Day-by-Day Review: 2012 Dodge Journey R/T

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2012 Dodge Jouney

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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This week I am behind the wheel of one very popular vehicle. In fact, the Dodge Journey is Canada’s number one selling crossover; my tester is the all-wheel drive R/T variant.

With a starting price of $18,995, no wonder the Journey is a best-seller, when you combine that low price with the fact that it offers seating for seven; like Dodge’s Caravan, the Journey offers tons of value to Canadian families.

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The R/T AWD Journey is a little more up-market though, with a starting MSRP of $29,095 and with my tester adding a few options, such as Bluetooth connectivity and the flexible seating group, which makes configuring those seven seats and third row ingress/egress easier.

Powered by a 3.6-litre V6 engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and powering all four wheels, the R/T is the top of the line Journey, although there is still room for more. For example, my tester has leather seats, cruise control, automatic dual-zone climate control and seating for seven, but optionally navigation can be added, as well as a sunroof, backup camera and rear entertainment system.

I drove the previous-generation Dodge Journey and to be perfectly honest could not understand how it was a best seller. It was anemic, the interior was plain awful and it felt like a bucket of bolts. The new model has been improved considerably both inside and out and it shows, so let’s take it for a spin!

2012 Dodge Journey R/T AWD
MSRP as tested (excluding destination): $32,470

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Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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The interior of the new 2012 Journey is vastly improved, and although it seems like some still find it “cheap,” I am not seeing any obvious cheapness. In fact, I see high quality in the 2012 Journey. At least, on my R/T trimmed model, the leather armrests, centre console and door panels add a touch of style and quality and have a nice feel and look to them.

The centre armrest slides back and forth and has storage beneath, while the passenger seat bottom also flips forward for even more storage space. The second row of the cabin in my tester offers reclining, sliding and flipping 60/40 split seats with a centre seat that becomes an armrest with cup-holders in the head rest.

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For those with older kids, a jump seat is built right into the rear passenger seats, which certainly makes your life easier. The rest of the interior layout is clean and easy to operate, with nice gauges in the instrument cluster and a simple layout for the HVAC and audio system.

I do wish there were some more buttons for the HVAC system, though, instead of building the functions directly into the touch-screen. The heated seats, dual-zone synch and various other functions are only accessible via the touchscreen and on a cold day, I hate hunting for that bun warmer. The quick task switch buttons beside the screen do make it easier to get to the functions than Ford’s MyFordTouch system, and is a welcome advantage.

There’s plenty of legroom for the first two rows, and good third-row leg room for the size of the vehicle, when the second row gives up a bit. Cargo space is excellent with the third row folded flat into the floor, and surprisingly better than some much larger three-row vehicles when those seats are up. Dodge has reinvented the interior of the Journey and from where I sit, there is not much to dislike with this 2012 model.

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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Onto the driving, now that I have thoroughly praised the new interior of the Journey. How does it perform out on the open road?

On the highway, the Journey is quiet, and of course, around town it is quiet as well, even with the winter tires that my tester is sporting. Those winters certainly are not doing much for steering and road feel, but even if the Journey was running OEM tires I have a feeling the steering would still be on the light side, as it is positively numb.

But that’s okay; remember, this is not a sports sedan. It is a family hauler with close ties to the Dodge Caravan minivan. The Journey can maneuver in tight spaces if you can see where you are going, as the turning circle is good.

But visibility is the issue in the Journey. The A pillars are massive, the mirrors are of average size for a vehicle in this class and the rear window is positively useless. With the third row up, forget seeing behind you when reversing. With the seat down it is slightly better, but not much — afraid of running over kids or bicycles when reversing out of your driveway? Make sure you pay for the backup camera option, as backing up the Journey is really a blind affair.

The 3.6-litre engine is potent but the transmission shifts quickly into the higher gears, which makes the Journey feel slow unless you really stomp on it. It does promote fuel-conscientious driving though, unless you get frustrated and mash the pedal to the floor.

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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Ater a week with the Journey I have come to the conclusion that I still believe the Journey is good value, but only if you stay below the R/T trim and keep it front wheel drive. Unfortunately in all-wheel drive R/T trim the Journey becomes pricey and a gas guzzler.

With mostly highway driving this week the best I could do was 11.7L/100km with a gentle throttle at most times. Perhaps the Journey could improve its efficiency by up to 10 percent if it was not still fitted with winter tires.

A comfortable family hauler with lots of cargo space and flexibility — to make it better it just needs a little more engine efficiency in these days of high fuel prices.

*Rating out of 5: