2009 Dodge Journey Review

The interior materials represent a step forward for Dodge. While there is still evidence of the cheap plastic that has plagued recent Dodge releases, there are also more soft-touch materials that look and feel more substantial than those of the Dodge Caliber, for instance. The improvement is most evident in the R/T model, which has a black dash center section that, while plastic, looks good and feels better than the plastic center stack in the SE and SXT models.

That center stack contains an easy-to-use climate control system with three knobs and eight buttons. The radio can be a little complicated, especially when ordered with the available MyGIG Infotainment System, which includes a navigation system and a hard drive to hold songs, pictures and map information. The radio and navigation controls are set low, with many buttons that will take some time to learn. The navigation/MyGIG screen is set at the top of the cluster, so occupants will have to move their eyes up and down to change settings and see their effects.

The driver's seat offers plenty of head and leg room for just about any occupant. The view is generally unobstructed front and rear. It is the unique storage and convenience features, however, that really make Journey shine. Up front, models without the navigation system get a storage bin in the top of the center stack. All Journeys have a dual-level glove box with Dodge's Chill Zone up top. Chill Zone uses the air conditioning system to keep up to four soda cans cool.

The Journey's center console/armrest has a lid that slides forward three inches. It has enough storage space for up to 10 DVD cases. Two cupholders are located in front of the console, along with a tray for cell phones and the like. An additional, more discreet storage space is standard in SXT and R/T models. The front passenger seat bottom flips up to reveal a storage bin that has about enough room for a good-sized purse. The seat back also folds flat, allowing items up to 9-feet long to be loaded into the Journey. And to help drivers keep an eye on the kids, Dodge provides a traditional minivan feature, a fisheye conversation mirror.

The second row is equally as ingenious. The three-passenger bench seat is 1.6 inches higher than the front seat to give passengers a better view of the road and front passengers. It slides forward and back up to 4.7 inches in seven-passenger models, and can be ordered with integrated child booster seats for the outboard positions. The Journey also has two in-floor storage bins with removable liners. Each bin can hold up to six soda cans plus ice. The seat backs are split 60/40 and fold flat. When the optional Flexible Seating Group is ordered, the second-row seats fold in a scissors action, with the seat bottoms tilting up, the seatbacks tilting forward, and the seats sliding forward, to provide easy access to the third row. The rear doors also open 90 degrees, making ingress/egress easy.

The SE model comes with seating for five, but the SXT and R/T can be ordered with the Flexible Seating Group, which expands seating capacity to seven. The third row is 0.6 inches higher than the second row, is split 50/50, and folds flat. Dodge says it offers enough head room for a 95th-percentile male. That's all well and good, but leg room is tight and the bottom cushion is low to the floor, so adults sit with their knees at their chins. It will be possible to fit seven adults in the Journey, but the third-row passengers and second-row middle occupant will be none too happy about it. Younger children will have plenty of room, though.

Both the five- and seven-passenger Journeys have a shallow under floor storage bin that runs from the back of the vehicle to just behind the last row of seats. That means the