Dodge Journey: A review

No, I'm not an actual car reviewer type person. Not that I wouldn't be, oh, I would be in a minute. There is a free kids publication that comes out once a month listing things to do in the area, articles on parenting and my favorite thing of all - my coveted job, a review of a family friendly-ish vehicle. I seriously want to know how you get that job and go hunt up the editor and beg for it. As is, whenever I go on road trips I basically con Jerry into renting me something. I come up with a lot of bizarre road trips.
Any who.
As previously stated we rented a Dodge Journey for our trip up to my cousin Kari's reception up in Quincy, Il. I dug around the Enterprise website a little and found out if we rented it for a week we got 1500 miles for out of pre-destined states, which was perfect. I got a different car for a week and a legitimate reason to have to for more than 4 days.
I had originally requested a GMC Acadia, as I have rented one of those before and know that I love it. With the knowledge I was driving at least 30 hours in said rented vehicle I felt more comfortable with a car I knew I loved over trying my hand at a new brand - at least for this trip. However, upon arrival I was told they no longer had any in and wouldn't be getting any Acadia's in till after Thanksgiving. My options were a Jeep Commander, Ford Explorer or the Dodge Journey. With the Jeep and Ford getting maybe 18 mpg, they weren't my likely choices. So the Journey it was.
Things I liked: Leather interior made any spills a breeze to wipe up, the V6 gave the heavier vehicle nice pick up and I was never worried about being run over by a truck driver who assumed he had the right of way, the power sunroof though never opened was a nice touch, in dash 6 CD player/Sat radio/iPod connection, automatic dimming rear view mirrors, three zone climate control, 2nd row slide forward and backward, there was a third row though we never used it, three power points (is that what the plug in's are called?) and one regular power plug in, power drivers seat, cruise control, volume and station controls on steering wheel, a place on the dash board to put two 12 oz sodas - and it keeps them cold! The center console was deep enough for me to keep 7 DVD's, two packs of gum and my drivers licence in it, the second row floor had cargo area
Things I did not like: Massive blind spots in rear corners, it feels small inside - my family of four would not be comfortable on a long drive, the rear cargo is smaller than my current vehicle - I couldn't pack much to go very far, the seat wasn't heated - on long drives my hips begin to ache and I find if I have heated seats I can turn it on and it eases the pain, the gear shifter seems like they are trying to be high class and just becomes a jumble, if you're sitting in a comfortable position you can not see the entire instrument panel, the volume on the stereo doesn't decrease and increase with speed - a little extra I appreciate

Based solely on the blind spots, interior space and rear cargo space alone I'd have to pass this vehicle up, even if I didn't have all those other qualities I disliked.

So over all, not impressed. Next time I'll request something else.