Well thought-out interior
To emphasize its family aspirations, the Journey offers an impressive number of storage bins and pockets, including a nifty compartment under the front passenger seat and the famous Chill Zone right above the traditional glove box.

The dashboard features soft-touch plastics and, more importantly, a pretty attractive layout.

There's also a storage bin in the middle of the dashboard, although I preferred not to use it. Why? My tester's featured a small, ill-designed door made of hard plastic and, as a result, there was a lot of creaking in that area.

Fortunately, the rest of the dashboard features soft-touch plastics (Alleluia!) and, more importantly, a pretty attractive layout.

While the gauges are a tad small, their backlighting is soothing and easy to adjust; with the green characters, it made for a nice-looking, well-executed interior. And of course, because it's a Dodge, the all-new Journey benefits from the company's latest technologies, including the famous Yes Essentials seat fabric that's virtually stain-proof, as well as the MyGig multimedia system with hard drive for audio file upload.

To keep the kids happy and give a little rest to the parents, buyers can also select a rear-seat entertainment system, which is optional on higher-end models. It might seem unnecessary, but I'll tell you: a multiple-hour drive with a 9-year-old who's riveted to the screen feels much shorter than a quick trip without the DVD player but with said kid screaming over your shoulder.

A bit of power, please
The 2009 Dodge Journey is available with a V6 engine that's reportedly capable and efficient. My tester, on the other hand, made do with a 4-cylinder mill and a 4-speed autobox that weren't always good teammates.

Under acceleration, for instance, the transmission never seems to fulfill its mission, while the engine struggles to deliver the bursts you're looking for. Once up to speed, however, the operation is almost dead silent and it's like you forgot all about its shortcomings.

The Journey comes equipped with a 4-cylinder mill and a 4-speed autobox as standard equipment.