Dodge makes its own luck with the Journey

That’s the good news, but the Journey does have its problems. A clever design and sapient features make the Journey’s mediocre execution all the more frustrating. What should be a slam-dunk obvious choice for frugal families is instead a tempered recommendation, softened by disappointing details. Designers specified soft materials in some areas of the cabin, but other parts are blighted by more of the kind of cheesy plastic that gives Velveeta a bad name.

The worst detail is in the plainest view — a failing that should cost someone their job. 

The upper door trim, the part you see first upon opening the Journey’s door, has sharp visible molding lines with excess flashing around the edges. But the real piece of aesthetic resistance is the door lock button. The Journey has old-style buttons that pop straight up through the top of the window sill. It’s standard practice to surround the hole through which the button protrudes with a trim bezel, and Dodge does exactly this on other models. But incredibly, someone concluded that the little plastic doughnut that hides atrocities like rough-hewn edges was too costly, and it’s missing.

Consumers and car reviewers will cut an automaker some slack when they feel they are doing their level best, even when they make mistakes. But it’s hard to believe the interior trim in the Journey represents anyone’s best effort, even considering the cost constraints applied by the bean counters.

There are other drawbacks. On the road, the Journey’s drivetrain refinement falls short of Honda’s benchmark, but it’s still plenty smooth and quiet, even with the base four-cylinder engine. That engine also works well enough at around-town speeds, but it struggles to maintain highway speeds, a challenge that is exacerbated by the paucity of gears in the automatic transmission. While the more burley V-6 engine enjoys a six-speed automatic, the four-cylinder, which really needs all the help it can get to move a 3,800-pound vehicle, is saddled with an old-tech four-speed.

The four-cylinder needs a downshift to climb even modest grades in the Interstate, but it doesn’t need the high-revving passing gear downshift to third gear wrought by the four-speed transmission. A milder shift from sixth to fifth gear would be less jarring and would still let the four-cylinder power plant haul the Journey up hills.

On balance, Chrysler’s engineers and designers have proved the benefit of their experience building cars for families on a budget. And, considering the company’s recent moves to correct similar flaws in existing models, I expect they’ll fix the last few defects in the Journey with a refresh as soon as possible.

So with some more practice, Dodge can improve the luck of its customers, something even Michael Jordan couldn’t do.

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