This longtime Mopar minivan partisan is not impressed

My family fell hard early on for Chrysler's first minivan nearly 25 years ago. My mother, before she became "Nana," owned four (1985, 1990, 1994 and 1997 models), and each was an incremental improvement over its predecessors.

I've owned 1994 and 2002 models, and was hopeful that the 2008 would be an improvement over the '02, which we have enjoyed tremendously.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the '08 model.

Why?

There are a number of reasons. First of all, let's talk size. Our 2002 is more than nine inches longer than our 1994 was. And the '08 is longer still. Wider, too. I didn't get out the measuring tape, but when the van was parked behind my 1987 Ford F-150, it appears to be as wide as the ol' pick-em-up. In other words, if you have a formerly minivan-sized space to fill inside your garage, the new Grand Caravan is not going to work. It didn't in mine.

Next, there's the styling. I personally prefer the boxy lines of my 1994 to the 2002 Grand Caravan, but the '08 appears to take the Early American Minivan styling theme a bit too far. Only the gentle slope of the rear liftgate doesn't hew to the box theme. It's a bit disappointing, given the better Chrysler efforts such as the Charger and Magnum. The Grand Caravan just somehow misses the mark.

Moving inside -- where the action is in a minivan -- on the basic SE I tested, you'll find a familiar layout if you've skipped the Stow'N'Go seating that was introduced for 2005. The middle seat on early 2008 SEs (Stow'N'Go became standard in early calendar 2008) is the old, familiar two-place bench, which, somewhat awkwardly, places second-row riders HIGHER than the folks in the stowaway third seat. It looks hopelessly out of place, but it is more comfortable for adults than the stowaway.

Moving around the rest of the interior, you'll find acres of hard plastic in a light color that will show every crayon/marker/pen/pencil mark your kids put on it, and cheap-feeling upholstery that doesn't give the impression that it will last very long.

Sliding behind the wheel, it's obvious that the stylists got hold of the interior and locked the engineers out, because while the instrument panel works, it isn't the most driver-friendly layout. The new dash-mounted gearshift is interesting, but it takes a pretty good reach for shorter drivers. It includes Chrysler's AutoStick manual-shift capability, for reasons which are unclear to me. The radio and climate controls are not too bad, but I wonder if I could say the same of the navigation radio (which wasn't available on the SE I tested).

As a fan of ethanol fuel, I was pleased to discover that all 3.3-liter V6-equipped Grand Caravans now come as flex-fuel vehicles. You can use any mixture of ethanol and gasoline up to 85% (E85). That's the good news.

The bad news is that the 3.3 now has to contend with a lot more minivan than it did when it was introduced in 1990. Consider this: My 1994 Grand Caravan with the 3.8 engine weighed in under 3,700 pounds. I don't have definite numbers, but the SE I tested had to be over 4,300 pounds easily. That's about the same as the much larger 1996 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, which came with a Corvette-based V8 engine and could tow a 7,000 pound trailer.

The '08 Grand Caravan is rated to tow no more than 2,000 pounds. No contest.

In-town acceleration is not bad, mainly due to favorable gearing. But it doesn't have the same feeling of "oomph" that the older vans have. Maybe once fully broken-in, it would be better.

Highway passing situations bring up a real problem. Flooring the go pedal brings on a lot of noise and not much acceleration. Oh, it'll get you around that slow semi, but you had better be sure you have room. I'm sure the larger 3.8 and 4.0 engines will give much better acceleration, at a sacrifice in fuel economy.

One area where the new van is certainly better is ride and handling. With a two-inch stretch in wheelbase and the increase in weight, the ride, even on rough streets, is certainly smooth and quiet. At low speeds, the van's increased girth brings on a bit of lean, but somehow this is not a big deal at higher speeds. I can't explain that.

I was greatly disappointed with the level of standard equipment in the basic SE van I tested. For nearly $24,000, cruise control and rear air conditioning should be included. They were not. I'd give up the virtually useless manual-shift feature for those.

As the self-proclaimed minivan leader, Chrysler has proven they know how to produce a great minivan. I should know, having owned two that I love. Now that they are free of Daimler-Benz's interference in product development, I sincerely hope they can improve this generation of minivans before it is too late.

Until then, shop elsewhere if you're in the market.

UPDATE, OCTOBER 15, 2008: If you like the premise of the Grand Caravan but don't like the styling, the Stow-N-Go middle seats or the weak 3.3-liter engine (and I hate to say that), Chrysler has another option.

It just isn't sold by Chrysler or Dodge dealers.

But it is made by Chrysler.

For Volkswagen!

The new VW Routan (rhymes with crouton) adds VW styling cues front and rear, removable center captain's chairs (which look to be MUCH better than the Stow-N-Go buckets), and the 3.8 engine as standard.

The best news is that the Routan starts at $24,700. That's right about where the '09 GC starts, and it still has the 3.3 under the hood.

Sure, you get a "lifetime" powertrain warranty with the Dodge, but the VW looks and feels like a better choice.

And it makes you wonder: If Chrysler can build such a nice van for VW customers, why can't they do likewise for their own?