2013 Dodge Journey SXT AWD

[regfootball]

There's a new car in my driveway! And it has new car smell!

(disclaimer, it's my companies car)

Full day test drive tomorrow! Got about 25 mpg with it on a 40 mile sprint tonight........

Edited April 4, 2013 by regfootball

[G. David Felt]

Very Cool, I will be interested to know if the fit and finish has gotten any better since I drove one as a rental from Newark to Princton for a month when I was there on business. How is the get up and go of the engine, give us a list of what is on this AWD CUV.

Look forward to hearing about it from you.

[caddycruiser]

Cool. These have become much more interesting since the complete interior remake, and 3.6L.

This reminds me I need to do a review of an RDX too...

Interested to hear your thoughts on the Journey overall.

Edited April 4, 2013 by caddycruiser

[regfootball]

not much time to get into it now, but the return leg, 150 miles, mostly at 60mph with some stops and slowdowns, 2 hours 45 min, 28.5 mpg.

No shee-ite. 28.5 mpg from a v6 AWD crossover that is fairly large. This vehicle is capable of very good mpg.

[G. David Felt]

wow, that is surprising as I had not seen that kind of mileage in the ones I had rented.

[regfootball]

40 miles this morning, a lot at 75mph. about 21 mpg. A little more aggressive with the smooth v6.

Pentastar is really sweet.

[caddycruiser]

Mid size V6 crossovers, when geared and powered correctly, get VERY good mileage. Usually even better than the so called "more efficient" turbo 4-cyl varieties.

The new RDX is a great example, as are the GM twins when V6 equipped, though an even more efficient 6-spd would help them further.

Edited April 6, 2013 by caddycruiser

[regfootball]

the 28.5 was achieved with the engine turning about 1500 rpm..at 60 mph.

5 mph was like 1750 rpm.

pentastar is not gobs of torque, it's sort of like GM's 3.6...needs a bit to wake up and get in the powerband.

[regfootball]

I guess I have had not much time to complete this. So I will give a brief rundown.

Tested, new Journey SXT AWD v6. No idea on price / MSRP. A quick build and price shows it's around 27 MSRP. This was a base SXT with no other options.

HIGHS

Sweet Pentastar v6 and responsive tranny. Plenty of power, and very smooth.

Surprisingly good observed mileage (at least for my driving)

Room and space, legs, shoulders, head

A nice tweener size (in between the Traverses and Kia Sportages of the world). Still manueverable.

Visibility is very good and lots of glass, no bunker feel

Nice looking new front beak.

Very quiet inside at all speeds, a major improvement in this area.

Very well done new design interior. Attractive plastics and cloth. Vastly improved console / center stack.

Some climate and radio controls they left buttons for!

Nice cargo area (Equinox are you listening)

Many crossover / SUV fans will like the seating height and position with it's height and uprightness.

A couple unsuspected amenities like pushbutton start and dual zone climate.

Priced very well, MSRP and actual prices after rebate

Lighted cupholder!

Very good vehicle at basic function

Shares the showroom with the minivans, which it probably takes some sales from.

Don't stop Believin

LOWS

Occassional driveline lash or jerkiness.

Cruise control was a bit mishappen a few times, slow to react etc.

The seat, despite looking uber comfy and well shaped, actually hurt my back and butt. It is possible other shapes of people, this may not be the case. Seat was hard, not shaped right for me, and I wonder if it will break in or break down.

Legacy of some poor ergonomics before, cupholders are down low and obscure a valuable storage bin. Armrest lacks some padding, and shifter is kind of far back. You sit on, instead of in.

Side mirrors need more area or width and don't give much confidence for where the cars behind you are...they conspire with the pillars to have some pretty large blind spots at times

A nice looking touch screen, and this is a common complaint across many makes now, but why do we need to go through so many menus to adjust tone or other radio and climate functions?

Push button start, touch screens, and dual zone climate, but no bluetooth and power seat? No auto headlamps? Yes it's all optional, but still......

I am not a fan of buttons on the backside of the steering wheel, I prefer all the buttons on the front where I can see them.

Color touchscreen display is nice idea, but this one is pretty small.

DATED STYLING, aside from the new beak. Not at all in the current group of sexy.

It also looks more like a wagon than a crossover.

Suspension occassionally felt unrefined and choppy. Over time I think this thing will feel trucky.

Steering felt dead and slow, this is not a bad driving SUV but its not really much to write home about either (although it probably drives nicer than an Equinox perhaps).

Doesn't really feel 'all of a piece' at times.

Glossy silver dash features reflect up into your eyes when the sun is out. (Problem on may vehicles now I bet)

Gauge faces, while styled fancy, lack crispness in edges and colors and lighting, enough so that the information is not always clear at a quick glance. They are too busy. I don't like pontiac excitement red lighting either.

Sound system is weak as far as speakers.

Despite the touchscreen and steering wheel, it would still help to have a few more radio buttons on the center stack. Same for climate.

Where were the rear cupholders? OK I did not search for them. The two on the center stack were good but the ones in the front door tilt forward (no way to put a 70% full coffee in the door for later and not have it spill all over).

Shares the showroom with the minivans, which it probably loses some sales to.

Overall lacks style, glitz, and does not make up for that with any noticeable road pizazz either.

The band doesn't come with.

SUMMARY

I enjoyed my time (400 miles) with this rig. As a family guy, having had crossovers for many years now, the function they provide is wonderful. But at the same time, they can be dull to drive. Any crossover you evaluate these days has to focus more on function. Yet sometimes you still want something fun to drive.

I think the Journey meets criteria that a lot of folks want these days for a family hauler, and they have been able to do this by correcting a lot of the older model's huge flaws. I know what those flaws were because we also have an older Journey in our fleet, which I have driven before. The improvements are vast.....powertrain, front styling, interior.....so I view this as as close to a new model as you can get. Kudos for all that it does do. Roomy and quiet, does feel stable and secure on the road. Visibility mostly is good. Plenty of power, smooth, and if you treat it nicely, it will get good mpg. The price is very good, and it makes a great buy vs. a lot of the smaller crossovers that might seem more glitzy or cost more. Or you can save a ton of money vs. some larger competitors and get a good chunk of their room and space in a less bulky package.

I think for me, I would lean to giving this my typical B+, except that I really do think the dated style and slight clunkiness and old age feel here and there make it a B to me. It does excel in function, and it a good competitor vs. say, an Equinox. Likewise it is a good alternative toward spending a bunch more on a Traverse, for example. I would rather have an Edge than this, and probably a Sorento also. In some ways, the Sorento has age and dated feel against it also, but it drives a bit nicer. Just a bit.

Even though I give this a B, it hits home runs in basic value and function, and is quiet and smooth, and by all means that means a lot more to many people than the steering and suspension feeling a bit unrefined at times. Props to Chrysler for big improvements and now let's hope a replacement is on the way to clean up the really old looking station wagon style.

Edited April 8, 2013 by regfootball

[G. David Felt]

According to Chrysler, the door cup holders are for sealed water bottles, etc they expect you to use the center stack for open coffee contrainers, etc. Jeep does the same thing, My son has a patriot and his doors is where he and everyone else that rides with him puts sealed containers only, he tells them to use the center cup holders for cans, coffee, etc.

I have to agree with you on many of the area's that you say need improving, it really does still have a ways to go. I actually think the current Equinox is better than this auto though IMHO.

One area I really agree with you on is the reflective aluminum trim they are putting on the dash as well as chrome and how on a sunny day it reflects on the windshield and back in your face. I do not know who thought this was a good idea, but from a safety stand point it is one of the worst things that can be done and my current pet peeve with Caddilc is all the stupid brushed chrome on the dash. SRX especially.