November 15, 2007 by Stacy McDonald
Not All Vans are Created Equal!
Though our old van isn’t much to look at (or sit in), it’s been a trooper over the years – carrying our entire family all over the country, from conference to conference. But, looking at it now, you can be sure it’s seen better days.
Then this! Remember, in the movie The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy steps from a black and white scene (Kansas) into the color-filled Land of Oz? That’s kind of how I felt when I stepped into this fully loaded, beautiful, crumb-free Dodge Grand Caravan. I turned to my daughter, Tiffany and said, “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!”
The funny thing is, most of what I liked about the caravan were probably not the “normal” selling features of a vehicle. The day we took it to church, some of the young men were questioning my daughter, Tiffany, about our “new van.” Once we explained to them we were only test driving it and didn’t own it, they began to ask what seemed like reasonable questions:
“What kind of engine does it have? How fast can it go? How many miles does it get to the gallon?”
My daughter’s answers were amusingly similar to mine. “Who cares! Did you know the seats heat up?”
Anyway, the deal is, in return for this week of comfort and bliss, I’m supposed to give a “Mommy review” of what I thought of the Dodge Grand Caravan. Thankfully, I loved it, because if I hadn’t it could have made this review a little…uh…awkward.
Check out these cool second and third row integrated sun shades! No more sun in my baby’s face! William liked them too! (Or was he feeling sorry for our big, white “family bus” outside the window?)
No, this is not an escape hatch – it’s extra storage in the floor. Too cool! No more books scattered on the floor! This van was loaded with storage – and tons of drink holders!
Some of you already know we moved from Texas to Illinois last year; so for the record, I’m a wimp when it comes to being cold! James usually freezes me out in the car (both summer and winter!), so I especially liked the fact that the seats on the first and second row heat up! It felt great on my back! After a ride with my husband the other day, my daughter laughed when she discovered that his side was set to the temperature of 65 degrees, while mine was set to 79 degrees! And you can set the back seat for another temperature all together!
For those who don’t know me in person, I am 4′ 10″ and usually have to use a cushion to drive. So I especially liked the fact that the front seats have a button to elevate the seats! This alone was enough to sell me on the van!
Also, though I didn’t realize it until we were giving the van back, it has power adjustable pedals; so you don’t have to sit so close to the steering wheel. And the rear camera for backing up made me much more comfortable about backing out of a driveway or parking lot with little ones around. I could see everything behind me!
It also has a great GPS system (with real-time traffic) which you can use manually or “hands free.” You can actually talk to your GPS system. Not sure I’d get the urge, but I guess if you’re driving alone at night, it could keep you from getting lonely. Also, you can actually hook your cell phone up to the system somehow and talk on the phone “hands free.” I like that! (But you have to have a Bluetooth® compatible phone for it to work).
The seats were fairly comfortable – especially compared to what we’re used to. I would have loved to have had the cushy kind of seats you find in Cadilacs®; but hey, you can’t have everything! That being said, I loved the fact that the seats were heated and seemed to have some sort of lumbar support! That would have been great on my back on those long cross-country trips we used to take!
The caravan can seat eight, but you lose the second row captain’s chairs if you arrange it that way. If you want the captain’s chairs then it seats seven and the back seat reclines. Also, the front seats recline ALL the way back. That has been a pet peeve of mine in our other vehicles. I can’t sleep very well unless I’m fully reclined – so this was really nice. And did I mention the seats are stain resistant?
Another great feature for me, living up north, was the remote start! I could start the engine from my kitchen window! Can you imagine how nice it would be to get your van all warm and toasty before getting in? Or even from the other side of the parking lot at the grocery store!
Other features I liked were:
Halo and LED lighting; removable/rechargeable cargo light/flashlight; rear view interior conversation mirror; power folding/reclining third-row seat; power second-row side windows.
Other features my husband probably liked:
Electronic stability program; triple A/C and heating zones; control of many critical functions right on the steering wheel; good visibility; 4-wheel disc ABS; side-curtain air bags; dual DVD player; load-leveling suspension.
I never did find out about the engine, how fast it could go, or even what kind of gas mileage it got. But again, who cares? Did I tell you how the seats heat up?
If this sounds like a fun week, and you too would like to test drive a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan, Matchstick said they are still looking for moms for their word of mouth program:
- with 2 or more children
- who are between the ages of 30 and 50
- who are active in an online community, blog or social networking site
To check it out, CLICK HERE to see if you qualify.
By the way, I don’t benefit from giving you this information. I’m not getting a commission or anything. But if Dodge sees this and decides they want to give me a HUGE discount on the van I won’t complain! Hint! Hint!
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13 Responses to “Not All Vans are Created Equal!”
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I’m not surprised that heated seats was a favorite feature in the McDonald household.
Sigh. Texans.
;-)
I’ll take two!!
Wow! So how do I sign up to be a test driver? Sounds FUN! ;-)
Hi Jennie,
I wrote Zack, at the marketing company, to see if other moms from my blog could participate in the program and he said:
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed your time with the 2008 Grand Caravan. We are still looking for moms to participate in the program, and you could direct anybody interested to –
http://www.matchstick.ca/dodge/
From there they can complete an online survey, and if we see a fit, we’ll get in contact with them.
Thanks,
Zach
Fun vehicle! I’m guessing your young children were merely posing in the back seats and that you didn’t actually drive around without child safety seats/boosters and that they wear their shoulder belts in the proper chest position while your vehicle is moving. Just in case you missed learning the whys & hows of seat belts when you moved last year, here’s some info.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents, “Keep your child in a car safety seat for as long as possible. When your child is big enough, make sure the seat belts in your vehicle fit your child correctly. The shoulder belt should lie across the chest, not the neck or throat. The lap belt must be low and snug across the thighs, not the stomach. In addition, the child should be tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down. Seat belts are made for adults. If the seat belt does not fit your child correctly, she should stay in a booster seat until the adult seat belt fits. This is usually when the child reaches about 4′ 9″ in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age.”
CURRENT ILLINOIS LAW:
Illinois’ new “Booster Law” went into effect January 1st, 2004. In most cases, it is now illegal to transport an unrestrained child in Illinois. The Child Passenger Protection Act requires that all children up to their 8th birthday must be secured in an appropriate child restraint system (a carseat or booster that meets NHTSA safety standards). Children between 8 and 16 years old must be seated in a seatbelt, according to the previous law that went into effect January 1, 2002. As these are primary moving violations, you can be stopped and ticketed if a child is observed to be improperly restrained in your vehicle.
http://www.state.il.us/osfm/RW/ILSeatbelts.htm
Straight facts from the Illinois Secretary of State:
http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/drivers/traffic_safety/occprotect.html
I filled out the survey! Maybe they will pick me! ;O) Maybe pigs will fly too. ;o)
The van looks wonderful!
Love, Heather
Thank you for pointing that out. You were right; these were staged photos. It’s a little difficult to take photos in a moving vehicle. :-)
Yes, we learned about the oppressive seatbelt laws in Illinois before we arrived – and moved here anyway. ;-) I’m surprised they don’t require me to sit in a car seat (I’m only 4′ 10″ and weigh 100 lbs.)!
A friend at church has a daughter who is 9 years old. This little girl is about 5′ 4″ and probably weighs around 110 lbs. I can’t imagine strapping her into a carseat. Imagine, just over a year ago, she would have been required to sit in one – even at her adult size (she is not overweight). Thankfully this family didn’t live here then.
That being said, outside of some of the legislation, we love Illinois!
This part of the Matchstick website definitely interested me:
“. . .show it to all your friends and let them drive it whenever possible.”
Of course, I find that out after y’all returned it.
*sigh*
;)
I LOVE the idea of the seats that turn around. I think we’d have a blast with that. But I wouldn’t be one of the ones that sat in them backwards! I succumb pretty easily to motion sickness (I can’t even swing at the playground!) Thanks for the review–it was fun to read!
Mrs. Krista Mc.
Oh, not fair! I’m only 28, so I can’t try to enter. They want 30-50 year olds. I’ll just have to live vicariously through you…
(Um, I can’t believe someone posted the entire Illinois website on carseat safety. 10 children, people. They have it down.)
Heated seats are nice, but even if I had the money, I could NEVER bring myself buy a new van. The price of most of them would feed a small third-world village for a year, LOL! Vehicles that are only a couple of years old usually cost about half as much as a brand new one.
We had entertained the idea of a new vehicle. Then decided to wait.
Then I saw the commercial on the Caravan-Wow-I thought stow and go seating was great! But this is really cool!
Who knows what they will have available by the time we are ready to
buy a new one.
I don’t think I would want one for a week though-I would hate to have to give it up after liking it so much!
We had entertained the idea of a new vehicle. Then decided to wait.
Then I saw the commercial on the Caravan-Wow-I thought stow and go seating was great! But this is really cool!
Who knows what they will have available by the time we are ready to
buy a new one.
I don’t think I would want one for a week though-I would hate to have to give it up after liking it so much!