2017 Dodge Journey Review

Overview:

Journeys are either horrible, boring or memorable. Actually, it depends on the folks with whom you are riding. Along with that, it depends on the vehicle that you are using for your journey. But what Dodge Journey can do, we will explore in this review.

Well, Dodge began its journey in 1900. But the Dodge introduced Journey in 2007. That was the Frankfurt Motor Show, where this car was displayed for the first time. While it was commercially introduced in 2009.

Dodge Journey is just meant for the North American market. Globally Dodge Journey is marketed as Fiat Freemont. Well, Freemont in is California, North to San Francisco. But the Fiat Freemont is common in Europe and Australia.

The Journey received its last facial uplift in 2014. Since then, no major improvement has been made in this car. Practically it is a family car, with decent mileage and modest performance. And family rides quite seldom require any drastic improvement.

We are not riding the 21^st Century hyper cars. These are the conventional road stuff. But to compete in the market, it is necessary to do some research and development. And we would rather say that this is the reason that Dodge Journey is the least appreciated car in the market.

A number of marketing campaigns have been used to promote the Dodge Journey. It has never been to any motor sports competition. But in 2008, a Dodge Charger racer painted his car with Journey’s paint scheme during the Daytona 500. And that was all a marketing tactics.

Not to forget, Dodge JC (Japanese version of Journey) is included in the Environmentally Friendly Vehicles of Japan. Well, Journey can do that. Further, while in sitting in States you can order Journey for as low as $21,195.

Specifications:

Engine	Transmission	HP	Torque
2.4 – 3.6 L	4 & 6 – speed automatic	173 – 283 hp	166 – 260 lb – ft
0 – 62 MPH	Top Speed	Body Style	MPG
7.8s	118 mph	SUV	16 city/ 25 highway

Performance:

With such an amazing title, you expect lots of fun, pleasing ride and remarkable tour. But with such powertrains, your all expectations go silent.

The Dodge Journey gets the 2.4 L inline-4 cylinder engine as the basic drivetrain. A 4-speed automatic is standard. While this engine offers 173 hp of power and 166 lb – ft of torque. In addition to that, it offers 21 mpg as combined fuel mileage.

Next is the 3.6 L Pentastar V6 engine. This is the premium drivetrain available for the Journey series. It comes with the 6-speed automatic transmission. Further, it has 283 horses with 260 lb – ft of torque. Well, this is certainly the performing version of the Journey series. It takes 7.8 seconds to accelerate from 0 – 62 mph. And its track best is of 118 mph.

Both the powertrains with an automatic transmission but nothing manual. Well, we have missed the manual gearing system in this car.

In the class of two row SUVs, Journey has low pounding engines. But it has impressive fuel mileage saves it from falling apart. That is not all impressive about the Journey. The standard driving configuration is for front wheels. But an All – Wheel – Drive configuration is even available.

The Dodge Journey GT is the finest version of this series. It has sportier suspension and enhanced road grip. Actually, it is the game changer. This is what that really implies to the title “Journey”.

Well, you would not really complain about the handling of this car. It is certainly a perfect family ride. It has agile steering and responsive brakes. You easily sway it in the urban streets. And can bring Journey to rest from a fast speed on a highway.

See Also: Top 10 V6 Cars 2017

Exterior:

After watching Dodge Journey, a number of people asked us that is it a Van or SUV? And we had to explain everyone that is a Midsized SUV. Well, we parked it with the Dodge Grand Caravan. And believe it, they both resembled a lot.

Well, it has the similar headlights, almost same curves and a matching rear decent as that in the Grand Caravan. The base model has steel wheels and wheel covers. While from Journey SXT, the alloy wheels and fog lights start.

The Journey Crossroads has the aggressive looks. It has 19-inch carbon aluminum wheels and a different front design. Well, all these trims besides the GT, even have the roof rails. And the Journey GT is the handsomely designed car in this series.

See Also: Top 10 V6 SUVs 2017

Interior:

The Dodge Journey is quite spacious inside. You can fit in almost six to seven people in this car, including the driver. The base model has the standard interior design. It is just a car. While the upper trim levels offer a majestic array in the interior design. Indeed they are even comfortable.

Well, you would not really hit your head on the roof while sitting in this car. The headroom is enough to design for a 6-footer to sit in easily. And when it comes to cargo, you get up to 67 cubic feet of space. Well, this only happens when the second row and third-row seats are folded.

In addition to this all, you get an in-floor cooler to keep your beverages cool. Well, it comes handy if you are planning for a long trip. Something like a hillside picnic. There are plenty of such useful spaces in this car. You get in-seat storage capacity to put your auxiliary gears. And the floor even offers some cargo storage to keep stuff like bats and balls.

Features:

The base models of Dodge Journey do not have many features to offer. But as you go up you get the 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The navigation system is cool. It has 3-D graphics and almost a realistic view. But it is optional. Further, the 3.5-inch driver’s cluster display is customizable. It shows temperature, oil pressure, and the active configuration.

While driving in North America, you can get weather updates, movies, sports and can even know about the fuel prices. Bet, you get the best prices here. The music system is even awesome.

The rear seat passengers can get entertained with the 9-inch display screen. They can watch movies and can even play video games. Wi-Fi and hotspot are even the available features for this car.

Safety:

The Dodge Journey is a safe car. In the safety tests, Journey has earned 4-stars out of 5. The occupant safety needs to be enhanced. Otherwise, everything else is good in this car. The journey is full of airbags. Every corner of this car contains an airbag which is sufficient to protect the occupants in case of any impact. Well, altogether there are seven airbags in this car. Further, the Journey employs the protective frame. This reduces the impact of a collision. In addition to this all, it has ABS, EBD and Stability Control.

While the driving assistance features include rear view camera, parking assist and electronic roll mitigation.

Competitors:

Well, almost every car meets a competition. Similarly, our Dodge Journey gets the competition from the Toyota 4runner. The 4runner is much powerful than the Journey. And even it could tow 5000 lbs of weight. While Journey tows just 2500 lbs.

This is all folks. If you are planning for a low price SUV than Journey is best than the rest. But if you are thinking about a real deal. Then you really need to go above this option.