Room for Everything in Dodge Journey
Guest Contributor
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Road trips with teens, especially teens who golf, require a vehicle with plenty of space–space for the teens and space for their golf gear. The Dodge Journey I drove for nine days from San Diego to Santa Barbara to tour colleges fit the bill. Mostly.
Plusses to the Dodge Journey
On this road trip through Southern California, we hit a lot of traffic. Having a car that is comfortable and safe was important. Among the best features of the Dodge Journey:
Lots of special features that come standard. For example: auto-dimming rear-view mirror, front passenger seat in-seat storage, tire pressure monitoring display and remote start system.
Great look, inside and out. The interior had power leather seats, console for storage, temperature controls in the back and plenty of air vents overhead.
Third row seats. Traveling with just four people, we didn’t need the third row for passengers on this trip but we did need it for golf clubs and luggage.
Great gas mileage. We did a lot of highway travel and definitely felt like we achieved 25mpg as projected.
Voice controls. Steering wheel voice controls for the radio and phone came in handy when navigating seven lanes of highway traffic.
Storage: front seat in-seat storage is a great place for maps and ice scrapers and in floor storage in the 2nd row for golf shoes or an emergency kit plus fold-flat seats (even the front passenger seat folds flat).
Trunk Storage: big enough for a set of clubs and luggage for 4 but not big enough for same set of clubs packed in a travel case. Had to put the 2nd and 3rd? row seat down to fit.
Passing power: Quick pick-up for quick passes and quick lane changes.
Minuses of the Dodge Journey
The front end feels huge. The dash is enormous and I was constantly on alert that someone might clip me. I stayed away from lanes with cement dividers.
Cumbersome and unreliable navigation system. We often had to refer back to our phones to double check the instructions on the nav.
Plus and minus:
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Drives like a truck. The vehicle feels safe and solid and was easy to drive long distances. Visibility was somewhat difficult at night. Driving a truck long distances can be tiring.
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