We are thinking about buying a 2014 Journey SXT, 6 cylinder and I want to know if you like the Journey? What are the pros and cons if you own one? I have googled some reviews on it and compared to other mid sized SUV's or Crossovers it ranked lower. I don't put a lot faith in those reviews but rather hear from actual owners. Thanks!

 

We love ours. Had an 09 and liked it so much we got a 2013 last year. For the features you wont find a comparable vehicle in the same proce range. There are some folks who have had issues here and there, but that is to be expected with any vehicle you buy. Chrysler has made significabnt improvements to the vehicle since first introduced in 09. The Pentastar engine is a very good engine, plenty of power even when loaded up woth 7 passengers. I would definitelt recommend the DJ. I will say, if you are looking for good MPG's, the DJ is not *** great as some other offerings on the market, but I can live with 19 MPG average around town, 24-25 on trips. For a vehicle its size, I am happy with that. Does great in the snow too, even with just FWD. With as little snow as we get around here, I did not feel the added expense, weight and MPG sufferings from AWD was worth it. I got a 4WD truck if it gets that bad. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the response! I like hearing from actual owners rather than just relying on reports.

We currently have a 2000 Dodge Durango and the last 3-4 years it has been costing us a lot various repairs especially the coolant system and the transmission. So we decided its time to get another vehicle.

My first choice was the GMC Acadia but we do not want to pay that high price for one. We have also looked at the GMC Terrain, Jeep Cherokee Sport and the Chevy Equinox. However, we really want a 6 cylinder so that eliminated those three because they are all 4 cylinders. Not that a 4 cylinder is bad but we would rather have the power of a 6 cylinder.

The Journey will also give us some of the same things that we like in our Durango such as the 3rd row seat. We rarely have snow here either so the FWD will be fine for us.

 

We looked at other models like that too. Our 09 was a 4 cylinder and I did not want that again, so any with 4 bangers were out. Others that offered 3rd row seating were out of our price range. The 4 cylinder in our 09 was adequate for most stuff, just could barely get out of its own way. Once cruising, it did fine. We picked up our 2013 with just over 10k on it, balance of the 3 year/36k bumper to bumper plus a 10 year/100k mile extended warranty for just over $17k. Could not get anywhere near that with another vehicle with comparable features.

 

They make the Cherokee in a 6 cylinder.... 3.2L Pentastar.

 

Sounds like you got a good deal jkeaton! Going to try our best to get one for less than $20,000 with our trade. They are averaging around $25,000 new, so keeping our fingers crossed. Just hoping we can talk the salesman down to our price range. I would hope they would be willing to come down some on their commission to make a deal. Going to look at them this weekend. We are wanting a blue one and the place we are going does not have one in stock but said they can get us one just hoping we can make a deal.

TNTech, we checked every Jeep dealer near us and all of the Jeep Cherokee Sport's were 4 cylinders so we assumed they didn't make them in a 6 cylinder. But it's all good, I think we will go with the Journey having that 3rd row seat will be nice.

 

I own the 2011 Journey SXT with the 3.6L Pentastar engine. So far so good and I have been happy with the investment. The 2014's comes with the bigger brakes which was an issue in the past (2009-11) as they were undersized and led to premature brake replacement. This won't be a problem for you. Highway fuel consumption is very good but city driving may be a bit disappointing if you are looking for great fuel consumption in the city. Another thing to be aware of are the 19" tires as many have complained about little selection when it is time to be replaced....I went with the 17" (cheaper) and have plenty of selection when I'm ready for new tires. Although the 19" do make the vehicle look better. Even after 3 years of ownership I would say that if I had to purchase a vehicle again I probably would give the Journey another go as it has been a real joy to own so far!

BTW this is coming from a guy that has always owned Honda's in the past!

 

I've had my journey almost a week and love it. I got the v6 and I'm very impressed with the power and response. Have you considered a durango with the same v6? Mpg from a pentastar to a hemi isn't really much. If I got a durango instead of a journey I woulda gotten a hemi. Only thing I wish my journey had was more space with the 3rd row up. You have to think of it as a 5 seater that can be a 7 if you need it. My ram is 11 years old now I figured it was time to get something newer. Good luck!

Btw, if your looking for a new car check into truecar.com or get a costco membership I got my journey for BELOW invoice PLUS $4,000 of rebates. It's well worth the membership fee!

 

Have any if you heard that there is a known problem with the v6 motors on the newer models? I heard that Chrysler is having issues with the v6 3.6 motors and it has to do with the heads. There is no problem with the 4 cylinders just the v6. I was told that Chrysler is aware of the issue but have not been able to determine what is causing it. I am trying to get away from having my car in the shop and I do not want to purchase one and have to put it in the shop as soon as I get it. This was to told to me by someone who knows someone that works for Chrysler.

 

I have heard of no problems with the V6. Most common complaints I hear are with the AWD system and the electronics (touchscreen) sometimes give problems, but those are few and far between.