The 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan gets significant updates to make it more competitive. And not just on a price-tag basis either. The company says it’s committed to making its products as desirable as the Japanese, but still priced the way customers expect .
Dodge started with essentially the same box as before, but spent time tweaking the nose, headlights, lower fascia and fog lights to better mimic the cross-hair grille migrating to the rest of the line. The rear has a reshaped tailgate with new taillights, bumper and tailgate. It also gets a roof rack that hides the crossbars (like the Subaru Outback) to cut down on wind resistance if you don’t need them, while fresh 16- and 17-inch wheels add a little aggression.
One of the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan’s niftiest features remains Chrysler’s Stow ’n Go seating system. It’s standard and enables the second-row buckets fold neatly into the floor, eliminating the need to remove them to create more cargo space. In the seats’ upright position, the floor wells become large covered storage bins. The three-passenger third-row bench seat folds into its own floor well – power operation is available for that – and folding both the second and third rows creates a long, flat load surface and some 140 cubic feet of cargo volume.
Base prices for the 2011 Grand Caravan are $1,120-$1,980 higher than for roughly comparable versions of the 2010 Grand Caravan. Attribute the increase in part to a different mix of standard equipment and the added cost of the more advanced Pentastar powertrain, and toss in a $15 hike in the destination fee.
Chrysler finally seems to have adjusted to this reality, making some major upgrades to its minivan lineup for 2011, including a complete overhaul of the engine, suspension and interior. After a week behind the wheel, we can enthusiastically endorse the new engine and suspension, and we liked the new interior a lot.
