Video: 2009 Dodge Journey

So we're gonna give you a quick lesson right now. The toughest thing for people to wrap their heads around is the size of the Dodge Journey. It's actually 190 inches long, which is longer than something like a Toyota Highlander. It comes with either two or three rows. The third row is optional to a competes against the two row Ford Edge or the three rows like a Toyota Highlander and Honda pilot. One big difference between the Journey and most of its competition is the fact that it comes standard with a 4-cylinder engine. Most of the competition comes standard with the V6. You can get a V6 optional with the Journey, but having that 4-cylinder option starts at under $20,000. And none of the competition comes close to that. Chrysler products, Dodge among them, have kind of gotten knocked recently for interior quality. Lots of people, point to big bulky plastic doors or dashboards. And the Journey is kind of in the middle of repairing that opinion. There are still plenty of big bulky plastics around. But a lot of the finishes, especially around the button areas and stacks are much improved. We do have some real questions about who built this thing, because some of it's just plain odd. While the finishes and the buttons are really nice, kinda slopes downward and pushes all the information downwards. What do we mean by that? Well, up top, we have this cubby and then you can throw stuff in, but it's really up high and hard to reach for a cubby. And it'd be much better to have an information display there, like Ford and a lot of other models have, instead of display way down here by your hand and where the shifter is. So if you're driving, you're looking forward and you just want to check the time, you've got to look down here. So you're really distracting yourself just to get a look at the time. Because that is trying to get the best of both worlds with this optional third row, it kinda sacrifice the second row room. As you can see the front seat, driver's seat here is where I was when I was driving. And my knees are very close to the back. Not up against it by any means, but it just doesn't give you the feeling of a lot of room. Luckily, the seat back does recline. So you're not always sitting up this high or this straight up. So that's nice. And that lean actually helps out quite a bit. Underneath the floor in the second row are actually two large cubbies that are waterproof. So if you have a six pack of soda or juice or something nutritious, you can put it there for the kids or other passengers. Now there is a third row as an option, as we said before. It's pretty easy to get to. There's a handle at the top of the second row seats that you just pull forward. Slide the second row seat up. Step in. Sit back and you pull the seat back towards you. The only problem is it locks in that first position. So if someone wants more room up there, they're gonna have to do it themselves. So now, I'm sitting with the second row slid all the way back, which gives second row passengers, just enough room as I showed you before. And then the third row passenger, if you're a full-sized adult like me, you're pretty squished. My knee is totally up against the seat back. My feet do not fit underneath or flat on the floor. At least straight. It would be a very uncomfortable ride. Like most real Crossovers of any size, the cargo area with all three rows up, it's gonna be pretty small. We went to just small suitcase in it, which fits fine. When you take it out, you can see there's enough room for a small grocery run. Now to fold the third row flat, it's pretty easy just pull that there. The headrests actually automatically pulled forward after a certain point. And everything falls flat. For frugal shoppers, the Journey offers a lot of room, a lot of space, a lot of size, for very little money. But if you're just looking for the best of the best of either a three row or two row Crossover, there are better out there. <v Speaker>For additional information on this car or any other, go to cars.com and our blog KickingTires.