As pretty much everyone knows, Chrysler created the minivan segment a quarter-century ago, and continues to sell more of the things than any other manufacturer. But its success with minivans has been threatened from two directions. First, Honda and Toyota finally introduced highly competitive minivans in the late 1990s, and have continuously improved them in the decade since. Second, the minivan segment has been shrinking as buyers have increasingly opted for less practical but more stylish SUVs. Recently both General Motors and Ford decided to abandon the segment altogether. But Chrysler decided to stick it out, and to introduce all-new minivans for 2008.

Are these new products good enough to compete with the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna? Might they stop the decline of the segment by providing additional reasons to buy a minivan? To find out, I recently drove a Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with the 3.8-liter V6 and a Chrysler Town & Country Limited with the 4.0-liter V6. This review focuses on the former, but will also make some comparisons to the latter.

Styling

Even since Chrysler introduced the first minivans, their styling has become rounder and rounder. The previous generation Chrysler minivans have often been described as "egg shaped." Well, the new Grand Caravan (there is no longer a short wheelbase Caravan) is much less curvy. In fact, it's about as boxy a minivan as you'll find these days. Essentially, Chrysler kept the overall width about the same, but widened the body a number of inches at both the floor level and the roof level, dramatically reducing the curvature in the bodysides.

There are at least two explanations, both of which might be true. First off, a box feels much roomier inside than an egg. At eye-level the body is much wider. The A-pillars don't curve inward nearly so much, and as a result remain outside the driver's line of sight. From behind the wheel you don't much notice them. In the rear rows, outboard passengers' heads are much further from the window headers. So there are practical reasons for going boxy with the body.

If engineers were in charge of a minivan's design, this is how they'd do it. It's only logical. Traditionally, designers have pushed back, because bodysides that curve inward tend to look more stylish. This time around, the engineers appear to have achieved total victory.

From an aesthetic standpoint, egg-shaped vehicles cannot aspire to the rugged image that prompts many SUV purchases. An egg suggests motherhood and family. Many family vehicle buyers would like to think that their identity extends beyond parenthood. Hence the aversion to the typical minivan.

The new boxy design lacks these overtones. In addition to the slab sides, the hood is higher and much more horizontal than that of other minivans--almost like that of an SUV. As a result, the new Grand Caravan looks more trucky, even rugged, than the old one did.

Other possible explanations: they'd already gone as curvy as they could go, so they had to reverse direction. Finally, retro: the new van was styled to resemble the very successful, boxy original minivans.

Whatever the reason, I initially thought that the new design would not fly. It's not as pretty as the rounded designs, and lacks their futuristic character. But the more I think about it, the more I think Chrysler might have made a smart move. The new styling might not be beautiful, but it is distinctive, and could have broader appeal than the old one.

Inside, the styling follows a similar logic. It's plain and functional to a fault. There's not really any styling. Engineers could well have been responsible. Some people will like the stark simplicity of the Dodge's interior styling, others will wish for something fancier and more luxurious.

The new Chrysler Town & Country Limited might suit them. With generous portions of both fake wood trim and fake aluminum trim, the Town & Country Limited feels much warmer inside than the Dodge Grand Caravan--especially if you opt of the beige interior. That said, the plastics used are just as hard to the touch, and don't look nearly as luxurious when scrutinized as they do at a glance.

I specify the Limited because lesser Town & Country trims have less of both the wood and aluminum, and have a much less luxurious ambiance as a result, even with leather upholstery.

Like the interior trim, the switches all feel as if they were engineered with low cost a top priority. They lack the smooth, solid feel you'll find in many competitors. All of the vans I drove or sat in were fitted with Chrysler's new uplevel center console, the top portion of which can slide rearward over a foot to ferry food and drink from the first row to the second. A nifty idea, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The console felt loose and rickety in all but the last van I drove, a Town & Country Limited, where it felt a bit more tightly and solidly assembled than in the others.

Accommodations

The 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan's driving position is much different than that in other minivans, including the previous generation Chryslers. The instrument panel is much higher than the minivan norm, and the hood is relatively level. In other minivans the hood tends to drop out of sight. As a result of these differences, from behind the wheel the new Dodge seems more like an SUV, or at least a crossover, than a minivan. I drove a Toyota Sienna later the same day, and was amazed by how much of a difference its lower IP and drooping hood make.

The shifter is mounted on the instrument panel to the right of the steering wheel. The transmission can be manually shifted by tipping it left and right while in D. Unfortunately, it's a bit too far away for most people to comfortably reach. There's a reason why shifters are usually closer to the driver than the steering wheel is, rather than farther away.

Like that in other recent Chrysler products, the driver's seat in the new Dodge Grand Caravan looks plain and insufficiently contoured. Luckily it feels more comfortable than it looks, though it does provide less lateral support than the driver's seat in the previous generation minivans. The driver gets a manually adjustable lumbar support, but the passenger does not, even in a fully loaded van.

Three second row seats are offered. Few Grand Caravans are being equipped with the base seat, a two-person bench. Next up are the Stow 'n Go seats introduced on the 2005. As before, they store completely beneath the floor, for quick and easy transitions between people hauling and cargo hauling. The downside: they're shaped well but undersized for adults. In their lowest position the headrests are at shoulder blade level. They must be raised a good half-foot for optimum comfort and safety.

New this year are Swivel 'n Go seats. These can be turned 180 degrees to face the second row. A small plastic stowable table is included with this option. When swiveled, the second row ends up about a foot away from the third row. This is too tight for adults who aren't intimate, but should be fine when the rear seat passengers are pre-teen children.

The swivelers do have a major advantage for adults: they're much larger and more thickly padded than the stowable buckets. So they're much more comfortable. The downside: they're too large to stow beneath the floor. The usefully large underfloor storage compartments are included with all three seating options, though.

Either set of buckets reclines. (I'm not sure about the bench.) Power windows in the power sliding doors are an option, as are power flip-out windows in the third row. Rear A/C is an option on the base trim. I cannot imagine having such a large vehicle without it.

Only one third-row seat is offered, a split stowable three-person bench. As before, it's shaped to provide very good thigh support to adults. It can also be reclined or rotated into a tailgating position.

On paper, the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan isn't as roomy inside as the competition from Honda and Toyota. In person, they all feel about equally roomy, with enough headroom and legroom in all three rows for adults. Notably, the second row now provides plenty of legroom for adults even when not adjusted fully aft. The big difference: there's now much more room for feet beneath the driver's seat.

Chrysler's innovations don't end with the center console and seats. LED reading lamps swivel like those on airliners (but feel a bit cheap in the process). Ambient lighting halos the ceiling-mounted console at night. The top level audio systems include a hard drive for media storage. And the top level entertainment system includes two screens, each of which can play a different movie or--via satellite--TV show.

Safety

Front seat side airbags, side curtain airbags in all three rows, and stability control are now all standard. A rear backup camera is available even without the nav system. Between this, large mirrors, and rear obstacle detection, backing up doesn't pose too great a challenge in a Grand Caravan with all three. One note: objects are closer than they appear on the screen.

On the Road

Three V6 engines are available in the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan: a 175 horsepower 3.3-liter standard on the SE, a 197 horsepower 3.8-liter standard on the SXT, and a 251 horsepower 4.0-liter optional on the SXT. The first engine is paired with the old four-speed automatic, while the other two are paired with a new manually-shiftable six-speed automatic first offered in the 2007 Chrysler Pacifica.

I drove a Dodge with the 3.8 and a Chrysler with the 4.0. Thanks to very short initial gearing, the six-speed extracts significantly punchier low-speed performance from the 3.8 than the old four-speed did. At higher speeds gearing cannot compensate for the 3.8's modest peak power output, and acceleration falls to merely adequate. Which is, well, at least adequate for how most people drive minivans. The 4.0 feels just a bit stronger below 40 miles-per-hour, but its advantage becomes substantial at higher speeds. The 4.0 also sounds less gruff than the 3.8, but neither is a model of refinement.

The new Grand Caravan's suspension tuning is firmer than that of the Toyota Sienna, but not as firm as that of the Honda Odyssey. Handling and ride quality similarly fall between the Toyota and the Honda. The Dodge handles confidently, but not sportily. Quick lane changes at highway speeds produce a bit of sway at the rear end, but I experienced none of the floatiness that can afflict the Sienna. The steering is moderately firm, not overly light like that of the Sienna. A sport suspension is included with the 4.0 in the Dodge, but I was not able to drive this combination.

Perhaps most importantly, the ride is much smoother than that of the previous Dodge Grand Caravan, at least when the latter was fitted with the sport suspension. While the updated suspension does a better job of soaking up the bumps, the largest contributor could well be a noticeably stiffer body structure. The old van suffered from a rigidity deficit over bumps, and felt dated partly as a result.

The Town & Country Limited had 17-inch wheels, one inch larger than those on the Dodge I drove. Oddly, the sidewall height is unchanged. The uplevel tires lend the Chrysler more precise handling and a more composed ride, but the differences are not large. I did not note the makes of the tires, but this could be the source of the differences.

The new Grand Caravan is quiet, but not super-silent like the also new Buick Enclave crossover. The Toyota Sienna also seemed a bit quieter, with more of the smooth, silent feel of a luxury vehicle.

Dodge Grand Caravan Price Comparisons and Pricing

The Dodge Grand Caravan I drove, with leather, Stow 'n Go, rearview monitor, and dual entertainment systems, listed for $33,000. Adding all options would take the price to around $40,000.

The problem when comparing the price of the Dodge to the Honda and Toyota is that you need the 4.0 in the Dodge to match the base engines in the others, but this 4.0 is only available on a heavily loaded van.

Compared to an 2007 Honda Odyssey EX, a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with the 3.8 lists for nearly $1,800 less at MSRP, and nearly $1,200 less invoice to invoice. (The 2008 Odyssey will probably cost $100 to $200 more than the 2007.) The 4.0-liter V6 is only available in a more heavily loaded SXT. Comparing such a van to the Honda Odyssey EX-L, the Dodge lists for nearly $300 more at MSRP and $600 more at invoice--but also includes about $1,000 in additional features.

Compared to a 2008 Toyota Sienna LE with EVP#2, alloy wheels, and floormats, the Grand Caravan SXT lists for about $100 less, and includes about $300 in additional features. So the prices are pretty close at MSRP. But while invoice pricing is not yet available for the 2008 Sienna, Toyota dealers do enjoy much wider margins, so the Toyota is likely to end up costing less--at least until rebates are available on the Dodge.

Adding the 4.0 to the Dodge and loading up the Sienna to equalize equipment levels yields a price difference of around $1,300 in the Dodge's favor. Again, Toyota dealer's wider margins will give the advantage at invoice to the Sienna.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Dodge Grand Caravan:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Caravan.php

Last Words

Overall, the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan sets few if any new performance benchmarks for the minivan segment, not even with the 4.0-liter V6, but neither is it far behind the leaders in any particular area. Where the old van felt dated, the new one feels competitive.

The main performance issue: the 4.0 is only available in a heavily loaded Grand Caravan. Luckily, the 3.8 provides nearly identical performance in around town driving.

But performance isn't what minivans are about. In other, more important areas, the Grand Caravan sometimes leads and sometimes lags. The largest shortfall is in materials quality. The interior materials and switchgear don't compare well with those in the Dodge's primary competitors. The largest advantages are in seating and toys. Often when a manufacturer introduces a new design, they want one feature that no one else has, to attract buyers' notice. The new Grand Caravan has a slew of such features: stowing seats, swivel seats, a table, dual entertainment systems, the sliding console, the aimable reading lights...the list goes on and on.

The driving position is another notable difference. The view forward is much more like that in an SUV than in other minivans. This will appeal to many people, especially those who tend to avoid minivans, but others will prefer the even more expansive view forward in other minivans.

Put it all together, and the new Dodge Grand Caravan is the clear choice for those into innovative features (and keeping the kids occupied) while those who place a higher priority on interior materials will go elsewhere.

A Note on Dodge Grand Caravan Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Grand Caravan rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Dodge Grand Caravan reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the Grand Caravan--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Honda Odyssey review
Hyundai Entourage review
Kia Sedona review
Nissan Quest review
Toyota Sienna review




Amount Paid (US$): 33,000
Model and Options: SXT with 3.8 and Stow ''n Go