Anyone own one? Thinking of getting one and they seem have the most room of the mini-vans. Every year we run to Florida for the winter and I really don't need a 2500 truck for that. Would also be easier for the wife to drive around. Whats the good, bad or the ugly with them. Mileage ??
Parking the 34' trailer this year at our campground, don't need it down South anymore.
Bob H

 

Bob, I can't help you but, a member here called Vzdude seems to be extremely knowledgeable with Chrysler vehicles, I believe he is a fleet tech that maintains a lot of Chrysler vehicles.


Good luck,


Tim

 

My mom just bought a 2008 dodge grand caravan with the stow and go. Nice van and to top it all off it has the lifetime limited warrenty. Then for an extra 1750.00 she got a lifetime bumper to bumper warrenty from dodge. I think that makes it worth buying a dodge right there.

 

It's a great van, but resale on them is terrible and the mileage isn't the best in the world. Look at the Honda Odysseys. They're a bit more expensive, but they get good mileage and when it comes time to sell it or trade it in your doing a lot better than a Caravan.

 

We have a 2005 Grand Caravan and it is comfortable, and it has the stow and go seats which is awesome. It gets 19.5 MPG in the city...don't do a ton of Highway. Very useful vehicle though and it is comfortable. I think the tranny's on them are...well...mushy...but it is a minivan so I guess that's what you get.

 

We have a loaded 07 T&C and my wife loves it. The rear seats are very uncomfortable to me though due to the design of the Stow&Go feature. I really like the Stow@Go though. The seat fronts of the middle row of seats just seem too high to me. The front seats are fine though. The DVD player for the rear entertainment system is in the dash and that is a huge plus once you are driving down the road. I sure wish my truck had that. Mileage is much better than the GMC Conversion van we had prior but I don't have the actual numbers....
We are keeping ours for a very long time......

 

All I have to say that the new Chrysler lineup of minivans are AWESOME. I hate minivans but these things are actually pretty set up. The rear stow and go, dvd player, card table, all that is cool stuff.

 

I don't know. There really isnt as much room in the middle of the van as their camerawork leads you to believe. That's why we got an almost new 07. That Satellite TV is a cool option if you have kids.....

 

I agree. It aint an RV. But then again a lot of the ads I have seen have the entire family sitting back there. I figure it is good for a couple of small children. And yah, Sirius TV is really cool.

 

At 73 we don't have a bunch of kids to worry about. What we're looking for is the traveling storage. The 34' trailer is parked 150 miles away in South Jersey. When we go for a couple of weeks the wife takes everything.
When we migrate to Florida in the winter she loads even more. Thanks for the info, keep it coming.
Bob H

 

We have a 2005 Chr T&C Limited that is loaded. It now has over 77,000 miles on it. Only had one breakdown, a water pump just before the 36K warrenty expired so it was replaced under warrinty. Tires were replaced at 65K miles.

The sto-go seats only allow for a compact spare. We do have I full size we carry on long trips, if we have room, and it is also used in the tire rotation.
Put a hitch on the back, it will tow 3,800 pounds, with a 35 sq foot front limit on the towed unit. Have it set up with a brake controller.

When I drove it from Houston, to Casa Grand AZ and back, using cruise it would run over 25 MPG average.

It is very comfortable to drive and ride in, have been comfort able with 7 adults, bit cramped, but ok. The Nav system works great, and has never been updated. so some areas are not mapped.

It has never been waxed, or polished and the finish looks almost new, and it don't know what a grarage is.

Daughter is using it now, and drives hard and fast in the Houston area. Tranny might be getting warn, as it somtimes goes "bump, thump" when stopping.
It is long so some parking spots a tight, but we have been very satisfied with it. It was purchased new.

 

Can't say a whole lot about the new ones, Bob. Its been about 6 years since I worked at the dealer. I am waiting for the new one to come out. Common Rail Diesel! Joint vneture between VW and Chrysler. They should get excellent mileage, and have all the creature comforts like mentioned above. It seems to me that the 01-06 models had more issues with power steering that I recall. My wife drives a 99 with the Flex Fuel 3.3L. I can't tell the difference in HP between it and the 3.8L . Mileage, well.....like also said above, could be better, but around town 18-19 and on the hwy @ 75 is right around 22. Luggage, 2 adults, 3 kids, and I don't have a light foot! It could be better I'm sure, with better driving habits! Do some research on the TDI or CRD minivan. Supposed to be out end of this year. I'll see what I can find!