General Comments:
This car is, without a doubt, the best riding, best driving, most solid built vehicle I have ever owned.
We purchased this vehicle partly because of our growing family, and partly because of our last vehicle becoming more and more problematic. Our 09 Camry was initially decent, but after numerous recalls and numerous quality issues, we decided it was time for a change. We started looking for a minivan, but my wife decided she was "not ready for minivan phase" yet.
We like the concept of the Ford Edge that I currently drive, but there is not enough room for long weekend road trips for a family of four and a golden retriever.
We test drove a Tahoe and the new Durango, both great SUV's, but with V8 economy, and near 50K price tags, and no need for towing, we opted against them. We looked into our Journey after my wife's co-worker mentioned how much she likes hers. We test drove one, and drove it home that day.
First of all, the quality of this car is astounding. This is the first Dodge I've owned, and I must say I am impressed with the fit and finish. My Edge is nice also, but truth be told, the Journey takes the cake in overall design and craftsmanship. The touchscreen controls are phenomenal. Everything is easy to read and very user friendly. The gauges and info center are very nicely laid out and easy to read. Seats are comfortable in the front and middle row, back seats would be fine for short trips, but I wouldn't want to take a day trip in them. However, they fold flat, which makes for great cargo space.
The interior is dead quiet, even at 80mph. The powertrain is absolutely seamless. The 3.6 motor runs out great, is quiet and very smooth. My Edge has Ford's 3.5 engine, which is also a great engine, and if we were to race the two, the Edge would take it. Luckily, these two vehicles were not made for the race track, and provide fine performance for their class. We took our Journey on a trip from New York to Florida to visit family, and we managed 24 mpg. I was very happy, especially since we have AWD and were loaded down.
We have just over 13K miles on our Journey and have not had any issues. I know this is still early, but this car seems to be in a class of its own. Our dealer has been great. Not only through the sale, but even for our scheduled maintenance. I also feel my family is safe in the Journey. It has a 5 star crash rating for both front and side. We have been impressed so far, and quite honestly, I'm jealous the wife gets to drive it. If everything holds up, we may just have two Journeys sometime down the road.
