acceleration

[Paul Bhalla]

i have a 2010 dodge journey sxt and i dont know if anyone else has this problem but when i ever i accelerate you can feel the car change gears!

also when you accelerate if speeds up pretty slow for a V6 !

[Germax]

Be happy that you have the 3.5 and not the 2.4. The Journey is a heavy car and the 235 HP is enough to drive in today traffic. I am also not totally happy with the set up, but I did not buy it for the Hemi feeling.

[bigtsr]

I originally looked at buying a DJ in early 2010 and test drove 2.4/auto

the performance was so disappointing with regards to getting out of

bad situations requiring acceleration that I could not see trading at

that time.

This year I drove the the Pentastar/6spd auto and bought one,man

what a difference with regard to power on demand.

Regarding the feeling the tranny shift that comes with the standard

design of the automatics since day one,I traded my'07 Dodge Caliber

2.0L/CVT and admit it's going to take rethinking with regards feeling the

tranny shifting.

[frank b]

With most vehicules, you are bound to feel a slight knock between shifts when accelerating hard at wot.

You can expect totally seemless shifts w/ an automatic when you buy an audi, bimmer, mercedes and what not with their fancy 6+ spd transmissions.

I find that the journey's 6spd transmission is very smooth and works pretty seemlessly when driving "normally" which is when it matters the most, even compared to the competition.

It's not underpowered, it's just not quick...

Let's put things in perspective, yes it's heavy and yes, 235hp is not a lot when you compare to the newer sorentos, equinox, etc. But just a few years back, it was adequate and on par with the competition.

The overall hp increase in most crossover suvs came bout 2 years ago when manufacturers of the santa fes/sorentos, equinox, escape were redesigned and/or introduced newer v6's.

IE in 08 : escape @ 200hp, equinox @ 185hp, santa fe @ 240 hp, crv @ n-a, nissan @ n-a, rav4 @ 269hp, grand vitara @ 185hp - so it used to fit right in there with most crossovers in that price range.

Previous to my owning the journey I owned a car that does a 0-60 of 5.6 secs app. and runs a 13.9 1/4 mile. So hey, the journey would have 400hp I'd be happy.

But I find that it scoots along fine, besides speed with two kids in the back is a big no-no and it has never run out of steam on me.

[Jonathan]

It is a shame they did not put the Pentastar V6 in them earlier. The acceleration from that engine is very impressive given the weight of the vehicle. I have also been very surprised by the fuel economy.

[dodgeman324]

Yeah I have an 11 with Pentastar and love it. Best most torquey V6 I've every driven. I bought mine in Colorado, at an elevation of over 6000 ft, and it was quick there, scooted along the highways and city great. Then, we just recently moved to Oklahoma at maybe 300 ft above sea level, and wow, now it really screams (for a V6). Lets just say, mine is AWD, and I can bark the tires at stoplights/stopsigns, then traction control kicks in dropping torque, but if you turn off the traction control, it's fun. Not great for the tranny, but I occasionally like to have fun when my wife ain't riding along.

[diggit]

Might want to check your engine air filter. I had the same feeling on my '10 sxt but it got better after I vacuumed the filter . I'm waiting on a K&N replacement now. Should notice a big improvement after that.

[b1pig]

it nags at me a bit... but... "feeling" the transmission shift gears is perfectly normal. the "firmness" is more or less whats important. if its too firm or too soft (oozes into gear). The CVT my in-laws' freestyle doesnt have gears, so you never feel it.

besides that.

i have a 2011 with the Pentastar and 6spd. i love it. its been a long time since i've had something with this much power driving the front wheels. the Journey is pretty heavy, but that new engine hauls it around with authority. the car we traded for the Journey was a 2010 Challenger SE with the 3.5 and 5spd auto. it hauled butt, even with "only" a 250hp/250tq rating.

[dodgeman324]

Yeah this Pentastar has won me over. Now, I still miss my two HEMI's I traded in for our Journey, but for this size crossover and being almost a minivan, it really has a nice kick. Just earlier today on my way home from work, I took an on-ramp onto a highway I usually don't take because it's a very short merge lane, I'm talking maybe 100 feet before the side guardrail, and the road just before the on-ramp is 25mph and the highway is 65mph so in that short time you have to get up to speed quick or else hit the wall or hit another car. So, I punched it to the floor and quickly forgot about the torque-steer to the right so had to quickly grip steering wheel for dear life and look to see if my "slot" in the lane was clear. Awesome!!!

[nwaring]

My wife drives our 2011 Journey but back in the summer I had it once and I accelerated hard from a standing stop but the tongue steer was so bad I had to back off...has anyone else experienced this? Her car is the V6 (pentastar) and AWD. One of her previous cars was an Acura MDX with a big v6, front wheel drive with the rear drive on demand and it didn't do this. I thought it was pretty scary and haven't tried it again. Thoughts?

Thanks