When I was a young lad growing up, North American cars dominated the market. The Chrysler Corporation had its Plymouth at the lower end, with Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler in ascending order up to the Imperial at the top, prestige segment of the market. General Motors had its Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac divisions occupying a similar footing on the ladder. Then there were names that have long since been forgotten, like Willys, Nash, Hudson, Studebaker and Packard, with even less well known makes like, Auburn, Cord, Graham, Kaiser, Frazer and others. Willys, famous for their World War Two Jeep, tended to specialise in more modest sized cars, while most of the others went in for big, spacious, comfortable, family cars, while at the top Packard, Cadillac and Lincoln, were highly respected for their large luxurious cars.
Some makes were unfortunate and did not make it through the depression of the nineteen thirties, while others, having survived the depression and the war, then faded away in the nineteen fifties. There is absolutely no doubt that many manufacturers lost the plot in the late nineteen fifties and sixties, when planned obsolesce took hold and the cars were nothing more than oversized heaps of junk. Whereas in the thirties, post war forties and early nineteen fifties, North American cars commanded a huge export market all over the world, that desirable situation quickly faded away with the excesses of the late fifties, sixties and subsequent decades.
This Dodge Journey reminded me of those excellent North American cars of the late thirties, post war forties and early nineteen fifties. It is large and substantial, yet it is thoroughly practical and full of clever ideas, that makes life so much easier. Like those famous predecessors, it sells at a very, value for money price.

Looking at its practical qualities, it has a wheelbase longer than that of the Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz E-class and the Ford Mondeo, yet in overall length it is shorter than the Audi, marginally longer than the Mercedes and about 100 mm longer than the Mondeo. The other three are all five seaters, yet the Dodge Journey offers reasonable seating for seven adults. Although they are full size seats, the two rearmost seats are not ideal for adults over long distances, as kneeroom and headroom are restricted and because of the design of the lower section of the three centre row seats, footroom is very compromised. Children and young teenagers should have no such difficulties. The two rear most seats also fold down very easily and can be brought back into use just as easily. All it requires, in either direction, is a gentle pull on the appropriate strap. Access to those two rear seats is good too, as the outer centre row seat on either side, folds and slides forward to give very easy access. All that is required is a turn of the lever at the top of the seat and the cushion rises into a vertical position and the whole seat then slides forwards.
On many cars offering seven seats, luggage space is severely restricted when all seven seats are in use. The Dodge Journey offers 0.303 cubic metres, which is marginally better than popular small cars like the Ford Fiesta, Fiat Grande Punto and Peugeot 207. Fold those two rearmost seats and luggage space increases to 1.121 cubic metres, when loading to the roof, which is about twice as much as that offered by most large executive, cars, like the Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz E-class and Ford Mondeo. Load to lower window level and the space is still better than the three makes mentioned.

Above left : Seven seat luggage space
Above right : Tools and additional storage space below boot floor

Above left : Five seat luggage space ------------------ Above right : Two seat luggage space

The centre row seats are split 40/20/40, with the 20 section folding down to form a centre armrest with cupholders, when required. They are mounted on slides, so kneeroom can be adjusted to suit passengers in both the centre row and the rearmost two seats. The cushions in the two outer sections are clever too, as at the pull of a strap the front section rises up and comes to rest on top of the section behind it, thus forming a booster cushion for young children.
While the three centre row seat cushions are firm, the centre section is a little bit firmer. It is possible for an adult to sit here, but as always, it does compromise shoulder room for all three centre rear seat adult passengers. Because the cushion is a little bit firmer, an adult will also sit with their head in close proximity to the roof lining. This is due to another practical design feature of the Dodge Journey. It has separate air-conditioning for the whole rear seating area, with separate ventilators positioned in the roof lining. There is a separate panel in the centre console for this system.
All three centre rear seats are fitted with ISOfix fittings for child safety seats. While the outer positions provide anchorages for two hooks each, the centre section being narrower appears to offer just the one anchorage point. This allows you to seat two children side by side, which makes keeping an eye on them easier.
Finally in the footwells of the two outer seating positions there is a deep storage space, with a removable storage boxes.

Above : Folding centre armrest with cupholders
Below : Booster cushion for young children

Left : Below floor storage with removable box

Clever storage spaces are not confined to the rear seating area. The front passenger seat cushion lifts, to give access to a storage space below it and there is a refrigerated storage space in the upper section of the facia, ahead of the front passenger seat. The lower section of the facia has the normal glovebox below the refrigerated space. The glovebox is, however, rather small. Finally there is a storage box below the armrest between the two front seats.

At the top of the centre console, there is a small, covered storage space, with the two large ventilation outlets below it. Then there is a row of switches for the hazard flashers, headlamp levelling and to deactivate the electronic stability programme. Immediately below that there is a panel that controls the heating and ventilation for the front seating area. Interestingly this panel indicated the selected heat in Fahrenheit, rather than the more common Centigrade temperatures. Driver and front passenger can each select their preferred options. A smaller panel, with a single rotary knob below that, controls the air-conditioning for the rear seating area. Then at the bottom of the stack there is a large panel for the audio system controls. This panel also incorporates a digital clock.

The main analogue instruments are in a rectangular binnacle behind the steering wheel. This was obviously given to the newest apprentice designer as his/her first project. While the central instrument, the speedometer, is visible at all times, those on either side are completely obscured by one’s hands on the steering wheel when driving. As the above picture shows, they are largely obscured by the rim of the steering wheel, even when nobody’s hands are on it. The engine temperature and fuel gauges are on the left, with a digital compass and exterior temperature indicator below. On the right there is a tachometer, with digital readouts for trip and total distance recorders below. Lights and direction indicator controls, are on the left hand stalk, while wipers and washers are on the right hand stalk. Lower down on the right, below the stalk there is an additional protrusion for the cruise control.
A panel in the driver’s door pull has controls for the four electric windows, central locking/unlocking and the electrical adjustments for the exterior rear view mirrors. The driver’s seat is electrically adjustable for reach, height and cushion tilt. There are also manual adjustments for lumbar support and backrest angle. The leather covered steering wheel adjusts manually for both reach and height. A box in the forward centre of the roof, in the region of the internal rear view mirror, provides storage for sunglasses, plus a mirror that enables front seat occupants to keep an eye on the rear seat passengers. This is very useful in a family car, where the rear seat occupants are mainly small children.
Apart from the extremities of the instrument panel, all the controls are easy to see and use and fall readily to hand when required.

From a practical point of view the Dodge Journey comes with roof rails and two adjustable crossbars fitted as standard. It is allowed to carry up to 68 kg on the roof. When it comes to towing, it can manage unbraked trailers of up to 450 kg, while trailers/caravans with brakes can go up to 1360 kg. While this may seem low for what is a large, executive segment car, it is as well to remember it has a modest 2.0 litre diesel engine.
As a family car, its forte is space, comfort, practicality and economy of operation. Its top speed is a more than satisfactory 188 kph (116 mph), with 0-100 kph acceleration in 11.6 seconds. Of far more interest is the fact that it is credited with 33 mpg on the urban cycle (8.4 lt/100 km), while on the extra urban cycle this soars up to a magical 52 mpg (5.4 lt/100 km). These impressive figures give a very satisfactory combined cycle average of 43 mpg (6.5 lt/100 km). Exhaust emissions with the six speed manual gearbox are 170 gm/km, putting the Dodge Journey into Irish road tax category D, which at current rates, extorts Euro 448 per year, for roads which are totally inadequate and which the authorities completely neglect to maintain.

Under the bonnet there is a 2.0 litre Volkswagen diesel engine, driving a six speed manual gearbox. Ratios third, fourth, fifth and sixth are all quite close to each other. The difference between the third overall ratio and sixth overall is 2.837, yet between second overall and third overall it is 2.761, almost the same for one change between second and third as for three changes between third and sixth. This means that around town and the suburbs you are pretty much confined to first and second. If you do get into third and the traffic slows even a bit you have to change down or risk stalling. Maximum torque is said to be available from 1,750 rpm, but there appears to be none below that speed. This was not helped by the gearchange, which seemed to like to go into third rather than first, unless you pushed it really brutally over to the left of the gate. All this would encourage me to opt for the alternative automatic transmission, but while performance remains very little inferior, fuel consumption and exhaust emissions rise, giving a figure of 186 gm/km which moves the car into category E, demanding 630 euro per year, at current rates. This is a massive step upwards, especially for families with children who are struggling to feed, cloth and educate them in these difficult times.
At speeds of over 2,000 rpm the engine starts to get a bit noisy, so if you are stuck behind traffic moving slowly along some of our narrow, inter town, rural roads, it begins to sound as if you are driving a commercial van with a less than cutting edge modern diesel engine. You do get used to it, but it is a case of having to, rather than wanting to. If you do find a decent road and can get it into fourth or above, allowing you to travel at a decent speed, whilst still keeping the revs around 2,000 rpm things become much more pleasant and soothing.

The steering is hydraulically power assisted, with a shade under 3.0 turns from lock to lock. It is easy enough to manoeuvre in tight spaces, whilst still requiring a bit of effort in the straight ahead position. One of the most difficult parts of manoeuvring in tight spaces, is the restricted visibility. The two large rear view mirrors do give a good view along each side, but trying to look through the car is complicated by the number of seat headrests cluttering up the space, besides the hefty roof pillars, and the fact that you are sitting up rather high. One of those audible warnings in the rear bumper, would be a great help in these circumstances.
Using MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link design at the rear, the suspension is pretty conventional by modern standards and gives a good, comfortable, well controlled ride. This car is ideal for Fingal’s roads, as when you come to its infamous potholes, you can Dodge-em.

Overall I liked the Dodge Journey, as it is so practical and full of novel ideas. This is the way things used to be all those years ago, with Yankee cars offering good sound motoring value. However, the best is still to come. As tested this Dodge carried a recommended retail selling price of Euro 27,995 ! That is outstanding value for money. It reminded me of the late nineteen forties when the new Standard Vanguard, with its two litre, four cylinder engine, sold for £600, while the Chevrolet Fleetmaster with its 3.8 litre, six cylinder engine, was just £580 ! The British designed and built Vanguard was a very good car, but the Fleetmaster offered a whole lot more for the money.
A couple of weeks ago, I tested an absolutely magnificent Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI, that cost Euro 28,510 with its optional extra alloy wheels. It was an engineering masterpiece ! Yet here is a North American car offering so much more, for around the same amount of money, even if it is not quite so technically perfect. This Dodge Journey has to be the Irish Family Car of the Year !

Technical data