The Journey’s designers (and, more crucially, its cost accountants) have tried harder than we’ve ever known them to try before with the interior. The top of the dash and a good part of its lower edge are padded, as are the upper parts of the door trims.
The rigid, silvery-finish centre stack would make a Chrysler Crossfire owner weep with jealousy. And most of the rest of the cabin is textured in cloth or plastics that fit well, look good in a rugged, practical way and are certainly not lifted from the bargain basement.
The driver sits high, of course. That can be in a car-like style – simply elevated relative to the ground, with steering wheel, seat and pedals set for a relaxed position and just a fleeting glimpse of bonnet over the bulbous dashboard and scuttle.
The centre-row backrests recline, and with the seats in their rearmost position you can pull a lever to flip the cushion vertically to abut the backrest. You then push the whole assembly forwards to access the rearmost seats or make a tall cargo bay across the cabin.
Dodge claims better value for money than the Journey’s rivals thanks to its standard equipment levels, the stereo/sat-nav/reversing camera system being the chief option at £1500. This includes a Bluetooth phone connection, USB and jack plug ports, and a built-in hard drive for music storage.
Rivals’ pricing suggests the Journey isn’t quite such a bargain, but SXT’s £2000 premium over the SE is fair; it buys useful kit including some of those storage niceties, 17in aluminium alloy wheels, foglamps, the trip computer and stain-repellent seat fabric.
Our test average fuel consumption worked out at 33.5mpg. Official figures are 43.5mpg and 170g/km of CO2 on the combined cycle, placing the Journey in the £170 road tax band.