First week impressions-2015 Journey

[RetiredChief]

Hello y'all!

First week of ownership and wanted to put out my honest feelings about my new Journey.

Despite all of the bad reviews of this model, no matter where you look. It is blatantly apparent that no automotive

tester has little good to say about these cars. Unless it's an import they are testing. Then they get rave reviews.

Anyhow, I truly think they have hired Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder to do the reviews.

Truth be told, I love Chrysler products. Have only had a couple that weren't up par on certain things.

Data: 2015 Journey SE/AVP 2.4L I4

Miles: 655

Date of Purchase: 6-11-15

Appearance: Excellent quality paint and fitment of doors, hood, hatchback. Interior panels snug and secure. Doors seal tightly with no

wind or water leaks.

Ride Quality: Excellent with good control over mountain roads and interstate travel. Very low road noise migrates into the cabin.

Handling : Really nice tight turning radius! No drifting or tire grab during lane changes. Not a sports car, but good solid steering feel and

control on tight country roads.

Braking: Smooth and quiet with no pulsations.

Visibility: Very good, despite the large A pillar design which makes you look twice just to make sure. Same as every other vehicle made

today. Rear door windows are large and help in those over the shoulder or merging situations.

Cargo Capacity: Will hold pretty much $600 worth of groceries! We shop once a month and the Journey swallowed it all with no problem!

Performance and Fuel Economy: The 2.4 VVT is not the anemic slug people describe it as. Your not going to due burnouts like John Force with it, but

during normal driving it accelerates smoothly and allows for good merging on acceleration ramps into traffic.

Even in the upper rpm ranges (4000-5500) it doesn't sound like it wants to explode from the strain. Good mid range torque for it's displacement. The 4 speed auto may be outdated, but paired with this engine it works well, keeping it in the power band without a lot of upshifting and downshifting.

I took a 315 mile trip on Thursday with it. Combination of Interstate and 62 miles over the Great Smokey Mtn Parkway. Parkway grades are between 5 and 8%. The Journey never strained to maintain 73 mph(Interstate) on the hills in East TN and NC. Pulling up over the parkway was no issue. The auto stick is wonderful on those long steep down grades, 2nd gear was all that was needed to maintain 30-35 mph coming down the twisty mountain roads.

Average fuel economy for the 315 mile loop was 28.3 mpg, and hand calculated came up with 28.1 mpg.

Accessories: The base radio and 4.3 uconnect work great. Best sounding stock sound system I have ever had in a vehicle. Yeah even listening to AC/DC and ZZ Top!

I am extremely happy with my purchase. We will see how it does over the long term.

[dhh3]

You could have not said it any better. It's almost like taking the words out of my mouth. A year ago next week, I went to my local Dealer to purchase a Cherokee Trailhawk. However, as soon as I laid eyes on my Copperhead Pearl beauty, I knew that I had to have it. I only drove around the lot - never took it for a test drive! All the salesman had to say was to point out the stitched leather on the doors! Anyhow, I just turned over 6,000 miles, and I have 0 issues to date. It will be getting its second oil change next week. I have done a few modifications to it, but there is not much out there DJ specific. I will run out of time before miles, concerning my warranty! I can't say anymore that you have already said.

The auto writers complain that the DJ has not had any major modifications during its lifetime (have they ever looked inside?), but the GM triplets just got their first upgrade in over 7 years - new tail lights and grills, but no one says a word. I still consider it Government Motors and will NEVER consider another GM product because for years people were dying in their vehicles (ignition switches) and swept it under the carpet. GM will not uphold warranties from the "Old GM". People are stuck. Chrysler is honoring pre-bankruptcy warranty work.

[RetiredChief]

My only regret is that they did not offer the Copperhead Pearl on the '15 models. That's what I really wanted.

Sadly finances didn't allow for the purchase of a '14 model. I found a couple of '14 models used with 30-44K on

them. And they wanted as much for a new 15 with a full warranty. It made my choice a no brainer.

GM has nothing out there that trips my trigger. Rounded corners, pretty blah designs. And I don't even look at

Ford.

I call the Journey a 3/4 sized Durango. Coming at you it's almost hard to tell the difference.

Chrysler has taken longer to come up into technology than other makes. And they have been criticized for it.

Much of the issues in reviews and owner complaints I believe are either buyers remorse or overly high expectations.

If you as a buyer, are not willing to compromise in one way or the other, you will be unhappy. The best you can do

is find the vehicle that will suit MOST of your expectations.

You cant make everyone happy all the time.

Edited June 20, 2015 by RetiredChief

[Journeyman425]

I call the Journey a 3/4 sized Durango. Coming at you it's almost hard to tell the difference.

That is exactly how I describe my Journey to people when asked about it (so many still do not know what a Journey is - unless you live in Canada!) Anyway, it;s great to read about your positive experiences. I feel pretty certain that you will still feel this way later on down the road.Two years and 40K miles later, I sure do. Last week we drove 600 miles in one day for our son's baseball state semi-finals, and I was so glad to be making the trip in this car. Super comfortable, 28.1 MPG, smooth and silent. We love the car and it is the perfect fit for my family of four.

[bramfrank]

I'm on my 2nd (the 1st was an '11 SE Plus). Your experience with the 4 banger echoes mine - I don't push the 6 in my '14 often, and I never had any issues in either highway or city driving with the 4, but if you've had the 4 and get the 6 you will see a major difference when you go to pass at highway speeds - but it also shows up at the pump at ANY speed.

I do find that the 6 shifts a lot, I suppose that is to be expected; that it shits 50% more often than the 4 speed. I also find it needs a bit of reprogramming in that it likes to engine brake on deceleration - I would expect them to let it freewheel more, rather than downshift - if I want engine braking I think I can figure out how to use the manual override.

But as mentioned, the stock sound system is amazing for the vehicle - given what people say about the premium sound I am very happy I didn't opt for the factory nav, which would have given me that package. It meant that I did my own GPS update and added my own backup camera, because of the way the vehicles are optioned up in Canada - but the inconvenience as minor at best, since I learned a lot about the way the vehicle is built by doing the installs myself.

One major recommendation I have is that given the amount of expensive electronics in the vehicle, if you plan to keep it longer than the basic warranty, a factory extended warranty is likely a good investment.

[silenze]

Warranty is a good idea. Especially if your transmission shits