On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, June 23, 2001

Caravan keeps the pack at bay

George Gongora/Caller-Times

On the outside, the fourth generation of the Dodge Grand Caravan looks a lot like its predecessor. However, according to information from Dodge, the minivan has undergone numerous changes underneath its sleek exterior.

There is a bit of folk wisdom floating around out there - you've probably seen it on a bumper sticker or two - that goes like this: Unless you're the lead dog, the view is always the same.
   In the minivan cosmos, Chrysler Corp. - DaimlerChrysler these days - has been the lead dog from Day One. While others noodled around with rear-drive truck-based minivans or weird little skates imported from Japan and tossed higgledy-piggledy into the fray, the Pentastar guys created the formula for the segment, and they've been refining and perfecting it now for more than a decade and a half. Front-wheel drive (with all-wheel-drive available as an option), gobs of room for passengers and cargo, and, by no means least, carlike handling and performance. Lead dog? You bet your stock certificates.
   'Leader of the pack'
   However . . . being the lead dog is no stroll in the park. Thing is, all those other pups back in the pack think they ought to be up front and are forever nipping at the lead dog's heels (do dogs have heels?) in hopes he will let them slip ahead.

George Gongora/Caller-Times

In addition to space and versatility with the seats, the Dodge Grand Caravan offers three-zone automatic temperature control, making a summer day easier to handle.

   Making matters worse (for the lead dog) is the fact that by now the competition has awakened to the fact that Chrysler was right at the beginning and is right today about the formula for success in minivan-world. Thus, everybody is building roomy front-wheel-drive minivans with carlike handling and decent performance. These days, we're talking homicidal competition and incessant one-upmanship.
   Consider: Time was, minivans offered but a single right-side sliding door. Ah, but then Chrysler offered sliding doors on both sides. Then GM offered power-assisted sliding doors.
   Did DaimlerChrysler swoon? Not a bit: With the 2001 fourth-generation Dodge Caravans (and Chrysler Voyagers and Town and Countrys), you can get not only those two power sliding doors - you can also get a power-activated rear hatch. Ha! Go to, sirrah! Take that!
   Fourth generation
   The fourth-generation minivans that Daimler-Chrysler rolled out for the 2001 model year are in one sense similar to the second-generation Chrysler minis: They don't look that different from their immediate predecessors. The '01 Caravan, for a box on wheels, is about as sleek as you can get in this genre - but so was the '00 version.

George Gongora/Caller-Times

The Grand Caravan can come with a 3.8-liter V-6 engine pumping out 215 horses, or it can come with a 3.3-liter V-6 (a total of 180 hp). It features standard antilock brakes.

   The significant changes are under the skin - and I have a seriously heavy bundle of Dodge public information before me detailing, and detailing, and detailing, all the good stuff DaimlerChrysler has done with Gen 4.
   Let's consider versatility, one of the core values of the minivan philosophy: According to Dodge, there are 972 interior configurations available to deal with varying combinations of people and gear. (Perhaps the vehicle needs to come with a warning label: All these options could send seriously indecisive people into shock.)
   You want torsional stiffness? Of course you do: 20 percent improvement for '01. A movable/removable center console that can be placed between front or second-row seats, or taken out altogether? Done. Three-zone automatic temperature control? Need you ask?
   A shade crisper
   How does she drive? Like a minivan, man. You were expecting maybe a Lamborghini? It's getting really difficult to differentiate, since all the mini-makers are reading from the same sheet music, but it struck me that the handling of our Grand Caravan tester was just a shade crisper than what I've experienced in some of the competitors. You're never going to be fooled into thinking you're in a sport sedan, but the vehicle's comportment is commendably predictable; the worst you're likely to encounter is major front-end plow if you insist on charging into the curves.

George Gongora/Caller-Times

With three rows of seats with independent seating, the Grand Caravan offers 972 ways to carry various combinations of people and gear, according to Dodge. The center console can be moved around or removed.

   Our Grand Caravan came with the 3.3-liter V-6, which for '01 has been muscled up by a 14 percent horsepower increase, boosting the total to 180 hp. Still, there's a bit of a grunt deficit - one that can be remedied by going for the optional 3.8-liter V-6, which this year pumps out a hearty 215 horses. Your gas mileage might slip a bit, but I suspect the tradeoff would be a worthwhile one. (There is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine standard on the entry-level Caravan for the maniacally frugal, but trust me: You want at least the lesser of the two sixes.)
   Standard antilock
   Commendably, DaimlerChrysler has provided Stop to accompany the Go: The optional four-wheel disc brakes with standard antilock boost the peace-of-mind quotient substantially.

2001 Dodge Grand Caravan ES Seven-passenger, front-wheel-drive minivan: Base price: $24,275 Price as tested: $31,210 Drivetrain: 3.3-liter fuel-injected V-6, 180 hp; four-speed automatic-overdrive transmission Brakes: Front and rear discs, power-assisted, with standard antilock (ABS) EPA mileage: 18 city/24 highway Web site: www.daimlerchrysler.com

   You will find little to complain about inside, whether you go for the base Caravan or the stretched Grand Caravan. There's all the room in the world, nicely configured seats, and air-conditioning that will take the edge right off a South Texas summer day.
   As I said a while back in pondering another minivan, if we made our automotive choices based strictly on utility and value-for-dollar, almost all of us would be driving minivans. Plenty of us aren't, of course, but conveyances like this one drive home the realization that the years when a van, mini or otherwise, could be regarded as some kind of vehicular hair shirt are way behind us
  
  

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