Caravan News
A nice shade of green
Grand = Longer
7-20-10 - With another baby on the way, we decided to take the most unfortunate plunge, and "upgrade" our family vehicle from a full-sized sedan to a mini-van. It makes sense, in theory. With an extra row of seating, our kids can take friends along with us. We can move furniture without borrowing other people's vans. I can now transport a full sheet of plywood or drywall, if ever I need to.
It is a nice vehicle. Having driven a few vans over the years (Astro, Montana, old Caravans), this one seems the most well thought out. There are countless little interior touches that set it apart from the others. I never thought I would own a Chrysler vehicle, but when it comes to mini-vans from this era, they seem to have made the best ones. Not that any of them are honestly that good. The GM vans have weak transmissions and engine gasket issues. The Chryslers can have engine and transmission problems too (though it's not quite as universal as the GM problems). I'm told that Ford vans are a nightmare as well. And so we decided to try a Dodge out for once, and see how it goes.
Unfortunately, the fuel economy thus far has been somewhat... dismal. I don't know that we've broken the 20 mpg barrier yet, and that is despite the rather small 3.3-liter engine. Hopefully it does a little better on longer trips, but we haven't really had occasion to test that out yet. Perhaps a tune-up is in order.
Hopefully this van will last us a good many years and miles. We shall see!