2014, 2015 Dodge Journey Crossroad Pros and Cons

Let’s just say it right away: There are many, many compact and midsize SUVs on the market that are likely better all-around choices than the Dodge Journey. Sometimes that’s a hard truth to swallow, especially for Dodge. However, the SUV is an example of a vehicle that may be appealing enough to buyers that they send off their hard-earned money into an envelope each month to own one.

Related: 2015 Dodge Journey Crossroad Photo Gallery (24 Photos)

I talk to a lot of car shoppers, and they often come up with pro-and-con lists about the cars they’re considering. The Journey is perhaps the perfect illustration of how even if a car isn’t the best-in-class, the pros may still outweigh the cons.

Pros

90-Degree-Opening Rear Doors

A lot of the pros like the wide-opening rear doors are specific to family SUV shoppers. While not ideal in parking lots, I found them to be useful just about everywhere else, especially in my driveway where the kids had plenty of room to get in and out of the Journey — even with their oversized backpacks on.

Conversation mirror

Usually reserved for minivans, the Journey’s conversation mirror is a great feature to keep an eye on the backseat without turning around. Are the kids really keeping their hands to themselves? A quick glance up is a better way to find out than turning your head around, especially when driving.

Optional Third Row

It isn’t spacious, but the Journey’s available third row comes in handy in a pinch or for carpool days. It’s certainly a rarity for a vehicle in this price range.

It’s Inexpensive

Like most car-shopping lists, price is pretty darn important, and the Journey is inexpensive. The starting price of $21,190, including destination, for the 2015 Journey SE base model is less than most smaller SUVs like the 2014 Honda CR-V ($23,950) and 2015 Toyota RAV4 ($24,565). Even the well-equipped Journey Crossroad edition we tested recently starts at $27,490 with the third row. Ours, of course, had all-wheel drive, and it had the more powerful V-6 engine and a few other options to bring the price to $32,880. But if you opt for a 2014 there are plenty of incentives — up to $2,500 — to be had. Currently, 2015s are on sale and approximately 7,000 of the 13,000 in Cars.com’s new-car inventory are the newer model.

Cons

Horrible Mileage

You may not be paying as much at the dealership, but the gas pump could be a point of pain instead. The most fuel-efficient Journey with the four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive is rated at 19/26/21 mpg city/highway/combined. That doesn’t compare favorably to smaller SUVs like the CR-V at 23/31/26 mpg and the Chevy Equinox at 22/32/26 mpg. Mitsubishi’s Outlander is similarly sized to the Journey with a small third row, and it’s rated even higher at 25/31/27 mpg. Second Row Can Get Tight

Accommodating even a smaller, optional third row means second-row passengers get shortchanged in the legroom department. My 5- and 6-year-old kids in their child-safety seats had just enough room in the second row, but they only had a little extra space to spare.

High Cargo Floor

As easy as it was for my kids to get in the backseat, it was harder for me to load the cargo area. I’ve found that one of the untold ways to measure an SUV’s true utility is to check the cargo floor’s height. If it’s too high it makes loading things such as big bags of dog food or mulch a real pain in the back. I mean that literally — it can hurt your back. The Journey is one such vehicle, so if you’re a little on the shorter side this could be a problem.

Reliability

Both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates rank the Journey on the lower end of the reliability spectrum in their respective studies. A number of Cars.com users also list issues with the Journey in our Consumer Reviews. However, the 2014 has an overall reliability rating of 4.2 out of 5 among the 21 Cars.com users who have rated it. Purchasing a new car with excellent reliability scores doesn’t guarantee trouble-free ownership, but they do serve as a good indicator on whether you may encounter problems.

Cars.com photos by Evan Sears and David Thomas