DODGE JOURNEY

Large, manly MPV with plenty of space for the contents of any child’s toy box. Styling will be a personal issue – women may shy away from the Journey’s overt manliness

• Comfort

  Loads of room all round. And there’s storage to match. Like we already said, ride can get a touch floppy, but that goes with the territory somewhat.

• Performance

  Two-litre diesel unit is borrowed from the VW group, so expect decent torque, but also expect to have to rev it to get the best the engine can offer. The 2.4 petrol is really only for complete oil-burner-phobes.

• Cool

  Few MPVs can claim to be truly cool, and the Journey isn’t one of them. It does the job, but more than that… well, it doesn’t shout “cool” to us.

• Quality

  Probably the kindest thing we can say about the Journey is that quality is getting there. Interior plastics are a lot better than they have been, but it has yet to reach its full potential. Panel fit is good, though, and reliability is likely to be high too.

• Handling

  Any car of this type will be wallowy, and the Journey is not the one to prove the exception to the rule. However, it’s more than reasonable through corners and won’t surprise or upset in its reactions.

• Practicality

  The Journey has all the attributes of an MPV, so spaciousness and practicality are givens. The usability of the storage areas is what impresses here. Not only is there stacks of room to fill with kiddie paraphernalia, it’s in sensible, easy-to-access places.

• Running costs

  Servicing from a Dodge dealer will not set you back a fortune, and economy on the diesel is superb – 40-odd mpg – so once you’ve swallowed the initial asking price, it should all be downhill.