The Dodge Journey is a grizzled veteran in the FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) lineup, and since it hasn’t changed much at all in the past decade, we tend to forget it’s there.
Still, though the model has remained popular, mainly because of the solid value it offers and its sheer practicality, the time has come to give it a real makeover.
It’s not surprising then that rumours regarding the fate that awaits it are surfacing, or we should resurfacing. This time around, talk is of the company’s engineers using a stretched version of the platform that underpins the Alfa Romeo Giorgio for the Journey’s next generation.
The Giorgio’s architecture, also found under the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio SUV, would imply a massive change for the Journey, which currently works with front-wheel-drive configuration. The platform rumoured to be its next one is made for rear-wheel drive. Internal sources at FCA confided to MoparInsiders that the next Journey is projected to be a performance-focused five-seat SUV, and that both rear-wheel drive and AWD variants will be produced.
While the new Journey would borrow the format of the Stelvio, it would get its styling from the Charger sedan. We can see a definite trend forming here; think of the new Blazer (Camaro-based) and the Mustang Mach-E. The model would get a HEMI-engine equipped variant and a Scat Pack version is also a possibility. This might just be enough to pry away the last anti-SUV diehards away from their beloved cars.
The new Journey is some way off, of course – it won’t happen before 2022, at the earliest. And if the rumoured changes do happen, we can also anticipate a change in name. Its turn towards being a performance-focused model might mean the Journey nameplate, so deeply associated with a family vehicle, will need to go.