The Journey could do with some more polish, as evidenced by its noisy diesel engine and somewhat tardy response of the double-clutch gearbox.
The cabin is roomy, hugely versatile and packed with the kind of storage that family buyers will come to love.
There’s a strong whiff of 4WD in its chunky looks and flexible sevenseat cabin but scan the specifications and you won’t find four-wheel-drive. It is a front-wheel-drive.
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Prices start at $36,990 for the base SXT and for that you get a decent array of gear, including three-zone climate control, cruise control, power seats, six-stack CD player, alarm and 17-inch alloy wheels.
No NCAP crash-test data is available, either, so we’ll have to wait to see how it stacks up in independent testing.
Let’s work backwards. The Journey’s final-row seating is a handy repository for children. Adults, too, should find it acceptable, if a little tight on legroom. A sliding/reclining middlerow bench remedies that shortcoming but those occupants will need to compromise on legroom that is somewhat limited to begin with.
Still, if the Dodge isn’t a natural for transporting seven adults, there’s more than enough space and seating flexibility to keep bigger family buyers happy.
Similar to other flexible sevenseaters, the boot is small with all seats occupied but an underfloor bin adds welcome capacity. A 12-volt outlet, bag hooks, tie-downs and removable/ rechargeable torch are other nice touches but a space-saver spare tyre is a minus.
With the final-row seats folded, the boot is handily sized and pleasantly free from intrusion. Fold the middlerow seats flat and you open up a 1497-litre, box-shaped space that will cope with everything a family can throw in it.
There’s plenty of small-item storage too, including big door pockets, covered bins, cup/bottle holders galore, a chilled glovebox, a handy bin under the front passenger’s seat and two removable underfloor bins that each swallow 12 soft-drink cans, with ice.
The 110 kW, 2.0-litre CRD turbodiesel four-cylinder can’t match the 136 kW petrol V6 for power but has more torque (310 Nm versus 256 Nm).
It’s also a lot more economical, using 7.0 L/100 km in the official combined test compared to the petrol’s 10.3 L.
But the CRD isn’t a natural sprinter - not with a 1700 kg-plus bulk to overcome anyway - and it’s not particularly refined, either, with an intrusive diesel thrum at idle and under load.
The Journey responds lazily and rolls noticeably when hurried through the bends. The steering, too, while consistent and linear, could do with more weighting and feel.
It responds faithfully, is thoroughly predictable and grips like a limpet.
The ride is admirably supple. Most surface niggles are shrugged off effortlessly, while bigger bumps are sensed more than felt. Wind and tyre noise are also well suppressed.
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