2016 Dodge Journey Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: 2016 Dodge Journey Crossroad by Gnarles2

I think that the exterior of this car is really good looking, especially with the Crossroad package. It looks tough and brawny and more truck-like than the more recently designed crossovers. It has big 19 inch wheels, nice and functional roof rails in a brushed aluminum finish as well as other aluminum trim pieces that make it look a bit tougher. The Crossroad model has smoked headlights and taillights that give it a more aggressive look than the standard trims.

The interior of the car is a pretty nice place to be. We have the standard audio system in our car and it still sounds very good and the functionality of the standard UConnect system is great. You can control everything via touchscreen or with physical buttons and knobs for the most used things like audio volume and climate controls. Everything is laid out well and is put together well. The steering wheel has really soft leather on it and it feels really good, the seats are very comfortable and covered in a durable good looking cloth. There are storage places everywhere and soft touch materials everywhere you touch. One thing that I was very surprised by is the quietness of the interior. You can barely hear the engine or road/wind noise. It is nice to have a conversation with people in the back seat using a normal speaking volume.

The back seat of the vehicle is a comfortable place to be as well. There are plenty of cupholders and controls for the rear climate control. The doors open really wide and the seats are adjustable in different ways. The 3rd row is fine in a pinch for adults and totally fine for kids. My neice and nephew sat back there when we went to the beach and we could still fit in all ouf our stuff behind the 3rd row. With the 3rd row up the trunk space is not large but it will fit some grocery bags and probably some duffel bags for a trip.

The ride and handling of this vehicle for me is great. The car drives like a much bigger vehicle and more truck-like than a lot of the newer crossovers. Personally, I like that type of ride. The suspension feels really robust and strong. I have had 4 big people and 2 kids in it and you can barely notice a change in the way it rides. It may ride slightly better with more people in it actually. It handles really well and feels almost sporty. It stays pretty flat around turns and has really good grip. The steering feels like it was tuned more for comfort than feedback, but it still feels pretty good for this type of car.

Our Journey has the 3.6 liter Pentastar V6 and I can not say enough good things about this engine. It is mated to a 6 speed automatic and that combination suits this car very well. It is more than enough power to do whatever you need it to do and it does it very smoothly and quietly. I had this combination in our last car (2013 Grand Caravan) and it does not feel as peppy as in the van but it only has 500 miles on the odometer, so that may change. I can see why they use this engine in a lot of their cars because it is a great engine. The fuel economy has been slightly better than the ratings. We were getting about 26mpg on the highway and 19 in the city. I do not think that is bad at all for a 7 passenger vehicle with a V6.

I like the car very much but there are a few things that can still be improved. I would probably not be willing to pay for it myself, but there are a lot of people that would want all of the latest safety tech. Blind spot monitoring and automatic braking is something that would need to be added. Also, I would have liked if the tailgate could be open and closed automatically. It's not a deal breaker but I had it on a previous car and it was a really nice feature. I also think that they would get a few more sales if they were to up the tow rating a bit. Other Chrysler products with this engine and tranny combination have a tow rating of 3600lbs or more and this is rated at 2500lbs. That is suitable for my needs but would be a bit too low for active people that may want to pull a small camper.