The best pick in the minivan market
Grand Caravan SXT Plus roomy and powerful
When Lee Iacocca had his epiphany and decided the minivan was to become the modern station wagon, the automotive world changed. The two-box design did everything the old “woodie” wagon could, but it also did so much more.
At its long-ago launch the Dodge Caravan was, well, a little crude. Subsequent generations, however, have taken the basic format and morphed it into something that can be as basic or as luxurious as any potential owner could possibly want. What has not changed is the flexibility and versatility.
The minivan game-changer arrived in the form of Dodge’s Stow ’n Go seating. Aside from the fact there’s no need to haul heavy seats out of the van and find a place to store them until needed again, it is the seat comfort that defies logic. To fit into the underfloor wells, the seat’s com-ponents had to be downsized, which meant reducing the bulk of everything, including the padding. And yet the Grand Caravan’s seats proved to be surprisingly comfortable on a longer haul despite their size.
Beyond that, it’s the mixand-match potential that truly impresses in Dodge’s new Grand Caravan—Dodge says there are 81 possible seating configurations.
With all seats upright, there are two large storage bins ahead of the middle row seats, a deep well behind the third row seat and 935 litres of storage space. Switching to the cargo mode is more than a one-handed affair, but it is painless. Stow the third row and the cargo capacity jumps to 2,359L; drop the middle seats — a process which requires moving the front seats fully forward — and the available space blossoms to 4,072L.
The plus is found in the fact the wheel-well intrusions are minimal, which means the storage area is nicely squared off. What goes unsaid is that when the need to go back to the passenger format arrives, the seats are aboard and not sitting in the garage.
The rest of the cabin is equally well thought out — soft touch materials, an attractive design and a smart layout. The tester included Dodge’s Uconnect system with navigation. This thing is, without question, the simplest to comprehend and master. Beyond that, the inclusion of audio control on the back of the steering wheel is a clever touch because it puts otherwise wasted space to good use. The backup camera proved to be worth its cost, especially with the horde aboard — the rearward sightlines are tight at best, so with four heads bobbing about in the back it became impossible.
The anomaly is the lack of automatic headlights. Today, this is a standard feature on many entry-level cars — the SXT Plus carried a price tag of $41,035, which is far from entry level. Instead, an archaic and annoying chime dings the instant the ignition key is removed and the lights are kept on.
In terms of its drive, the 2014 Grand Caravan is a very distant relative to the original — many owners of those early examples still have nightmares about the Mitsubishi four-cylinder. Today, it’s Chrysler’s 3.6L Pentastar V-6 under the hood. It delivers 283 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, which is enough to bring a rewarding turn of speed, even when the Caravan is loaded with people and/or cargo.
The Grand ran from rest to 100 kilometres an hour in 8.4 seconds and it delivered a sub-six second run in the 80 to 120 km/h passing test. Remarkably, it did this while returning surprising fuel economy — a test average of 11.3 litres per 100 km, and this was with five passengers or considerable cargo weight aboard most of the time. The six-speed transmission helps enormously, as the gear spacing matches the engine’s characteristics and it was willing to kick down quickly, which explains the speedy passing move.
The Dodge Grand Caravan remains the best of a shrinking crowd of minivans — it has ruled the roost for 30 years, which, perhaps, explains why so many other manufacturers are deserting the segment. It remains as flexible, versatile and comfortable as ever.
It can also be equipped to suit just about any owner. But, therein lies its Achilles heel: The Grand Caravan can get expensive in a hurry. In this case, the SXT Plus with its Stow ’n Go seating started at $27,995, but carried an as-tested sticker price of $41,035 before destination and taxes.