2009 Dodge Journey Review

On the outside, the Journey announces its presence with the familiar Dodge crosshair grille. In a vacuum, the look might be described as bold. But the upright shape of the grille and its relation to the aluminum hood and windshield is very reminiscent of the current Dodge Grand Caravan, and no SUV ever earned sales by looking like a minivan.

Beneath the grille, the Journey has a larger air intake than the minivan. Actually, it runs the full width of the vehicle and is flanked on either side by integrated fog lights on the R/T model (fog lights are optional on other models). Around the sides, the Journey features pronounced wheel arches and a creased character line that starts at the top of each headlight, angles upward, and wraps completely around the vehicle. The roofline flows nicely from the windshield, curving down slightly front to rear. The B- and C-pillars are blacked out to, as Dodge puts it, give the look of a car-like greenhouse and an SUV-like lower half.

At the back, the Journey's taillights wrap around the sides of the vehicle and continue into the tailgate, which opens upward. The taillights themselves feature two quot;war paintquot; chrome stripes and the tailgate is made out of a composite material to reduce weight. The rear bumper has an integrated step pad that matches the height of the load floor. Models with the V6 engine can be distinguished by their dual chrome exhaust tips.

The Journey is bigger than it looks. In overall dimension, it is only slightly shorter than the Ford Explorer, and it's actually longer than such seven-passenger crossover competitors as the Toyota Highlander, Subaru Tribeca and Hyundai Veracruz. It's about six inches shorter than the Pacifica. The Journey's size translates to plenty of interior cargo room, but the design isn't as space efficient as some of its competitors, including the Pacifica.