Possible Purchase

[jaymista]

I have a chance to get a 5 passenger Journey EXT and it has all I want except it is AWD. I sort of want FWD because they say it gives better mileage. Does anyone know how much difference in mileage between the FWD and the AWD? I have never had an AWD or 4X4 in my life. Is the AWD worth the extra money to buy?

[joekris1]

jaymista, it depends on a few factors, where do you live? Do you see much snow and ice during the winter? Do you do much highway speed driving on on curvy roads, is there a lot of rain? Having had RWD, FWD, 4WD and AWD over the years it would be a challenege for us to do without 4WD or AWD. That is a matter of being in the midwest where we have a lot of ice and snow in the winter and many of a regular trips are on curvy 2 lane roads. If I had the latitude to stay off the roads when the conditions were less than desirable....would be different. In my mind the small loss in gas milage versus the increased peace of mind and safety made it an easy decison for us. If were farther south might be a different decision. Good luck on your choice.....best part is, there are no bad choices.

[NiceTrip]

I have a chance to get a 5 passenger Journey EXT and it has all I want except it is AWD. I sort of want FWD because they say it gives better mileage. Does anyone know how much difference in mileage between the FWD and the AWD? I have never had an AWD or 4X4 in my life. Is the AWD worth the extra money to buy?

The AWD will cost you approximately one MPG, according to Dodge's web site http://www.dodge.com/en/performance/2008/ :

The SE gets 19 MPG city and 25 MPG higway

The SXT or RT (FWD) gets 16/23, and

The SXT or RT (AWD) gets 15/22

[Mopar54]

I have a V6 AWD and frequently get over 24-25 MPG when I drive around 67 mph.

In fact yesterday I fueled up, reset the MPG meter and drove for an hour at 60 mph. I was amazed when the fuel computer displayed an average MPG of 28.2 MPG.

[JourneyOwner1]

I would agree with the other owners at highway speeds. Where I see a little degredation in fuel mileage is around the city. Once the fairly heavy Journey gets up to speed, it seems to cruise quite well. However, getting the vehicle up to speed around town seems to drop the mileage a bit. Still, it's not terrible at around 17.5 to 18 mpg.

I have an AWD SXT with third row seats for comparison.

[radon360]

I have a chance to get a 5 passenger Journey EXT and it has all I want except it is AWD. I sort of want FWD because they say it gives better mileage. Does anyone know how much difference in mileage between the FWD and the AWD? I have never had an AWD or 4X4 in my life. Is the AWD worth the extra money to buy?

Aside from the fuel economy and obvious difference in tractive effort, one pro and one con to consider:

Pro: The lifetime powertrain warranty covers it all. So although there's more moving parts, the warranty covers it.

Con: After test driving a FWD and an AWD, I felt that the engine was noticeably pushing more drive train. The FWD has more get-up-and-go, in my opinion.

Now a few words about traction anyway:

If traction is a concern, remember that regardless of your drivetrain choice, the Journey comes with ESP (electronic stability program, or something to that effect) which will moderate throttle input and will brake the spinning wheel somewhat to help transfer the power to the other wheel(s). This can be a tremendous help when getting moving with slippery conditions.

I know I may catch the ire of the AWD supporters, but I'll say it regardless. AWD is nice on slippery/icy conditions, it nearly eliminates tire spinning when getting started on wet or snowy road surfaces. In some designs, it can help with handling, particularly in cornering on a curvy road. But it does has two potential shortcomings. It can get you into trouble faster because it becomes harder to sense deteriorating traction conditions, which in a FWD configuration is more noticeable when your tire (singular) begins to slip when accelerating. Second, it doesn't help much with deeper snow conditions because the ground clearance isn't there as with the traditional 4WD SUV/truck. In fact, I noticed that the Journey AWD configuration appeared to sit about an inch and a half LOWER than the FWD, though I'll add the disclaimer that I was comparing an AWD R/T with the 19" wheels and touring suspension against a FWD SXT with 17" wheels and the standard suspension at the time. AWD cars around here seem to get hung up in snow drifting across a country road almost as well as 2WD cars.

I live in an area that averages 60" of snow a year (with over 100" this past winter), but I still purchased a FWD. While admittedly I have a full-size 4WD pick-up to fall back on when conditions are REALLY bad, my past experience is that FWD is adequate to get around in most slippery conditions, particularly when there's traction control, ESP, or whatever alphabet soup acronym system that is helping to manage a reduced traction condition. The best thing you can do for winter, regardless of the drivetrain type is to put GOOD winter tires on.

[Hit-By-Thunder]

The best thing you can do for winter, regardless of the drivetrain type is to put GOOD winter tires on.

I agree and weather it is FWD or AWD the tires have to be done is sets of 4. Reason,

FWD's should/must have winter tires on the back as well as the front, the rear of the car has a great chance of slidding around when the fronts have more traction. I may add that alot of reputable tire shops now, will only put 4 winter tires on, on a FWD vehicle.

AWD, as all tires need to be the same outside diameter to prevent premature drivetrain wear and the above reason as well.

Rob

I also live in a snow belt area, Canada, and I did order the AWD because I know the traction on 4 wheels is better than 2 <- not to start anything just my 2 penny's worth

[Hit-By-Thunder]

The best thing you can do for winter, regardless of the drivetrain type is to put GOOD winter tires on.

I agree and weather it is FWD or AWD the tires have to be done is sets of 4. Reason,

FWD's should/must have winter tires on the back as well as the front, the rear of the car has a great chance of slidding around when the fronts have more traction. I may add that alot of reputable tire shops now, will only put 4 winter tires on, on a FWD vehicle.

AWD, as all tires need to be the same outside diameter to prevent premature drivetrain wear and the above reason as well.

Rob

I also live in a snow belt area, Canada, and I did order the AWD because I know the traction on 4 wheels is better than 2 <- not to start anything just my 2 penny's worth

[jaymista]

I ended up getting the FWD only because that is what the van had on it when they brought it in for me from another dealer. As it was, it did save me a bit of money in the end. I don't know if I will be able to afford winter tires this year the way gas is going up. Several people have advised me to get them though as I sometimes do a lot of driving in the snow making hops between 30-50 miles on a regular basis. I am not sure how these Kumho touring tires are in the winter.

[psaulesl]

One more reason to consider the AWD: If you tow a boat, and launch it on a slippery ramp, the FWD will work against you: On a ramp, the weight is shifted off the drive wheels a bit, and with the tongue weight of a 3200 lbs boat behind the rear axle, the front wheels are unloaded even more.

A good question for you FWD owners, and AWD owners that have pulled boats and launched/pulled out: how was your traction?

Does the AWD on the Journey have a manual 4WD lock mode like the Jeep Patriot?

[dupont]

Both AWD and FWD are good in the snow, and only get better when snow tires are added. One thing AWD has over FWD is higher resale value. Something to consider when shopping.

[OhareFred]

When I bought my 2009 I was looking for AWD but got such a great deal on the FWD I couldn't pass it up. I live in Chicago and after having the Journey through a couple of winters (got it in July of 08) I am very happy with the FWD. Of course, the roads get cleared of snow & ice pretty fast around here! Have been in Northern Wisconsin in the snow with it and had no problems whatsoever. I had a 4WD Durango before the Journey and loved the 4WD, but now I don't really miss it. BTW, I have the Kumo tires and don't see a big problem with them. Wouldn't buy them again if I can avoid it, but I'm not throwing them away either. They do spin alot if I'm foot heavy on wet or snow, but the traction control kicks in and I know to back off. It's an SUV, not a NASCAR race car after all!

[Windancer]

I have a chance to get a 5 passenger Journey EXT and it has all I want except it is AWD. I sort of want FWD because they say it gives better mileage. Does anyone know how much difference in mileage between the FWD and the AWD? I have never had an AWD or 4X4 in my life. Is the AWD worth the extra money to buy?

I realize this is a very old thread but after reading it again much of the info in here is applicable today. The gas mileage in my car is "all over the map" (see myfuelly link below) My car is a 2010 R/T that has every option available on it. The bottom line is that it's gas mileage is very dependant on the way you drive. I personally don't mind getting a little less with my AWD because I have the peace of mind of AWD and where I live it's important because looking out the window we have lots of snow at the moment and a blizzard is coming. Just my thoughts others may differ. ;-)

Regards

Terry