Hard Drive: 1996 Dodge Caravan Sport

by J.J. Gertler
Sharp Dressed Van Road Test: 1996 Dodge Caravan Sport
    My dad's a van man. He's on his sixth ('59 and '68 VW Microbuses, '73 and '84 big Dodges, a second-generation Caravan, and a '48 Cadillac van. All right, it was a hearse, but that's a story for another time.)

    That's why I showed him our test Dodge Caravan Sport.

    By now, you probably know that the minivan is one of Chrysler's great successes. The original Caravan defined the modern minivan, and the Pentastar folks have stayed about a generation ahead of their challengers. As with previous Chrysler minis, the third generation comes on two wheelbases. They've proliferated models and trim levels to offer a viable, roomy, utilitarian alternative to every traditional car save a Corvette or Rolls-Royce.

    Our short wheelbase six-passenger test van carried Dodge's Sport package, with monochrome white treatment and a revised suspension. The resulting look is sleek and snub-nosed tough, although the Splendid Co-Driver thought the white wheel covers "dopey," but she's not the target market, thank you very much. (She did like the "really cute" purple scrawled Sport logos. Don't ask.)

    She also liked the curvature of the A pillar, the generous window area, the "tasteful" grille, and the very short nose, so like her own.

    The door pulls on the Caravan are big and you put your hand around them. They're hand shaped, very comfortable, and give you a good first impression. (The SC-D, perhaps uncharitably, argues that I like the handle due to its resemblance to a refrigerator door.)

    At first, Dad wasn't too impressed. He vehemently did not like the left side sliding door. This is a Chrysler innovation on their new minivans, and has already spawned imitations. Dad worries that it allows kids to easily get out into traffic. (Knowing his kids, all in their 20s or 30s, it's pretty likely.) An interlock prevents the left door from sliding back when the fuel door is open.

    Dad's first reaction on seeing the interior was that it was silly for the grouped idiot lights to be labeled "information center," because there isn't much information there, and we all agreed. Second, he said, "Hey, no place to put the phone."

    There are lots of places to put other things. Up front, there's a dual cupholder, and what looks like a change area, although it's not flocked, in the center console. The cigarette lighter and ashtray aren't standard. The usual lighter socket is marked as a power outlet, and doesn't include the lighter element. There's a hard to reach (because it's recessed away from you and tucked under something) rubber padded storage area for glasses and such and an unpadded but bumpy-bottomed larger storage cubby in the center front. There is a pretty fair size glove compartment and a large slide-out storage bin under the passenger.

    The center seat has a dual cupholder that pops out of the sides of the seats for both center passengers to use. The center seat also has molded-in cup holders, two on one side, one on the other, with slots so you can put mugs with handles in them. They've also got a little storage bin, one each side of the far back seat. Flip a lever and wheels drop out of the seats, making them easy to move around. And the rear seat slides forward so you can fit some extra items behind, like grocery bags.

    The center seatbacks fold down and have insets for cupholders and a tray on them, but the headrests interfere with folding them flat while keeping the rear seat usable. For interior utility, three and a half Golden Cupholders.

    The front seats are grippy and reasonably comfortable. A little bit more lumbar support would help.

    The Caravan's cabin is very airy. The first thing you notice is the vast windshield; the interior is bright, even with the Sport's smoked glass. You sit far from the base of that windshield; not quite as far as on the departing Lumina APV, but farther than on Ford's Windstar. The SC-D likes the high driving position, and that the nose isn't visible, giving a big full view of the road. From there, you also see large, legible tach and speedo, white on black and green at night, with an LED odometer. The panel's got a little fuel door indicator on it the way the Fords do with an arrow, hurrah for Chrysler! You also see nice big air vents, visors with little pull out extenders, and controls for the power locks, power windows, power mirrors, and -- creatively -- power rear vent windows.

    The front wipers have adjustable delay. And, hallelujah, the rear wiper has an intermittent setting. We've been begging for this on cars, oh, since we owned one. Switchgear lacks the substantial feel of some of its competitors, although it's much better than Chrysler switchgear used to be.

    Chrysler used to have too much writing on their panels, making them very busy. This is much better. And the smoothness of integration of the passenger side air bag is really impressive. You can't tell there's a bag there at all.

    The climate controls have pictograms and are pretty good. The SC-D especially appreciates that the climate controls allow gradual shifting from one set of outlets to another, rather than discrete positions. The system also runs quietly.

    The wheel is large, but it's not really grippy, or particularly well shaped. It's big enough, however, that you can see all the instruments when it is adjusted to the right height.

    The Caravan features height-adjustable seatbelt anchors in the front and center seats, but not in the rear. I also like the map lights; not very focused, but they're large. You push on them to activate which is very simple and direct.

    Herself also found thoughtful a friendly card slipped over the visor which details the controls, like those found in rental cars. "It's for people who aren't going to read the manual for a number of years, and probably maybe never to explain the key features that are in front of you." She was less pleased by the molded vinyl armrests, but liked the seat fabric, which she expects to wear reasonably well.

    The Caravan's cruise control includes a cancel feature that shuts off the cruise control without losing the settings, and without activating your brake lights. The cruise control switches on the steering wheel aren't lit. This is not a problem if you've had the car awhile and know what switch does which, but it is a problem if you don't.

ON THE ROAD

    The Caravan's six provides very good acceleration. So good, in fact, that you don't really feel it because it comes on smoothly, and doesn't suddenly pin you back in the seat. And the engine sound is very far away, so it's hard to tell that you're really hammering it, but suddenly you're going previously illegal speeds. Nonetheless, mixed driving gave us 21.3 mpg.

    It's also easy to spin the front tires on a wet surface. Those tires on the Caravan Sport are all-season Michelin MX-4's, 215/65x16, and seem to be up to the task, even on a very wet day.

    Side mirrors are quite large. In fact, I followed a previous generation Caravan and the 96's mirrors are larger, which is good for all the people who will be transitioning from cars to this. It's also noticeably more carlike in its driving (not imprecise, not sloppy, just more carlike) than Dad's earlier Caravan.

    Pedals are... interesting. The accelerator pedal seems to move a little bit to the right as it travels, so your foot doesn't line up with it. The dead pedal is kind of small for us large-footed types, and some hanging wires under the dash blocked it. And we agreed that the Caravan's brakes could stand to be a good bit stronger, especially on initial application. As the SC-D put it: "A little more travel in the brakes than I would prefer. I have to mush way down on them before I actually find what I'm looking for."

    The Caravan is very quiet at highway speeds. There's some wind noise, but not much. And we suspect there would be a lot less if we didn't have the roof rack.

    What do you think, Oh Splendid One? "A really quiet vehicle. It's very pleasant to drive. There's a softish feeling to it. I feel all cocooned, which is an odd feeling for a vehicle that's obviously this big, but it's pleasant. The power steering makes it really easy to maneuver in a parking garage at low speeds." At higher speed, the power steering is a little bit floaty for our taste.

    The fully independent suspension of the Caravan handles parking lot speed bumps with aplomb, no fuss whatever. And it doesn't sacrifice performance on the road; it just glides along over horrible streets in a stately fashion, but with surprisingly firm handling.

    Crosswinds are noticeable in the Caravan, but even in pretty good crosswinds and passing trucks we didn't find one that moved it around.

    Some petty annoyances: it locks the doors unbidden when put in drive. The outboard-pivoted large wipers leave a very low widow's peak in the center of the windshield, coming to well below the mirror. And the CHMSL is far enough from the window that you can see it in the mirror when it's on, an unnecessary distraction.

    A more significant annoyance, however, is the large blind spot, basically at the left rear corner of the vehicle, which we could not entirely eliminate. The thick C pillar is probably the biggest contributor, although the headrests on the center seats, particularly the one right behind the driver, block some useful rear mirror, and help extend the blind spot.

CONCLUSION

    Chrysler has hit the books hard with this van. The design is remarkably well thought out, and a clear improvement on their previous generation. It drives easily and well, and returns credible economy. One has to wonder whether it's going to hold together. Our test vehicle, with under 2,500 miles on it, seemed tight and free of obvious flaws. Unfortunately, we're hearing a lot of anecdotal information that high-demand Chryslers are lagging in build quality. Indeed, the driveway in which my father examined the Caravan was previously home to a Neon that had to be disposed of when it started to fall apart after a year and half. We hope they have it right; if they don't, though, an awful lot of people will be upset -- these minivans are everywhere. They are an unqualified hit.

    The bottom line, though, is that after poking about our test Caravan, my van-experienced father went out and bought a 96 Chrysler Town & Country. With a left sliding door. And they even found a place for the phone.

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