THE Dodge Journey was imported here between 2008 and 2010 and carved a new niche in the market because it looks like a 4x4 but in fact is a two wheel drive family seven seater.
There was a 2.4 petrol engine, but the main seller was the 2.0-litre turbo diesel which was available with manual or automatic gearboxes.
It's a great package, with lower than average prices giving access to a larger a vehicle or a later model than most of the competition.
The diesel is the VW 2.0-litre with 140bhp and it gives a healthy surge of acceleration when needed. It will even accelerate decently in sixth gear of six.
The automatic gearbox has a manual setting and generally works well but its sideways gear selection is very odd and off-putting. Later automatics had a continuously variable gearbox.
The Journey is very comfortable and offers much better grip and road-holding than I would have thought when I first saw it.
It feelssafe and grippy through the corners, and for something quite high and heavy, it also feels decently balanced.
The diesel engine is quite gruff and never particularly quiet but it's never too intrusive out on the road.
There are SE, SXT and RT models and the top RT even has a cooled glovebox for storing drinks. Two children's seats fold up easily out of the boot floor and the middle row give decent legroom.