2006 Dodge Caravan Minivan Reviews & Ratings

coast-to-coast channels that include music, news, talk, sports and comedy. It's a great option to have when traveling because the stations don't change as you drive across the country.

UConnect uses Bluetooth technology to integrate the cell phone you carry on your belt or in your purse into a hands-free system installed in an SXT model. UConnect features voice dialing, an audio address book and other functions. UConnect's control pad is mounted on the dashboard and its microphone is attached to the overhead console. Your own mobile phone may be placed anywhere inside the vehicle. Conversations may be continued while entering or exiting the vehicle, without interrupting the call.

The Dodge Grand Caravan and Caravan are smooth, quiet vehicles, particularly when measured by minivan standards. Additional sound-deadening measures added last year reduced wind noise. We found carrying on a conversation to be easy and pleasant.

Ride quality is supple and well-controlled on the highway. The rack-and-pinion steering responds nicely and provides good feedback through the steering wheel. The Grand Caravan tracks true at highway speeds, so there's no need for constant, minor steering corrections. Indeed, the Dodge Grand Caravan offers superb driving dynamics. Grand Caravan rides more softly than an SUV, gliding over potholes rather than trying to beat them into submission. It's an excellent choice when transporting passengers on beat up freeways and bumpy urban streets.

Grand Caravan's relatively tight turning radius makes getting into parking spaces easy. It isn't easy to see exactly where the front corners of the van are located, however. It is easy to tell where the rear corners are, but the height of the windows blocks the view of low objects, like that expensive sports car you don't want to scratch. Optional rear Park Assist helps with this by lighting a series of small lights in the rear roof liner that are visible in the rearview mirror or when you turn around.

The 3.8-liter V6 in the Grand Caravan SXT delivers strong power. This big V6 employs a traditional pushrod overhead-valve design rather than the more contemporary overhead-cam setup found on many imports. Dodge is advertising lower horsepower and torque numbers for this engine this year, but it's only the numbers that have changed. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recently revised its test procedures for determining horsepower and torque, and nearly everyone's figures are coming out smaller. Numbers for the Caravan's four-cylinder were affected only slightly and for the 3.3-liter V6 not at all, but the 3.8-liter is now rated 205 horsepower and 240 pound-feet instead of the 215 horsepower and 245 pound-feet advertised last year. What's important to remember is that the engine itself is as strong as ever, even though its strength is now measured more conservatively.

We recommend the 3.8-liter V6 to anyone who regularly carries a heavy load of passengers. It offers good response when merging into fast freeway traffic, accelerating from intersections, or passing on two-lane roads. EPA City/Highway estimated fuel economy is a reasonable 18/25 mpg. An optional towing package is available with the 3.8-liter engine that raises the trailer rating to 3800 pounds.

Models equipped with the 3.3-liter V6 have enough power to climb hills without breathing hard. The 3.3-liter is smooth and quiet when cruising, although it makes itself known under full-throttle acceleration. Merging onto the freeway may not give you visions of your life insurance salesman, but it doesn't offer the acceleration performance of the larger 3.8-liter. The 3.3-liter is rated 180 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque, which is significantly less than the 3.8-liter. Fuel mileage is only slightly better than the 3.8-liter, at 19/26 EPA city/highway. The 3.3-liter V6 is a flexible-fuel engine, so it can use E85 ethanol.

Both engines allow the Grand Caravan to be certified as low-emissions vehicles in all 50 states.

We haven't tested a Caravan with the base 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, but with just 150 horsepower and, more important, only 165 pound-feet of torque, we don't expect it to be a rocket. It's rated 20/26 mpg.

The Grand Caravan's brakes offer good feel, performance and durability. Standard brakes for the short-wheelbase Caravan are discs in front with heavy-duty rotors and drums at the rear. ABS is optional on the short SXT, and standard on all Grand Caravans. ABS allows the driver to brake and steer in a panic stop. Four-wheel disc brakes are standard on Grand Caravan SXT. Disc brakes generally offer more resistance to brake fade (the tendency of the brakes to lose performance when heated by repeated use) than drum brakes.

Caravan is the short van, Grand Caravan is the long van, 6 inches longer in wheelbase and 11 inches longer overall.

Caravan SE ($18,380) is the base model powered by a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It comes with hand-crank windows, manually adjusted mirrors, and a limited list of options, although rear-seat video entertainment is now available on all Caravan models. It does have standard air conditioning, variable intermittent wipers, AM/FM/CD stereo, and 215/70 tires on 15-inch steel wheels. The tire-pressure monitor is standard, but Stow'n Go seats are not available.

Caravan SXT ($22,225) is the short van equipped with a 3.3-liter V6 and a higher level of standard equipment, though it does not get Stow 'n Go. SXT does add second-row bucket seats, dual-zone manual air conditioning, tilt steering, cruise control, power windows, power heated mirrors, power locks with remote keyless entry, an upgraded AM/FM/cassette/CD stereo, a rear window defroster, sunscreen glass, 215/65 tires on 16-inch aluminum wheels, and other niceties, plus an expanded list of options.

Grand Caravan SE ($22,920) is a long-wheelbase base model similarly equipped to the Caravan SE. But it's powered by the 3.3-liter V6 engine, and comes with more sophisticated airbags with Occupant Classification System (OCS) and driver's side inflatable knee blocker. It also comes with a rear defroster, speed control, tilt steering column, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, and a few other appointments not included in the short-wheelbase SE. Standard second-row seating reverts to a bench with covered storage bins, although Stow 'n Go is optional.

Grand Caravan SXT ($26,680) is powered by a 3.8-liter V6 and comes standard with Stow 'n Go, along with second-row adjustable seats, a 60/40 split third-row bench with tailgate feature, dual power sliding doors, fog lamps, three-zone air-conditioning system, roof rack, eight-way power driver's seat, leather-wrapped steering wheel, steering-wheel audio controls, and an overhead console with trip computer and HomeLink universal transceiver.

Option packages are available in a dizzying array of combinations.

Safety features that come standard include the required front airbags, which feature multi-stage inflators designed to automatically compensate for the severity of an accident. Front seatbelts use pre-tensioners to take up slack during a collision. Middle- and third-row seats include child-seat anchors for a more secure installation. Optional side curtain airbags are designed to offer head protection for outboard occupants in all three rows.