2010MY Dodge Grand Caravan SXT

otispunkmeyer

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Location
Loughborough UK
Car(s)
'03 Skoda Superb (farewell :(), '06 Honda Civic ES
Dodge_Grand_Caravan_SXT.jpg


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ok so technically this isnt my car, and the pictures are stolen from elsewhere...but ive been in the US for the past few weeks and had one of these as a rental.

and i have to say.... it wasnt all that bad.

we got it in white, just like above and it came in SXT trim which from what i could tell, got you electric sliding doors, alloys, fogs and a chrome grill.

it was brand spankin new as well, having only done 17miles when i picked it up.

Looks/interior/general comments on design n quality -

well it looks like a van, but thats just the nature of the beast and in white....it looks a bit "white good". but what you gonna do, its a minivan...most of them are deathly boring.

Inside though.... well, very very pleasant indeed. very light and dark grey plastics create a very nice contrast in the cabin and the dark seats, while firm were at least comfortabe. the Stow n Go seating i thought was just genius. brilliant.

the fake, grey/black walnut trim also suited very well.

the best bit was the lighting though. white and mint green LED's with a mint green strip back lighting the plastic console hanging from the roof. it was very vodka bar and worked very well at night....nice ambience

fit n finish was pretty good in the places you could see and touch, tho there were a couple of wobbly panels here and there lurking around in the back and boot. the dash top was a bit wobbly and the upper glove box lid a bit flimsy...but the main touch points were well covered.


all in all id say it was no worse than any other car of that type and price and was certainly well made enough that i'd live with it. only thing i cant comment on is how well it all holds up in a year or two.

Driving -

it had a 3.8 liter V6 petrol that seemed gutless at first but once your moving it does have good in gear pace. going 50-70 was pretty rapid. whats more it seemed to behave the same whether there was just me or it was fully laden with people. engine made a nice noise and the 6 speed auto seemed well suited. also made a good sound, even if we werent going anywhere fast!

cruise was easy to use as were all the other controls...certainly no qualms there. headlights were very good in the dark.

handling was typical minivan...rubbish. very light steering made it an easy cruiser though. sharp bumps easily exposed the suspensions short comings...making the car feel less secure and transmitting the harsh noise into the cabin. but for the most part on smooth roads the cabin was very relaxing place to be....very refined levels of wind/road/engine noise. impressed.

other note worthy things -

fuel consumption was horrible, even when you tried.

you can feel the wipers moving through the pedals when stationary

the auto kicks down just when you finish accelerating via the cruise controls

the "key" is very mercedes

the ABS is horrible... in the wet, i drove past the drive way for my villa, i didnt slam the brakes on, but i did press firmly and i was greeted with locked wheels and sliding down the road. horrbile vibrations got sent through the steering wheel and the front end felt like it had gone all bendy... very disconcerting.

traction control is also pretty naff, really slow to react. you've often let off the gas before the TC gets you because of the horrific "tramping" the front wheels are doing sounding like theyre shakin the car to bits.

overall it was a very nice car, i was mostly impressed and i could certainly live with one day to day. some of the under floor engineering must be pretty simple though, but then again...it is a cheap minivan
 
OH and this thing had Sirrius satalite radio

it was a revelation.... i wish we had it here.
 
I dont like it either way. Those look like possibly the flattest seats in the world. But why are there three heater controls?
 
looks like it's from '99
 
I dont like it either way. Those look like possibly the flattest seats in the world. But why are there three heater controls?

For the rear, possibly?
 
If you combine the sales of the Chrysler and Dodge versions it seems to be selling quite well.
 
They sell well, but fleets make up a lot of those sales.

I wonder if Chrysler fixed the issue of scuffing door panels on the 2010s? All the 08/09's at my work have scuffed up rear fenders because there is not enough clearance between the fender and sliding doors interior panel when opened.
 
For the rear, possibly?

Aaah its for the children of course. I wonder if they (the children) also get a knob to play with, or else I imagine it could be hilarious to torment the things living in the back with full cold or full heat :lol:
 
Driver's side, passenger side, and rear.

Did yours come with the pop-up table? That's just brilliant right there. Call it what you will, as a people carrier with its Stow N' Go seating it's got the job nailed down.

Also, that shifter placement is apocalyptically retarded. Chrysler invented the push-button transmission 50 years ago, and today in the future we've resorted to putting the console shifter on the freakin' dashboard? Even a column shifter would have been less awkward.

1229961970_1958_Plymouth_Belvedere_Pushbutton_Transmission.jpg
 
Aaah its for the children of course. I wonder if they (the children) also get a knob to play with, or else I imagine it could be hilarious to torment the things living in the back with full cold or full heat :lol:

There's a set of knobs back there too, but there's a lockout on the IP to prevent kids from using the knobs if their parents don't want them to
 
I have nothing against minivans. They're the ultimate long-distance cruisers for more than two people, since they have 4 bucket seats. And to be fair, Dodge was the first in America (even though the vehicle has had maybe three styling changes since it came out in the 80s).
 
Also, that shifter placement is apocalyptically retarded. Chrysler invented the push-button transmission 50 years ago, and today in the future we've resorted to putting the console shifter on the freakin' dashboard? Even a column shifter would have been less awkward.

It seems to be the trend in minivans now...probably for space saving in the center console area while avoiding a column shifter because that's too truckish? (i have no idea, i made up that last part...lol)
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Only thing i dont like about the caravan/town and country is the lack of effort in implementing any amount of style in the car. All the cars i just posted have a nicer interior that doesnt look that bland and boring (for minivan standards at least).
 
yeah no sliding door scuffing and you could operate them from the key fob which was nifty and from cool ceiling mounted buttons in the front.... makes u feel like a pilot.

didnt have the pop up tables though, and i think the seats in the back werent brilliant.... drivers seat was quite comfy though because it had lumbar support.

another point, electric front seats = good.... electrically adjustable pedals = no good. they didnt go down far enough.

the steering wheel also didnt have rake adjustment.

shifter was in a decent place i thought, though while they give you the option of manually going up an down the gears (though it will change on its own if u leave it long enough) the shifters position really doesnt lend itself to easy up n down....especially as to shift up you nudge towards the wheel....meaning you cant really change up if you stretch out a pinky from the wheel.

this thing also had a very wobbly cubby bin between the front seats. it could hold 4 cups on 2 very baddly made cup holders. it looks like a third cup holder could go in there but they left it blank so you could use the bin under neith. besides a theres a pull out tray which can hold a further 2 cups!!! thats 6 cup holders for the front passengers!

I would defo invest in Sirrius.... just to be able to listen to the 80's on 8 or radio 1. worth it. though it cuts off under bridges an in tunnels and sometimes sounds like your listening via youtube

again... stow n go is simple genius. you can turn the back of your van into a van! with carpet!
 
Ah...I see its only a 2010 which is why not much has gone wrong. These vans don't age well at all, a big portion of the cars I have to either drive straight to the dealer or call in to get towed there...are these minivans. As for that wobbly bin, that actually covers the screw that holds the spare tire, problem with the wobbly bin is...after its pulled off to get to that spare tire it rarely stays put ever again. Same issues with the stupid key fob, pull out the emergency door key and the fob will eventually fall apart meaning you can't start it without paying Chrysler lots of money for another one.
 
yeah no sliding door scuffing and you could operate them from the key fob which was nifty and from cool ceiling mounted buttons in the front.... makes u feel like a pilot.

didnt have the pop up tables though, and i think the seats in the back werent brilliant.... drivers seat was quite comfy though because it had lumbar support.

another point, electric front seats = good.... electrically adjustable pedals = no good. they didnt go down far enough.

the steering wheel also didnt have rake adjustment.

shifter was in a decent place i thought, though while they give you the option of manually going up an down the gears (though it will change on its own if u leave it long enough) the shifters position really doesnt lend itself to easy up n down....especially as to shift up you nudge towards the wheel....meaning you cant really change up if you stretch out a pinky from the wheel.

this thing also had a very wobbly cubby bin between the front seats. it could hold 4 cups on 2 very baddly made cup holders. it looks like a third cup holder could go in there but they left it blank so you could use the bin under neith. besides a theres a pull out tray which can hold a further 2 cups!!! thats 6 cup holders for the front passengers!

I would defo invest in Sirrius.... just to be able to listen to the 80's on 8 or radio 1. worth it. though it cuts off under bridges an in tunnels and sometimes sounds like your listening via youtube

again... stow n go is simple genius. you can turn the back of your van into a van! with carpet!

Yeah, many reviewer's state that the second row seat's in Stow n' Go form aren't comfortable due to the need to fit them into the floor. Swivel n' Go seats as well as the base two passenger bench are probably more comfortable.

VW would like you to think that they chose traditional full size captain's chairs for the Routan due to comfort, but I think it was that and probably Chrysler wanted the "...n' Go" features to remain exclusive.


Also, that whole "center stack mounted gearshift thing" was most likely jumpstarted in the US by the first gen Kia Sedona:

2002KiaSedonaEX11.JPG


Ok so perhaps im a bit of a minivan nerd..:whistle::blush:
 
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I have nothing against minivans. They're the ultimate long-distance cruisers for more than two people, since they have 4 bucket seats.
Negative. That honor is reserved for full size conversion vans - because you have 4+ bucket seats, epic amounts of extra space, and a V8 soundtrack. You only lose out on fuel economy.
 
Negative. That honor is reserved for full size conversion vans - because you have 4+ bucket seats, a king-sized bed, entertainment system, a refrigerator, epic amounts of extra space, and a V8 soundtrack. You only lose out on fuel economy.

FTFY. :D
 
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