KEY POINTS:
What's new?
The Journey is the first Dodge to offer widespread appeal to Kiwis.
Very soft-roader in dimensions (similar to the Ford Territory and Toyota Highlander), it's a front-drive wagon with three rows of seats, family-friendly features and a pair of engines powerful enough to cope without gulping fuel at too greedy a rate.
The company line
Macho looks with family-friendly performance; Dodge expects to make the Journey its biggest seller here, although that's not difficult given the current line-up. Marketing manager Stephen Bowater says the R/T will be the most popular.
What we say
The $39,990 SXT base car is impressive. The central second row makes a better armrest than a regular seat, but the Journey offers three rows of pews, with the rears easily accessed and all or any folding flat into the floor.
We'd go for the SXT, powered by the 2.7 V6 petrol engine with 136kW and 256Nm, mated to a six-speed auto. Claimed thirst is 10.3l/100km - and I saw 10.9 at launch.
The $45,990 petrol R/T offers more goodies such as heated leather seats and bigger wheels, as does the $51,990 2.0l turbo diesel, with its 7.0l/100km thirst and double-clutch auto transmission made with Getrag. Cheaper to run, but it'll take a while to make up the price premium.
Still, the Journey is family-friendly. There's stain-resistant seat cloth, six airbags including three-row curtain airbags, ESP and ABS, as well as electronic roll mitigation and trailer sway control. That means the electronic nannies will detect the boat trailer is starting to fishtail, and use brake and throttle control to bring it back into line.
On the road
The punchy diesel is well-matched to the clever transmission, but the petrol also does a decent job of shifting this big wagon. Neither engine will set your undies alight but they will accelerate or overtake happily and offer quiet open road cruising.
Otherwise, forget flabby Americans; the Journey gets a tighter, Euro-flavoured suspension tune. It's not an incisive corner carver but that's not what family-friendly wagons are about. It's a comfy ride, with not too much noise on our coarse chip roads which bodes well for when the Journey hits New Zealand on October 23.
Why you'll buy one
You'll like gizmos such as the optional $3500 MyGig entertainment system with its reverse camera and ability to keep the kids happy via DVDs or PlayStation, plus Bluetooth headsets.
If you need a big wagon, you need the adaptability of fold-flat seats, yet standard MPVs look too boring and you don't need thirsty 4WD. You will appreciate the storage: the can-chillers, underfloor bins, rechargeable LED torch and so on.
Why you won't
If you want four-wheel-drive, or a true three-seat second row; you don't like the cheap-looking dash plastics or the diesel's hefty premium.
