2008 Dodge Caravan SXT: It's back!

Boy, this is saying something (bad) about this van if 'minor annoyances' include 'an intermittent no-start, a reluctant shifter and a door that wouldn't close'. Don't sound too minor to me. Sad that the once class-leading product of Chrysler is leaving this kind of a record for all to see.

The Caravan's current carapace is the purest expression of function over form that is currently produced in the automotive world.

That flat, tall, and wide rear end just leads to a flat, low, tall, and wide rear loading area. Slab-sided sides give more area for ingress/egress.

I find this one of the least attractive vehicles currently on the road. But I imagine I'd enjoy when loading a heavy suitcase and the load floor is only ~18" off the ground :)

Joe

Yes, the styling's another big disappointment, reminds me of the VW Eurovan, practical, but nothing else. The 3rd gen (1st version with curves) was the high point Caravan/T&C.

I'm as patriotic as the next guy and I'd love to buy American but honestly... who in their right mind would spend $40,000 to have their wife and kids drive around in a car that sometimes won't start. Never mind the door that doesn't close.

Let's call a spade a spade... this thing is a piece of crap. A Toyota, Honda or Kia minivan seems like a much better buy.

I don't see any real defense of Chrysler products anymore on these forums....all of their current offerings, with the exception of the challenger, are just crap. Who the hell approved the Nitro, Caliber, Avenger, and Sebring? Seriously?

That being said, the new Challenger is absolutely stunning in person (I've only seen one, parked outside of the gym I go to one day). I couldn't believe how utterly spot on it's presence and form were for a muscle car...and the detailing was spot on. I only spent 30 seconds examining it, but it was great.

Joe

Joe I own a 08 Avenger and I love the car. I have had it for about the same time as Edmunds has had the Caravan and I've put more miles on my car (currently at 16873) and nothing has gone wrong. I love the styling as it doesn't look like anything else on the road. When I first got it a guy came up and said that car looks like it came straight out of Robocop.

So I am easily going to have to call shenanigans and be one to defend the Dodge marquee.

Back in 2005 before we bought our Odyssey Touring, my wife and I looked.... and I mean LOOKED at a Town & Country and some other vans before deciding to go back to the Honda dealer.

She opened the door and said instantly "this will not work". She just walked back to her car and waited for me to get in.

watch out though... I'd almost bet the warped bumper cover comes back. Especially if the new one came from the same supplier as the old one...

And yes the Challenger is very good looking in person. The local dealer here had TWO on the lot the other day. One was orangbe and owned by the general manager and the other was a black one that a guy didn't want because the truck driver scatched a fender getting it off the truck. The dealership sent it to the body shop and it still looks pristine, but the guy didn't want it so they stuck it on the lot to sell....

I agree I would never buy a Caravan for $40K... however you don't have to. Saw an ad in the paper today for Caravans starting at $21.9K.

That undercuts the Honda and Toyota by 10 grand and even the Koreans by 8K.(Canadian prices).

For $40K it feels cheap, for 31K it's a tough sell over a base Honda Odyssey but for $21K to $25K... it's a really good family van.

Seeing that my wife and I actually own an '08 Grand Caravan SXT I thought I might shed some light on this blog. Ours has thankfully not had a single issue, but it is not a daily driver and has only about 10,000 miles on it. To those that say they cannot understand why anyone would pay $40K for this the answer is easy. The GC is the most versatile minivan you can buy hands down. It is super easy to take advantage of its myriad number of configurations, making it very appealing to people who plan to use their van for things other than people-moving. I will admit that quality is crap, but the van is quick and handles really well.

If we had to do it all over again I probably would have stuck to my guns and forced my wife to buy the Odyssey, but it has been a good van for us so far with the little driving we have actually done in it.

Don't lump this together with Ford and GM and call it "typical poor American quality" Ford and GM are just about on par with their rivals in those areas now (even if the press refuses to admit it) and this van was originally designed while the Germans owned Chrysler.

Finally saw one of these on the road yesterday and it is butt ugly compared to the previous model. A little reverse styling effort in my opinion.

Apparently, we're allowed to draw conclusions about an entire model based on a single sample. I know someone with a Caravan. For them, it's been flawless. Should I conclude that the Caravan is the world's most reliable vehicle?

brn- do you think that the deficiencies of this minivan at such a young age(warping bumper cover, stubborn shifter, etc.) are limited to just this copy?

I personally like the styling. Not that I did when I first saw it. At the time I recall thinking how they'd taken a good looking van and screwed it up. Now I just see a very useful shape with good looking details and nice sharp edged styling. Too bad about the problems Edmunds has had with this one, and I for one certainly hope (and doubt) that every (or even most) other owners are experiencing all the same problems. It's still not good though.

For the people like "brn" who still think we shouldn't judge the quality of a brand based solely on first hand experience...JD Power Dependibility Study.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080807/ap_on_bi_ge/autos_dependability

"Chrysler LLC was the only Detroit automaker with no brands ranked better than the industry average." (in problems per 100 vehicles)

So, exactly what conclusion should we draw from this???

"So, exactly what conclusion should we draw from this???"

Easy, Chrysler hasn't been keeping up with their kick back payments to J.D. Powers.

Want the good numbers? You have to keep the little unmarked envelopes coming.

Some of you may not believe this, but I've been disappointed in Chrysler for decades. I think they're better now than they used to be, but I do think they still have quality control issues that are worse than the industry average. I think VW, Mercedes, Nissan, and Hyundai (yes) are below average too. To have an average, there have to be people below it.

Even with that, I saw what I considered excessive bashing on a vehicle that just isn't as bad as people made it out to be. I countered. That's about it.

brn I am with you in defending the Grand Caravan as a basically well thought out vehicle, but I own one and the quality really is atrocious. It is one of the cheapest feeling cars I have ever been in. I think we need to make a distinction between quality and reliability, though. The GC is one of the worst vehicles in the industry for quality, but reliability is sound (at least in my experience).

Also, Nissan and Mercedes are not below the industry average in any quality/dependability category by any independent source (except for possibly Consumer Reports which lost all relevance when it stopped being a true non-profit). They deservedly have been below in the past, but times change.