but it’s an ideal package for my young family and can double as the car my wife uses to zip around in at work.
I drove the 2010 model briefly in Australia when I worked in car import and had a sneaking liking for it, despite the shocking interior. These were brand new but frequently had faults and didn’t inspire confidence.
We dealt with a long list of manufacturers and in quality terms the Chrysler products of the time were up there with Proton in the race to the bottom, but Great Wall were already streaking through the S bend, you might say.
I’ll probably continue to kid myself they’ve improved, as they’re isn’t anything quite like it available here.
I would dearly love to have a Journey or Freemont, as the layout ticks all my boxes. Slightly taller than a sedan for easy entry but not up in the sky like a lot of 4wds, and it’s long enough to have a usable boot (why do so many 4wds have such tiny short boots!?)
Sadly it’s almost certain to never happen, because they’re well known for being incredibly unreliable here. That’s why the likes of Toyota rule in Australia, reliability is valued above anything else.
Pardon the post archaeology here, but I just wanted to say that I have also rented one of these and found it perplexing. It’s fairly large on the outside but had little room on the inside and it was slower than campaign finance reform. I really don’t see how a Journey is supposed to be better than a minivan.
That said, I know people who have owned and loved these, and they weren’t all credit-challenged, either.