As I’ve discovered on numerous occasions in the past, it is almost impossible for a car, any car, to deliver everything a customer wants in one package.
I wouldn’t for one minute try to carry my step ladders in a Toyota MR2 or a Mazda MX5. Likewise, I wouldn’t relish the thought of a trans-European Motorway journey over several days in a Vauxhall Agila. None of these cars are bad at what they do, but they each have their role in motoring society. Where then does the Dodge Journey fit in?
Firstly, it’s BIG. It has the air of an Olympic weightlifter about it. My better half thought it resembled a warthog! Not the most flattering of descriptions, I know, but I’ll say this… Warthogs certainly know their place, and often take on their foes head-to-head and just as often come out on top. Would you argue with a warthog? Anyway, metaphors aside, it was time to put this shiny blue ‘big’ car through its paces.
This is no place for the faint-hearted! This is a beast of a car. I’m sure there are 40ft lorries out there that are lighter underfoot. You really do need muscles to drive it, especially around town. However, after a short period of adjustment and a chance to get my breath back, it started to grow on me somewhat. You see, with the Journey, what you see is what you get. It‘s got this ‘take me as you find me’ air about it. It isn’t particularly fast either, but there again if you wanted a fast car, you wouldn’t buy a vehicle like this! You’d buy something smaller and lighter, unless of course you were one of those ‘sod the environment’ few who think that, as long as you have loads of money, it doesn’t matter how much your car burns, people.
The Dodge Journey proved to be surprisingly frugal for its size. Once you’ve done your squat-thrusts to warm up your leg muscles and have built up a sweat going up through the gears, it’s actually quite a pleasant car to drive up the M5 on a weekend afternoon. The cruise control and sixth gear make light work of a few hours trundling along at 70. You begin to forget the physical challenges it presents and start to relax into a very comfortable, spacious, air-conditioned and pleasant vehicle. A return trip to Birmingham barely dented the fuel gauge, and even a few days of driving around locally, I was amazed at how economical it was. There’s always the expectation that a car of this size would be a real gas-guzzler, but that’s definitely not the case here.
One huge plus point with the Journey is its size and versatility. It is a very long car and the seat arrangement is such that any or all of them can be laid flat to allow long or large loads to be carried with ease. Even with all seven seats in place there’s a decent size luggage bay behind.
A car this long, of this size might frighten some when it comes to parking, but the built-in video camera at the rear makes it all a little less daunting. I would add though, in all honesty that you really have to be a confident parker to attempt to do battle with the majority of city-centre multi-storey car parks, as the Journey was built for the American market where you could build a typical British four-bedroomed home in the average shopping mall parking bay.
Speaking of four-bedroomed houses, there’s no problems keeping a clutch of nippers amused during the journey. The in-built DVD entertainment system and drop-down screen provide a brilliant distraction to the ‘are we there yet’ cries of old. Throw on a Spongebob or Ben 10 and Bob’s your Builder!
There's a wealth of useful storage, beside, above and even below (in the seats) to keep all your bits and pieces to hand too! Even the glove box is chilled!
Despite some of its shortcomings, I find it very hard to speak badly of this car. What it does, it does very well indeed. It is positive and confident in its handling, if a little heavy to drive, but it still gives an air of confidence and doesn’t throw any surprises at you. It is a particularly relaxing and comfortable car to take on a long motorway journey. Flex those muscles and you might be pleasantly surprised!
Nigel Crawford
October 2008
Model Driven: 2.0 CRD SXT Diesel (Man)Deep Water Blue Pearl.
£20,395 OTR. |
The Ford Kuga
