You all know by now that I favor older cars, but I do try to mix things up a little. It’s been a while since I showed you anything less than ten years old, so today that’s what we’re going to look at. These are both just ordinary boring-ass cars, but sometimes that’s exactly what is required.
I am never going to live down that typo I made yesterday, am I? Thirty-three liters, indeed. My wife proofreads for me, but she wouldn’t have caught that. Pete should have, though. Anyway, it doesn’t matter; that half-dead Lexus went over like a lead balloon. It was an easy win for the super-clean Cougar.
That last Cougar is a car I always forget about until I see one. It’s a nice-looking car, and from most reports it’s fun to drive. I’ve heard they can have electrical problems, but I’m a Chrysler fan, and I used to own an MG. Electrical stuff not working is business as usual. Besides, like most of you, I want nothing to do with some high school kid’s cast-off.
In some ways, it makes sense to stick with the newest car you can afford. Safety technology is always improving, even the stuff you can’t see, and age takes its toll on components no matter how many miles are on a car. Plus, the newer a car is, the more likely you’ll be able to find parts for it. So with that in mind, let’s jump forward a decade or two from our usual fare, and check out a couple of cars that haven’t even hit their tenth birthday yet.
2017 Dodge Journey SE – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Killeen, TX
Odometer reading: 199,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Auto enthusiasts don’t typically think much of the Dodge Journey. It’s an almost ruthlessly dull car, designed to be practical, not fun. But fun isn’t what most folks are looking for in a car, and the general public welcomed the Journey with open arms. As a result, Dodge didn’t stop believin’ in it for twelve model years. And even though Dodge and the Journey model went their separate ways in 2020, somehow seventeen of them were sold new last year. Do you wonder who’s cryin’ now? My guess is the seventeen people who bought brand-new five-year-old cars instead of just getting a cheap used one like this.
You could get the Journey any way you wanted it – except with a manual transmission. A couple of V6s and all-wheel drive were available, but the base engine throughout the Journey’s run was a 2.4-liter four-cylinder and Chrysler’s four-speed Ultradrive transmission. The Ultradrive had a lot of problems early on, but by this point it was serving faithfully. This one is closing in on 200,000 miles, but it still runs fine, and the dashboard shows a refreshing lack of lights. (All right, I don’t think I can work in any more Journey puns.)
The Journey is a full-on three-row SUV, and all three rows of seats in this one are in decent shape. This is the basic SE model, but it still has all the comfort and convenience stuff you want; one advantage of shopping for modern cars is all that stuff is standard now, so you don’t have to look for cars with particular options. The seller lists all the features, but fails to mention how many of them still work. Better try everything out so you know.
It’s in good shape outside. It’s about the dullest-looking car on the road. It occurs to me that if you’re looking for a getaway car, however, this could be just the thing. So maybe a Dodge Journey could be exciting after all, just indirectly. (Hypothetically, of course.)
2017 Hyundai Accent – $3,950
Engine/drivetrain:1.6-liter DOHC inline 4, six-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Mesquite, TX
Odometer reading: 128,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
I actually had to check and see if the Hyundai Accent was still being sold in the US. That’s how little I think about this car. It is not, for the record; 2022 was the last model year. And the hatchback version of this generation wasn’t sold in the US at all. All you could get was this four-door sedan.
Only one engine was available in the Accent in the US: Hyundai’s 1.6-liter Gamma inline four. Both manual and automatic transmissions were available, with six forward gears either way. This one has the automatic, as I imagine nearly all of them did. It has 128,000 miles on it, and the seller says it has “no problems.” But that’s all they say. Brevity is the soul of … something, I guess.
Most of the interior looks all right, but there’s a weird stain on the passenger’s seat that’s a little disturbing. I can’t tell you much more about it, because the seller barely has anything to say at all. It’s pretty fancy for an Accent; there are phone buttons on the steering wheel, so it has Bluetooth connectivity, at least. I remember when power windows on an Accent was living high on the hog.
It’s in good condition outside, but I still don’t understand what US buyers have against small cars with hatchbacks. Sedans are just so much less practical. Maybe that’s why crossovers have caught on; they’re hatchbacks, but they’re OK because they’re “tough.”
Well, those of you who wanted more modern cars, I hope you like one of these. It’s not easy to find cars this new in our typical price range. These are about as exciting as they get. But either one would do nicely as basic transportation, and that’s what the vast majority of car shoppers are looking for anyway. I’ll just have to do old and weird cars tomorrow to balance the scales. In the meantime, which one of these would do you better as a beater?
The Elantra with the 6 speed auto is a better choice. Less mileage and better fuel economy.
Also the Chrysler 4 speed slushbox and 2.4L 4 cyl combo results in a powertrain that doesn’t have great performance and has V6-like fuel economy.
Something about that combo is very poorly optimized.
For example… the PT Cruiser with the slushbox was rated to be about the same as the manual in the EPA tests. HOWEVER… in the real world, you get around 20% worse than the EPA numbers with the slushbox… and get 10-20% BETTER fuel economy with the manual.
Plus the manual feels way more peppy.
This is based on my direct first hand experience. I owned a manual PT in the past and thought it was a great car.
And the people who say the PT sucks typically are people who owned or drove one with the base 4 cyl with that poorly optimized slushbox.
I would pick the Accent, which–to my knowledge–is perfectly robust and does not suffer from the engine issues of other contemporary Hyundai/Kia products…but the lack of an immobilizer in the ignition and the fact that it would still be a target for thieves and burglars swings the balance to the Journey.
Really, both of these cars are unpleasant, so it truly would come down to that. I’d like to think that if I were this cash-strapped, I could buy something riskier that I actually liked and make up the difference with wrenching skills.
I voted Dodge solely because of all the Journey puns.
The Accent looks cheap and cheerful. Well not cheerful, but definitely cheap.
Everything about that journey makes me think one deep breath through the nose would tell me to keep looking.
Bus pass and save for something I actually like. Gun to my head? Accent.
My first choice would be neither one. It’s a choice between dull and boring.
The only decider is mileage, and a Dodge Journey with 199,000 miles is just asking for transmission and/or engine replacement in the near future.
They Hyundai needs a deep cleaning, but would make a good spare vehicle in case someone you know needs to borrow a car on short notice.
200K is a bit much for a Dodge, and though we are focusing on the Accent’s stained seats the Journey’s could be every bit as bad but you wouldn’t see it on the dark fabric.
The 72,000 mile difference is a big one. The Accent looks good otherwise. I like subcompacts, they’re efficient and cheerful and maneuverable, and 138hp with 6 gears in the automatic isn’t going to be that slow.
See screen name above
You sure don’t see many southern Accents. They don’t come around here no more.
Had to go with the lower miles and slightly cheaper price of the Accent. Neither is going to be a drive I’ll look forward to, but both would be better than walking.
Accent is pre-stained, so if you have critters, human or otherwise, will be one less to worry over.
Journeys always get an unfair bad rep. They are just Minivans in SUV clothes. they are still a penalty box to many,but less so than a Hyundai accent. The GEMA 2.4 was not great, but mot bad either. you could probably get a super low mile PT cruiser for under 2K if you needed to swap out the motor.
But who am I kidding, I would honestly not look twice at either of these crackpipe cars. Still, for this fake money comparo, I will take the spacious Minivan, I guess.
We called ours the inconvenient minivan. Giant back doors and a hatch opening that is 46” wide. So you can’t fit a sheet of plywood or drywall in with the seats down
Why even have a van if you can’t fit a sheet of plywood or drywall?
I fall firmly in the camp that I don’t need a pickup when 99% of the time I don’t need a pickup and the other 1% I can rent a trailer/rent a truck/use what car I have within safe limits. When I had my journey, I was doing tons of work on the old house my wife and I had bought and not being able to stick 4×8’s in it vs. our odyssey we eventually bought was a huge problem.
1-2 sheets on the roof supported by 2×4’s laying under them did work in a pinch though.
these were a way to sell a minivan to the moms that did not want to be seen in a minivan. they looked more SUVish, so it was kind of a win for a while at least.
It’s just a big Altima. Once the Altima driver has 2 kids it changes into a Journey.
Not that the Accent is something I want to own, but that’s a pretty solid deal for a commuter in good shape. It’s the sort of used car that’s basically disappeared from the market.
That Journey is pretty well used up at 200k. Not saying it couldn’t go any further, but I’d rather not try. Also, the 2.4 is pretty miserable combined with the heft of the Journey. There’s plenty of V6/AWD examples out there for cheap that would make the Journey experience a hell of a lot less sucky.
It seems like it is about 2K too expensive to me, but I do acknowledge the market is weird right now. It is a BHPH darling, and if you loose a key, you just need a USB charger to start it up.
Comparable Accents seem to average around 5500$ around here, based on what I’m seeing. You just don’t get a reasonably modern used daily driver with meat left on the bone for less than 4k anymore.
As for the lack of an immobilizer, if I lived in a place with a history of car theft I would stay away, for sure.
At the risk of coming across like an uncaring jackwagon, I have a negative association with the Journey. There’s a single parent who lives in our neighborhood who drives one. Problem is, she really rips around in it – to the point that she’s almost run into me a couple times, either while walking or driving. My mom was a single parent for a while, so I do have compassion/understanding on how frazzling and nerve wrecking that is, but…well…driving like that isn’t helping anything.
OK, that’s off my chest, and on to my obvious choice of the Hyundai. This accent is pretty darned nice for what it is and it would be a great commuter car while being immenently disposable when the repair bills start hitting.
I was going to say you missed one but then there it was “I’m alright” in the voting box. Well played.
Oh yeah, I’ll take the Accent and get it professionally cleaned first. I don’t really want a Journey at all. That’s it.
It may be hard to appreciate how small the Accent is in the modern sea of behemoths. I think I saw one of these stuck in the wheel well of a Yukon Denali recently. Just something else to run over. Journey’s are also awful, of course.
Tip of the hat for the Journey reference.
Is this a Kia Boys generation Hyundai? Because even if it has an aftermarket immobilizer installed, somebody will still do $1000 in damage trying to jack this car.
if it has a push button start no, but it’s an accent so I’m sure it don’t, so yeah its prolly affected, good catch! tho I would still vote for it over any dodge!
Journey!
It’s not the best spec (that’s gonna be one with the Pentastar), but it’s possibly the least-bad Mitsu GS platform derivate you’re gonna find. That’s right, this thing is basically a fork of the Dodge Caliber genus. (GENUS, I SAID GENUS, PLEASE DO NOT ACCUSE ME OF CALLING THE DODGE CALIBER GENIUS. IT WAS STUPID)
It’s more practical, STUPID cheap to run, and will be exceptionally ….fine.
I actually like the Journey (and some of its Mitsu cousins) quite a bit when the question is “a car, nothing fancy.”
Want a fun one? The pre facelift used brakes with the same pn as the dodge avenger. They were entirely too small for the heft. I know a lot of owners on forums (myself included) did brake pads every 15k-20k miles and rotors roughly every 40k. The fix is to swap post face lift or the heavy duty option package. But they are easy to fix and cheap, so it’s somewhat a wash.
Yeah, it got better as it stayed in production, for sure. The final few years are actually pretty good cars. Maybe not here for a long time, but they’ll facilitate your good times.
The Gamma engine is the decent one, right? Does it really have a 7,500 rpm redline? I zoomed in on the tach, but it gets a little fuzzy by the time it gets big enough for me to read.
Anyway, I don’t need three rows, and the Accent seems like it would be a lot more fun to take on a journey than a, you know, actual Journey.
“Does it really have a 7,500 rpm redline?”
Yes. Once.
Ha!
7100, though with max power coming on at just 6300 redline shifts will be sort of pointless.
Wow. This is a tough one for me because I abhor both these choices.
How do I want to advertise that my credit is shot to hell and have no interest in cars?
Accent, only because it has fewer miles.
All the same arguments, but with a different outcome. Journey for me, because I can load the thing full of junk to take to the dump without caring what I’m doing to the interior.
The upside there is you don’t even have to unload. Just leave all of it at the dump and call an Uber.
Too bad we didn’t get the Accent hatch then. It is probably still a better car than the Journey, so I voted for the Hyundai.
If you need 7 passenger seating, the Journey isn’t the worst choice, given the 4-cylinder engine. Most 7-passenger wagons in the US market have a thirsty V6 or V8, so the I4 is a welcome improvement. It is also quite simple by modern standards.
Canada got the hatchback of this generation, I think. I remember seeing a couple last time I was Hamilton. We kept getting the slightly larger Elantra GT, which is a surprisingly rare sighting.
The crazy thing about the Journey is that the highway mileage for the V6 is almost exactly the same as the 4-cylinder. Even the AWD version gets virtually the same rating. Part of that is down to low power, but the crappy old 4-speed ultradrive transmission for sure didn’t help.
The V6 and 6-speed auto combo is *so* much better. None of the buzzy harshness of the four. And on the whole you’re better off simply getting a same-year Caravan.
Oh yeah, a minivan is always better than a crossover/SUV thing
An afternoon with a steam cleaner and that accent will look brand new inside. Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is about that in an economy car with 128k of use on it. If anything it could be an indicator on the rest of the maintenance.
The Journey is being sold by a junkyard. Sorry, a “used auto parts” establishment, so take this as a sign.
Good catch, but I am tempted to say that’s not a real junkyard. If a white Dodge Journey is left sitting anywhere for more than a day tow trucks will start unloading other derelict vehicles around it.
I think it’s ironic that the seller of the Hyundai seems to have replaced it with the same shape vehicle, just inflated, hatchbacked, and on stilts
(Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe)
I definitely don’t want a Journey – and the Accent seems to be in relatively decent shape – and it reminds me of the “Save the Asterisks” campaign.
(I wish I could find the video of the cute little blue asterisks bouncing everywhere…)