The IT Nerd

This part of the Dodge Grand Caravan Crew Plus covers how this van drives and handles. I’ll be honest, I expected this to drive like a… minivan. Let me explain that in more detail:

• Toronto’s rather craptastic streets could not upset this minivan. Not only that, a lot of the bumps were either filtered out completely or minimized.
• The steering was shockingly good. I have to admit that it crushed any pre-conceptions that I came into this review with as I actually got decent amounts of road feel and it has the right amount of assistance relative to the speed of the vehicle. It didn’t feel “video game like.” I’m not going to be carving corners with this minivan, but it does perform better than one would expect.
• Body roll is actually quite well controlled. Although I will admit that if you push it too hard, you’ll get body roll and understeer in a hurry. Good thing it has traction control and stability control to keep you out of trouble.

Engine noise is decently controlled as it’s quiet for the most part unless you put your foot into it. Wind noise is non-existent and the only noise that is present is the noise of the tires. Speaking of the tires, I will note this. This minivan really needs a better set of tires. There is a lack of grip when it’s wet as it is really easy to make the minivan break traction on wet roads. It also means that if you live in an area that gets snow, winter tires are a must.

Your vision in the drivers seat is very good. You sit high so it gives you a commanding view of the road ahead and the drivers seat is very comfortable, though some extra bolstering would be welcome. The rear view is decent, although I would strongly suggest that you flip down the headrests as they will block your vision. Speaking of vision, the mirrors are huge and if you properly adjust them you will have no blind spots.

Clearly this isn’t your average mom mobile minivan. Part 5 of my review will cover the technology in the vehicle. Stay tuned.

This entry was posted on December 7, 2012 at 10:28 am and is filed under Products with tags Dodge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.