ChrisPollard Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 We've had our Journey almost two weeks now, and yesterday I spent 14 hours behind the wheel, putting on 800 miles. (798.5 if you're splitting hairs.) Here are my observations. 1) After about 4 hours, the bolstering in the seat bottom became noticeable in my leg. It took me a couple of shuffles in my seat to find a spot that it wasn't digging in a little funny. On the other hand, the seat BACK and headrest were phenomenal! Extreme comfort there. First vehicle I've ever sat in that I could lean my head back on the headrest and still feel like I was upright, not leaning back. 2) The shift lever is not in a great spot if you want to pass rapidly and manually drop two gears to do it. In drive, it falls part way into my forearm, and I have to jam my arm into the seatback to get it down into the manual shift zone. On the other hand, if they had moved it forward, and put the cup holders behind it, I'd have to reach through the drinks to shift anyway. So all things considered, I think this was the right move. I'd rather reach back a little than knock my drinks over. 3) [note, this is the 4cyl, 4sp Journey, not the 3.6/6sp] It takes a conscious effort to perform a fast passing maneuver. I'm not saying it can't be done, or takes far more effort than it should. I'm comparing to my traded in 2003 Sebring with the 2.7L 200hp V6 (before they detuned the 2.7). All I had to do in the 'bring was push the pedal a little bit, and it was gone. The 2.4 does have less power, and the DJ is a fair bit heavier - so I was fully expecting this. It was just the first time I've had a chance to try it out. lol That said, when you drop the gears and sink the pedal, this thing boogies - even with the 4 banger! 4) I find the cruise control very smooth. I've driven several vehicles from various manufacturers, and many of them have a noticeable on/off with the cruise. This one is as seamless as I've ever experienced. VERY nice. 5) Does very well on large hills. If anyone else has ever driven down 53 through Wisconsin, you know the mini mountains I'm talking about. Or some of the monsters through the Canadian Shield in NW Ontario. I knew how tough some of those slopes were from all of my previous vehicles, so I was curious how the DJ would be on them. There were some I was surprised it didn't downshift. For a small engine in a big vehicle, it pulled along very well. I was very happy with it. 6) Highway fuel economy has been great. I had about 300 miles of city driving on it when I left home, and the economy (switched to US units) was reading 19 when I left. It's now reading 27.5 after the drive. (33 CDN) So, for not technically being "broken in" yet, with just over 1100 miles on the odometer, I'm really quite happy with my mileage! I filled up when we crossed the border at International Falls, MN ... and I filled up with between 1/4 and 1/8th of a tank left at Wisconsin Dells. I probably could have made Madison, but it might have been pushing it. 7) My daughter (8 next week) needs to learn how climate controls works. She was driving my wife an I bonkers with her controls. She'd crank the heat full, fan full, and then we'd get hot up front, turning our controls down. Then she'd crank the heat all the way over to cold ... so we'd have to turn ours up to compensate. It was only after it started to get light out that I noticed it was always just after her arm would reach up, we'd have to change our temps. LOL So she got quickly schooled in how to choose a comfortable temperature and LEAVE IT THERE!!! No problems with wildly changing temps after that. It was a fantastic drive though. Couldn't be happier with our Journey - even if a Bald Eagle in Minnesota thought it would be fun to fly straight at me with a rabbit in it's talons. Was very cool to watch it snatch it off the side of the road and fly off with it. And it cleared the roof by a couple of feet. One of those moments you wish you could have had a video camera pointed in the right direction. I'll reserve comments on Chicago drivers on the toll road though. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrlux Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Good report. Looking forward to my first long trip now that I have read your review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powdered Toast Man Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 You should see what it's like with the 3.6! I've driven over to Kenora and it's amazing on the hills. Pull out and pass - uphill - with 5 adults in the car - no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPollard Posted October 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 Those hills through Kenora don't stack up to some of the ones going through the middle of Wisconsin. But I'm sure the Pentastar hauls. Too bad you can't get it without jumping a couple of trim levels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPollard Posted October 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 Finally got 007 waxed today - here are some pics! http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/index.php?/gallery/album/99-007/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPollard Posted November 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Well, we're getting ready for the 800 mile trek home tomorrow, and for the last two days my wife has been freaked out about if we'll fit everything in that we've ... acquired ... during our holiday. This includes all of the Christmas presents from her family. This thing is a CAVERN!! Granted, I DID fold down the passenger side back seat, so my daughter loses the armrest on the drive home, but I still have room for more - without stacking things to the roof! I should actually have rear window visibility, which surprised me. I thought everything would fit just fine, but I thought things would be packed to the roof doing it. One of the items is a 55" snow sled ... which fits remarkably well from the rear hatch to about an inch before where the dog's carrier will sit. VERY impressive stuff! Looking forward to the drive home, but not so much going back to work Monday. LOL Ah well, the fun has to end eventually, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug D Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 7) My daughter (8 next week) needs to learn how climate controls works. She was driving my wife an I bonkers with her controls. She'd crank the heat full, fan full, and then we'd get hot up front, turning our controls down. Then she'd crank the heat all the way over to cold ... so we'd have to turn ours up to compensate. It was only after it started to get light out that I noticed it was always just after her arm would reach up, we'd have to change our temps. LOL So she got quickly schooled in how to choose a comfortable temperature and LEAVE IT THERE!!! No problems with wildly changing temps after that. You can solve this by putting the controls on "your" control and not hers - then it won't matter if she does do anything with the controls. At least we could in our '09 & '10 SXT's. Have a safe trip home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtsr Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 In my '11 SXT you can turn the rear climate controls off from the touch screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPollard Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) Yeah, I know they can be turned off, but we want to let her be able to make her own comfort level, so I don't have to mess with it while driving. It's something new, that she's not used to. She'll get it figured out quickly. Heck, I know adults who still don't understand the concept of adjusting the temps a little bit - and do exactly what she did, full hot, or full cold, and back again. lol Put over 3300km 3800km (3837.9 actually) behind the driver's seat the last two weeks. Got to test the brakes on several deer last night too. They work! :P Can't say enough good things about this vehicle. Edited November 8, 2011 by ChrisPollard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windancer Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) Just wanted to say that the first 4500 kms. on my vehicle were on a Kayaking trip on Vancouver Island in September 2010. I filled the car up 12 times an averaged 11.7 according to My Fuelly. It was very comfortable and a pleasure to drive, My R/T has every available option on it and I must admit the Sirius sattelite radio was a welcome addition going through the mountains. Terry http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/index.php?/gallery/member/2388-windancer/ Edited November 8, 2011 by Windancer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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