Nothing more here than a little behind the scenes action of our 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. With its massive sliding doors, wide liftgate, manual shift control, powerful motor and sturdy roof, the mighty Dodge is the preferred workhorse for our photography staff.
Just after I took that picture, I took a good look at the Ram emblazoned on the "chrome" grille and chuckled. "It's a mini-van, this thing shouldn't have the same logo as those burly trucks from the same company.", I thought. But then it hit me. I've been blinded by the leather-like interior, and the fancy-pants (but impossible to use) navigation system, and the power remote doors. The Dodge Grand Caravan isn't the luxurious retreat from the daily grind that the Honda Odyssey is; the DGC is a workhorse. It's the kind of minivan you can load with firewood found in a ditch. Or fill with dogs. Lots of dogs. Muddy ones. I wouldn't do that with an Odyssey. I'd have to lay down a tarp first and then put a blanket over the tarp and then I'd have to take it to a detailer and then probably sell it.
The Dodge Caravan wears the Ram for a reason. It's not pretentious or pretending to be anything other than a Minivan. We've never abused the DGC but we have put it to work and that's what you should be able to do with a utility vehicle. Too many vans and crossovers forget what fueled their initial popularity.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 24,952 miles
roar02ram says:
11:17 AM, 01/25/09
Really insightful post, Mike. Cheers!
mopar424 says:
11:21 AM, 01/25/09
Exactly!
bradyholt says:
11:31 AM, 01/25/09
What makes the Grand Caravan more abusable than an Odyssey? That it's less likeable?
billt9 says:
11:44 AM, 01/25/09
bradyholt,
The Odyssey should wear an Acura badge. That's what its interior is like.
slickersdrip says:
11:59 AM, 01/25/09
I like the insight on that, too.
Yet I still removed my Ram emblems from my SRT-4. They seemed a little out of place... so I replaced them with Autobot badges. Much more appropriate.
empowah says:
11:41 PM, 01/25/09
The Grand Caravan is available with load-leveling rear suspension, something you can't get on the Odyssey. The handling and drivability of our '03 Ody suffers noticeably when loaded up. I know some owners retrofit hydraulic air bags into the rear coils to level the suspension.
The GC is also available as a cargo van, and its towing capacity is higher than the Ody's.
dougtheeng says:
06:36 AM, 01/26/09
I very much agree with the sentiment of the post.
daskiing1 says:
06:56 AM, 01/26/09
The thing is the honda won't fall apart, as the Dodge has proven it will in previous posts. I'll take some driveability issues when loaded if it means its significantly more reliable.
firstwagon says:
07:33 AM, 01/26/09
Fallen apart? How has the Dodge fallen apart? It had a few minor problems shortly after they got it and since then they've been racking up tonnes of trouble free miles.
We've had 5 in our family over the years and not one fell apart.
I like the Honda but it doesn't have a perfect record either.
audisport says:
09:16 AM, 01/26/09
The Honda will wear better over the long run and will hold its value better over the years, but the Caravan will not simply "fall apart". The materials used in the Caravan are obviously of lower quality than that of the Honda and the build quality and fit and finish are also substandard when compared to the Honda, but it's not like the wheels are just going to fall off of the thing. Yeah, the interior might rattle worse than that of a 10 year old Honda, but I guess you get what you pay for????
briancam says:
09:32 AM, 01/26/09
Very Funny. I doubt the muddy dogs would care about the flimsy shift lever, warpped rear bumper cover, creaaaak/squeak/rattle from both front doors, busted side door, grinding front brakes and plastic-o-plenty inside. In fact, I just saw that same group of muddy dogs living in the burned out shell of a Chevy Celebrity Eurosport wagon, so they're not too picky.
The same cannot be said for Joe Family looking to pay down a $40,000 car loan with as few trips to the auto mall as possible.
firstwagon says:
04:02 PM, 01/26/09
"The same cannot be said for Joe Family looking to pay down a $40,000 car loan with as few trips to the auto mall as possible. "
If you have a family to support and you pay $40K for a Caravan (or anything really) then you're an idiot. You can get a Caravan for as low as $20K with discounts and even loaded it shouldn't pass $30K.
Then take your savings and put it on your mortgage, your kids education, your debts, whatever.
A little cheap trim and some minor glitches fixed under warrantee mean little in the face of family finances.
jjacquot says:
04:59 PM, 01/26/09
Why didn't anybody tell me my butt's so saggy? Perhaps it was just the rain?
bemanix88 says:
05:32 AM, 01/27/09
You know, this is a really interesting comment that reminds me of my family's Ford Windstar. It was a 1995 model that was, to put it bluntly, the biggest piece of crap ever. Gaskets blew just a few miles out of warranty and Ford refused to fix them despite being a known issue. Transmission needed to be rebuilt at 120k. And I don't understand to this day how a 3.8L V6 could be so pathetic.
However, it really was a tank and we used it all the time to take things to the dump, move furniture, etc. It just had this sense of solidity that Siennas and Odysseys don't have. Once, a huge tree fell on the Windstar during a storm--then we chopped it up and hauled the tree away in the Windstar. It only suffered a broken windshield and some superficial dents.
It really was a good utility vehicle. However, I think a big part of this was that it was just a piece of worthless junk and we wanted to get every last ounce of usefulness out of it.
cruiserhead1 says:
10:47 AM, 01/27/09
My sister's family owns a Dodge Caravan and they really like it. It is very functional and they have not had any real problems with it.
I also like the simple, clean styling. The Honda and Toyota seem so overwrought in exterior style.
The underfloor storage and multiple configurations are also very cool.
The only complaint is the 2nd row seat bottoms are really short! They are not a pleasant place to sit. The 3rd row is normal and more comfortable.