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The diesel produces a maximum of 138bhp, and in a car of this size, weight and lack of aerodynamic smoothness that means only moderate performance, as you'll gather from the 0-62mph time of 11.6 seconds and 116mph top speed. The petrol car is faster but much less economical (32.1mpg combined compared with 43.5mpg for the diesel) and won't respond as smartly at low speeds.

CO2 emissions for the diesel are 171g/km, and Dodge has missed a trick there, because from next April a car with that rating will cost £30 a year more to tax than one which produces 170g/km. On the other hand, the annual bill will still be £95 less than for the petrol model. (That's the last comparison you're getting between the two engines - if I haven't persuaded you by now that diesel is the way to go, I never will.)

On the road, the Journey's main problem is that it's quite difficult to see out of. The rear side windows are tiny, while the central and windscreen pillars are very thick. If you're manoeuvring in the back streets of a town, as I did, you have to keep a careful count of how many children there are nearby, and how many you can actually see, before working out whether it's safe to reverse.

Nobody is likely to push a Journey very hard in the country, so the fact that the front end does not feel securely attached to the road at non-gentle speeds is something to be aware of rather than a major cause for concern. The ride is generally good, any problems of bounciness being unavoidable in a car with so much weight so high up. The choice of wheels and tyres has a bearing on this: the SE, which has smaller items than the SXT, has slightly better grip but a slightly worse ride, though the differences are small. I haven't driven the R/T, but since it has much larger (19") wheels and presumably lower-profile tyres, it will probably have the worst ride of the lot.

The best thing about the Journey is the usefulness of the interior, and the best thing about that is the underfloor compartment halfway along the interior. This is removable, so you can, for example, load muddy trainers into it, and then take it out for washing when you get home; or you can use it to carry a dozen drinks cans plus enough ice to keep them cool, then dispose of the ice simply and unmessily once it's melted.

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