After driving the 2005 Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, I decided I needed another look at the Chrysler. I gave it a favorable review last spring, but would this evaluation hold up with the Japanese vans fresh in my mind? Since I'd already reviewed the Chrysler, I tested the Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with leather and premium packages.
Styling The Dodge Grand Caravan is not quite as attractive as the Chrysler Town & Country, with less in the way of elegant detailing, but to my eye is still more attractive than the Honda and Toyota. Especially the Toyota (hate that front end). For 2005 17-inch wheels are no longer an option on the Dodge, and the 16s look rather plain.
Inside the Dodge is also a little plainer than the Chrysler, and although reasonably nice neither approach the luxurious look and feel of the uplevel Honda and Toyota I drove. The 2005 Honda represents a huge advance over the 2004 in this regard, and while the Toyota was available last year this was my first time in the leather-trimmed XLE—my previous test was in the base level CE. So I take back my earlier evaluation that "the Chrysler's interior is the most upscale of any minivan."
The Honda and Toyota also have higher quality, easier to use knobs and buttons. Some of the Dodge's are mounted too low to easily see and reach. This is another area where I have downgraded my earlier evaluation of the Chrysler vans.
Accommodations The front seats in the Grand Caravan are comfortable, yet trail the Toyota's plush thrones in this area. Oddly, they offer a generous amount of lateral support, something I have often wished for in the brand's cars (the upcoming Hemi-powered 300 included). The driving position is very good. An extraordinarily low cowl and beltline (base on the windows) make for extremely good visibility all-around, and especially forward.
I'm only 5-9, yet drove the Grand Caravan with the pedals all the way forward and the seat all the way back. Taller drivers might feel cramped up front. The Japanese are superior in this regard.
Accommodations are also not as good in back. The Dodge's second-row seats have always been a bit undersized and too low to the floor—both common issues with minivans. The 2005's are even smaller to enable them to fold into underfloor storage compartments. Those in the Honda and Toyota are more comfortable and feel more substantial.
When the headrests are in their lowest position they jab an adult in the shoulder blades. For decent comfort and safety they must be raised substantially. The same goes for the Grand Caravan's third-row headrests—and the third row headrests in the Ford, Toyota, and Honda as well. All four avoided the need to remove the headrests before folding the seat—a requirement with the 2004 Honda and Nissan—through an unusually low seatback. The difference with the Dodge is this was done in the second row as well. At least the headrests are very easy to adjust. To lower them, just press a button and gravity does the rest.
To Chrysler's credit, once the headrests are raised the second-row buckets feel good considering their size (Chrysler credits high-tech foam), but a full-size seat would be better still. A continuing issue with the Dodge's second row: there is little space for feet under the driver's seat, compromising legroom. The second row seats can be slid backward to increase legroom, but this robs legroom from the third row. Alternatively, the driver's seat can be raised off the floor, but for me at least this yields an uncomfortably high driving position.
The third-row seat is nice and wide, unlike that in the Ford. However, as in past years it is not especially comfortable, and if the second row is not all the way forward (or even better, folded beneath the floor) legroom is limited for adults. The seat remains too low to the floor, but a sharp upward rake to the cushion marginally improves thigh support over the 2004.
In both the Honda and Toyota (and Nissan as well, for that matter) the third row is roomier and more comfortable. The Ford has a third row that is marginal for adults, putting it in last among those mentioned here.
The 2004 Dodge offered a class-leading amount of cargo room if you're willing to remove and store the heavy, bulky seats. But of course you're not, right? The 2005 offers nearly as much cargo volume—at 165 cubic feet just a couple fewer than the 2004 and nearly 20 more than the three imports—and adds to this class-leading versatility.
Each second-row seat folds into an under-floor bin. Nissan offers a fold-flat second row, but the Chrysler solution is superior in at least two ways. First, it results in a totally flat floor with no open nooks and crannies for small items to fall into. Second, when the bins are not in use they can each hold a good amount of stuff (they are 33 inches long, 25 inches wide, and nearly ten inches deep).
Overall, the 2005 Chrysler minivans are by a substantial margin the segment leader in cargo volume and versatility. While others were looking for incremental improvements, Chrysler has successfully reinvented the minivan interior. This is its only significant advantage over the others. One further improvement could be made: as in the Sienna LE (but not the other Sienna trim lines) the front passenger seat could fold forward to enable very long items to be carried entirely inside the van.
On the Road Performance changes little if any for 2005, as there were no major powertrain or chassis changes (with one exception). The revised 2005 van is about 150 pounds heavier, but this is not a substantial percentage change.
The Japanese power their large minivans with nifty four-valve-per-cylinder engines of between 3.3 and 3.5 liters. The Chrysler overhead-valve 3.8-liter V6 is antiquated in comparison, makes far less sophisticated noises (the Toyota engine is especially smooth and quiet), and on paper appears down on power. Its power peaks at 215 horsepower, while the import engines produce between 225 and 240. Well, peak power is not everything. Up to 4000 RPM—as high as most minivan engines venture much of the time—the Chrysler engine produces at least as much power as the Japanese engines. As a result, it feels plenty powerful in normal driving. In full throttle acceleration, especially at highway speeds, the Honda and Toyota have an advantage, but it is not a huge one.
More of an issue than the engine is the transmission. The Chrysler four-speed unit is down a ratio compared to those in the Honda, Toyota, and top-line Nissan. A fifth ratio would aid performance and fuel economy. Hopefully one is on the way.
The one major change for 2005 is that all-wheel-drive will no longer be an option. Creating the storage wells for the seats eliminated space for a driveshaft. If you want a stowable seat and all-wheel-drive, head to your Toyota dealer. Toyota found space for the driveshaft by eliminating the spare tire on its all-wheel-drive vans. Chrysler was apparently unwilling to take this step. If a third row that folds flat on top of the floor is acceptable, GM also offers vans with this combination of features. (The GM vans are also being revamped for 2005. The most significant changes are uglier exteriors and higher quality interiors.)
The Grand Caravan's "Premium Package" includes a "touring suspension." Perhaps as a result, it has the sportiest feel among full-size minivans even without the 17-inch tires that were available last year. The steering effort is too high—something I rarely say. In comparison, that in the Toyota is too light and the Honda's is about perfect. Because of its lighter (but not too much lighter) steering and a more composed suspension the 2005 Honda edges out the Dodge in terms of being most intuitive to drive. The Toyota, in contrast, is too softly sprung. It leans more than the Dodge and Honda, understeers heavily, and floats and bobs a bit over rough patches. (The Ford similarly suffers.) For me this is the Toyota's greatest weakness, exceeding even its front-end styling.
I was much less impressed with the Chrysler van's ride quality this time around. I assume the Dodge's suspension tuning is the same as in the Chrysler I drove last spring (that one was also fitted with a "touring suspension"), so suspect that my revised evaluation follows from new competition that has raised my expectations. Both the Toyota and Honda ride very smoothly, with the former having the edge here but not by a large margin. In comparison, the Dodge feels a bit harsh over the rough patches. More than this, it generally feels like a cheaper, cruder vehicle, without the polish of the two leading Japanese players.
Safety To match the competition in safety (Chrysler expects five stars all around) the 2005 features a strengthened front structure and available three-row curtain airbags. (The latter eliminate the ceiling-mounted assist handles and are not available with the sunroof, though.) Stability control, available on the Toyota and Nissan—and standard even on the base trim of the 2005 Odyssey—is still not an option. If you regularly drive on slick, curvy roads, one of these vans is probably better.
Dodge Grand Caravan Pricing For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created:
www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the
TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in
one swift pass.
I'll use TrueDelta to compare the three minivans equipped as much as possible to the Odyssey EX-L (leather). In this case it is especially helpful, as Toyota has grouped all of the Sienna's options into an array of bewildering packages. The results, after TrueDelta adjusts for differences in equipment is a $34,565 price on the Toyota (XLE with #6), a $30,810 price on the Honda, and a $29,920 price on the Dodge (with a $1,500 rebate included in the last). However, equipment differs considerably even after making them as similar as possible. TrueDelta adjusts for these differences, yielding a $465 advantage of the Dodge over the Honda, which in turn has a $1,515 advantage over the Toyota.
Last Words In the auto industry, it is not possible to rest with a successful product. Everything keeps improving, such that a product that seemed excellent one year can seem average or even substandard just a few years later. This is the situation faced by the Chrysler van. Just last spring I was very impressed with the 2005 model. While I remain very impressed with the versatility of its seating, in many other areas the 2005 Odyssey and Sienna (in XLE form) substantially raised my expectations. Compared to them the Grand Caravan trails in just about every area save exterior styling and seating versatility—with the exception of a handling advantage over the Toyota.
Hopefully a running change will eliminate this issue. The Honda is my top pick owing to the best ride/handling balance and rough parity with the Toyota in all other areas save one. The only thing that keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending it is discomfort I personally experienced in the driver's seat. However, your priorities might differ. If seating comfort and interior ambiance are your top priorities, the Toyota is the leader. If interior versatility is far and away your top priority (you expect to need maximum cargo carrying capacity often), then the Chrysler (in Grand Caravan and more elegant Town & Country forms) still has an edge. Unfortunately for Chrysler, I suspect that's not enough to reverse the ongoing decline in its minivan market share.
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 Caravan or 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 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:
Chrysler Town and Country Ford Freestar Honda Odyssey Nissan Quest Toyota Sienna 
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