Braking performance—emergency braking, specifically—could also be better. Our recorded distance of 64 metres to stop the vehicle from 100 to 0 is much too long. Yet in normal stop-and-go traffic, no problem. It’s not the first Chrysler to act this way during our tests.
The Grand Caravan also gets some cosmetic changes this year. We’re not talking extreme makeover here, but subtle changes that distinguish the 2011 model from previous ones. These include a new front fascia, new taillamps and rear bumper, as well as the Dodge name spread out on top of the license plate recess.
The greatest argument for buying a Grand Caravan, however, is found inside and is called Stow ’n Go. Move the front seats up, lift the trap doors on the floor, pull on a handle and watch the second-row seats fold up and recess themselves into the floor cavities. Flip the 3rd-row bench as well and you get a completely flat cargo area.
Get it? No clumsy, heavy seats to remove and find a place for when you want to haul something big. No other minivan besides the Town & Country offers such a convenient setup. You’ll find up to 4,072 litres of cargo space, slightly less than in the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, but still commendable.
The new roof rack is also cleverly designed. When not in use, the crossbars are integrated into the roof rails, but can be extracted when duty calls. It’s an easy exercise of unscrewing them, moving them around and screwing them back in. Good job.
The redesign has been applied to the dashboard as well. It boasts a more harmonious look and is built with fewer bits and pieces, which means less chance of squeaking. The air vents no longer feel like they’ll break when you adjust them, and a new steering wheel is more stylish than the previous one. We just wish the shift lever didn’t look so tacky and that its shift gate would have remained straight, because it worked better that way.
The Grand Caravan also gets some cosmetic changes this year. We’re not talking extreme makeover here, but subtle changes that distinguish the 2011 model from previous ones. These include a new front fascia, new taillamps and rear bumper, as well as the Dodge name spread out on top of the license plate recess.
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| The Stow ‘n Go seating system is unbeatable. (Photo: Rob Rothwell/Auto123.com) |
The greatest argument for buying a Grand Caravan, however, is found inside and is called Stow ’n Go. Move the front seats up, lift the trap doors on the floor, pull on a handle and watch the second-row seats fold up and recess themselves into the floor cavities. Flip the 3rd-row bench as well and you get a completely flat cargo area.
Get it? No clumsy, heavy seats to remove and find a place for when you want to haul something big. No other minivan besides the Town & Country offers such a convenient setup. You’ll find up to 4,072 litres of cargo space, slightly less than in the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, but still commendable.
The new roof rack is also cleverly designed. When not in use, the crossbars are integrated into the roof rails, but can be extracted when duty calls. It’s an easy exercise of unscrewing them, moving them around and screwing them back in. Good job.
The redesign has been applied to the dashboard as well. It boasts a more harmonious look and is built with fewer bits and pieces, which means less chance of squeaking. The air vents no longer feel like they’ll break when you adjust them, and a new steering wheel is more stylish than the previous one. We just wish the shift lever didn’t look so tacky and that its shift gate would have remained straight, because it worked better that way.
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| The new dashboard looks better than the old one, and is composed of fewer parts. (Photo: Rob Rothwell/Auto123.com) |