- Dodge unveiled the 2011 Journey this week.
- Journey gets a new interior, a redesigned suspension and a new 3.6-liter V6.
- Pricing has not yet been announced.
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — The 2011 Dodge Journey rolled out on Wednesday, with minimal exterior changes, a new interior, a redesigned suspension and a new 3.6-liter V6.
Pricing has not yet been announced. Dodge said it expects the 2011 Journey to go on sale before the end of the year.
"We'll be competitive with the marketplace," said Chrysler spokesperson Kathy Graham when contacted by Inside Line to get pricing information on the 2011 Journey.
The base 2010 Dodge Journey SE starts at $21,165, including a $675 destination charge.
There are few exterior tweaks to the Journey, except for a new front fascia and bigger foglamp bezels. Dodge said in a statement that Journey models with the 3.6-liter V6 will get a new "more aggressive" lower fascia with honeycomb texture in the grille later in the model year. The crossover gets new 19-inch wheels.
Dodge says the Journey's suspension received a "major overhaul." A new 283-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission replaces the outgoing 235-hp 3.5-liter V6. The EPA has not yet provided fuel-economy ratings on the 2011 Journey.
The 2011 Journey gets a major cabin makeover, including a redesigned instrument panel. Other details include a larger center storage bin with a 12-volt outlet and USB port, new seats and new interior color and trim combinations.
Inside Line says: The major changes are under the skin and in the cabin with the '11 Journey. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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endlessjourney says:
05:38 AM, 07/18/2011
My 2009 Dodge Journey R/T has been a living nightmare. Gasoline mileage has never exceeded 18MPG. This vehicle is under-powered and is prone to electrical problems. Examples: (1) Automatic Up on the driver's side window has a mind of its own. It works on occasion. (2) Wire Loom In the Steering Column: When adjusting the steering column for height and length, the wire loom eventually sheds its insulation and shorts out.(Three trips to the dealer for this repair.) (3) Rear Right Passenger Window: Opens and closes according to the phase of the moon. Dealer replaced that wire loom because of a recall notice. (4) The All-Wheel Drive Transfer Unit(PTU): This unit has failed twice. I am now on my third unit. The vehicle at the time of this repair had about 45,000 miles on the OD. Five trips to the dealer: The first failure was originally diagnosed as an oil leak in the housing. WRONG! After, the installation of the second unit, the technician improperly hooked up the exhaust pipe causing a great deal of noise in the undercarriage. (5) The third and current transfer unit is noisy and at around 65 MPH, there is a strong, low resonance vibration throughout the car. I brought it back to Autoland Chrysler in Springfield, NJ, and the service representative said that they could find nothing wrong with it. (6) When the PTU(Power Transfer Unit) failed, the safety systems also failed. (7) When the wire loom failed in the steering column, the dash board lit up like a jackpot on a slot machine. All-wheel-drive and all safety systems will not function, when the steering column wiring failed. (8) Tire Replacement: Total Ripoff. Does Chrysler own the tire manufacturer that supplies these one-of-a-kind tire size? (9) Ride and Handling: I live in NJ and commute to work. The road noise is overwhelming at times and the suspension is wavy and harsh. (10) The six-speed automatic transmission is clunky and arbitrarily downshifts after accelerating. (11) Chrysler can claim refinements to this vehicle ad nauseum, however, this will be my last Chrysler product. I have leased and/or purchased Chrysler vehicles for about 25 years. The Journey is a consumer's hell on earth.
dodge38ddd says:
02:53 PM, 12/07/2010
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE. IT COMES WITH 19 INCH RIMS AND ONLY 1 TIRE COMPANY SELLS THEM..... KUMBO. THEY CHARGE ALMOST $300.00 EACH (INFLATION BY THE DEALERSHIPS) FOR THESE TIRES. THE TIRES ARE CURRENTLY ON 2 TO 3 MONTH BACKORDER. ALL DODGE/CHRYSLER SAYS IS OH WELL! WE DONT MANUFACTURE TIRES. WHICH IS NO HELP WHEN YOU LIVE IN THE MIDWEST AND NEED GOOD TIRES TO TRANSPORT YOUR GRANDCHILDREN AND OTHER LOVED ONES.
BOYCOTT THIS VEHICLE AND MAYBE THEY WILL MAKE THE CHANGES NEEDED TO KEEP THE CONSUMERS SAFE.
lchance says:
06:55 AM, 10/22/2010
I am happy to see that they hopefully are getting rid of that akward din and a half infotainment screen and going full size. I actually really like the vehicle and might consider it when I start looking for a new vehicle in the upcoming months.
1487 says:
05:26 AM, 10/21/2010
"finally a competitive interior from chrysler/dodge. so why didnt they do this from the start? unless Fiat is the mastermind."
Fiat didnt mastermind anything. Chrysler was conserving cash as it tried to stay alive over the last few years. Under Daimler and Cerberus little was being spent on new products. The Journey came out 2-3 years back and this interior represents a nice improvement. Let's not act like you get premium interiors iN Suburus, Mazdas, Toyota, etc. You could look at any of their recently improved products and say "why didnt they do that from the start?". The interiors on Toyota's lower end cars are arguably no better than what the old Chrysler put out. I'm not even impressed by their newer products like the 4Runner and Venza. You get in a Mazda, Mitsu, Suburu, etc. and you will find plenty of hard black plastics and mediocre feeling switchgear.
Based on what I've seen so far from the 2011 chryslers it looks like they are preparing to leapfrog the Japanese in interior quality just as GM and Ford have already done for the most part.
lostboyz says:
04:10 AM, 10/21/2010
"so why didnt they do this from the start?"
because both daimler and cerberus nickle and dimed everything they could out of the cars, you can only do so much when someone is trying to take all the cost out of something rather than looking at quality.
timmyds3 says:
09:59 PM, 10/20/2010
finally a competitive interior from chrysler/dodge. so why didnt they do this from the start? unless Fiat is the mastermind.
wrinklebump says:
08:14 PM, 10/20/2010
That's a pretty attractive cabin for a family runabout, methiks.
starliner54 says:
05:18 PM, 10/20/2010
As threemopars said, Chrysler Group has to make up for the almost complete lack of investment that occurred, especially during the Cerberus regime. Dealers I've spoken with are excited about the 2011 packages of improvements throughout the brands. This opening of the purse strings has improved company morale, and will show dividends in the showroom as well. Chrysler still has a long way to go, but their direction now seems to be positive, after too many years of floundering.
kc177 says:
05:00 PM, 10/20/2010
"The Challenger is a nice looking car but its a mess when driving it. "
I find that hard to believe. In fact no review has ever said the Challenger was not well composed during testing. It's riding on a co-developed Mercedes platform with a Mercedes transmission. How good do you want it to be? FWIW I'd drive a Challenger over any Toyota.
"The Charger and the "200" seem to have new bodywork but nothing remarkable as far as mechanics go. "
This is wrong. Very wrong. The charger and 300C are riding on new platforms. The 200C underpinnings were upgraded too. Anyone who has worked on cars will tell you that merely doing an engine swap will cause you to address the suspension too. Hell most likely the motor mounts are probably different as well. All of those changes vastly change weight and how the car drives and performs. You're thinking that in 200C's case and Journey's that changes to engine mounting and interior upgrades are trivial..... they are NOT.
threemopars says:
04:33 PM, 10/20/2010
"Did I say the styling was uninspiring? No. I'm talking about the driving mechanics of the Journey itself."
So now you've driven a 2011 Journey then? Did you read the press release where it's mentioned that the suspension is all new as well?
"Am I expecting an entirely new lineup in two years? No. The big draw of Chrysler now is the Pentastar engines and the 8-speed transmission which is entirely overkill. Drive anything with 6 speeds and it can be a little annoying. Drive anything with 7 speeds, and it can be quite annoying. I haven't driven any 8-speed vehicles but common logic will prove that 8 speeds is overkill and the hunt for gears is annoying."
The 8 speed automatic will not be in the Journey, the 6 speed automatic is what's used, and if Chrysler has stuck a 5 speed or 4 speed in there they would be blasted out of the park. We don't even know the shift logic of the 8 speed anyways, so if you know something that isn't public knowledge then speak or don't say anything at all until we see the final result. I don't hear many people complaining about the 7 speeds or 8 speeds in MB and BMW cars do we?
"What am I wanting? An athletic car - plain and simple. EVERY Chrysler vehicle I've driven has been as boring as a Toyota. More power and/or speeds is NOT what is needed. The Challenger is a nice looking car but its a mess when driving it. The Charger and the "200" seem to have new bodywork but nothing remarkable as far as mechanics go. This Journey seems like nothing more than some light body re-working with a new interior. That and every Chrysler minivan I've had (5 of them since 1990-2009) has been more or less disposable. The 2000 and 2005 Grand Cherokees have many problems. The Caliber has problems. Fiat is not known for reliability and I don't have as much confidence in quality of a Chrysler vehicle yet. The great thing is (at least on the vans) the resale value is so poor that when one breaks, its a safe bet that you can easily replace it with a newer one without denting your wallet."
Again suspension's have been reworked in the cars that you've mentioned, it's your own ignorance that keeps you from reading the print. And if you truly believe that all those vans that you bought were disposable, then why keep buying them? I mean after 1 or 2 you should be able to make an informed choice, which obviously you DIDN'T.
"Why anyone would get a Journey over a Santa Fe (If value is the reason) baffles me. Why anyone would buy a Chrysler right now aside from the great Ram trucks makes no sense."
I wouldn't have bought the last one either, this one, yes I would buy it. It offers more utility, a better interior, more power and I'm expecting fuel economy as well from the 3.6L.