After days of repeatedly shoveling the snow out of my drive-way, just to repeat the task again the next day, I finally caught a break from Mother Nature and was able to make it over to the local Dodge dealer to test drive the new 2009 Journey.
Upon first glance of the Journey, images of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Acura RDX ran through my head. The smoothness of the sheet-metal begets a subtle “one-piece” view, along the side, and the black moldings used on the B and C-pillars to create a snaky singular window outline bring the Santa Fe to mind; while the sharp angular curves and declining roof line with the “sporty” rear spoiler mimic that of the RDX. The front fascia however, is all Dodge! Stemming from the Dodge Caliber, the Journey’s fascia slopes as it declines to compliment the height of the vehicle in a statuesque sort of way, whereas the Caliber’s front is in a more stern upright position which produces an aggressive stance for the Dodge crosshair, which is of course trademarked on the Journey as well.
The Journey currently has three trim levels available; SE, SXT, and R/T. My test vehicle was an SXT equipped with the heavily shared Chrysler 3.5L V6 High Output 24V MPI engine which has an output of 235 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque. The only other engine option, as of now, is a 2.4L 4-cylinder DOHC 16V Dual VVT engine which can produce 173-hp and 166 lb-ft of torque. The 4-cylinder is standard only on the SE; believe it or not, I initially had my eyes set to drive a 4-cylinder being that manufacturers today are now shifting their focus towards smaller engines with greater distribution; unfortunately the dealer was yet to receive one. So I was stuck with the BEEF, or so I thought!
Crossover vehicles are the wave of the future, no doubt, but when basing a supposedly LARGER vehicle on a car platform, in this case the Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Avenger “D” platform, it might be helpful if the power distribution were increased accordingly. Though the 3.5L wasn’t too exciting, in terms of its acceleration, the overall ride and handling was very impressive. This alone should convince the average consumer to consider a Journey, no pun intended. When I wasn’t praying that I could switch lanes quickly enough so that a massive pile-up on my behalf would occur, I was able to take in the smoothness of the ride, which in part can be contributed to the Journey’s 6-speed automatic transmission, as well as the performance suspension, which comes standard on the SXT and R/T models. The Journey was also equipped with an AutoStick feature which I neglected to use due to a personal bias (they’re just not fun!). I was, however, able to get somewhat of a feel of the AWD system when I came across a patch of snow while cruising down a residential street, and though there was minimal output, the system kicked in as needed. Continue Reading…
