My husband and had an opportunity to upgrade our minivan. Hubby has a Jeep, but it's paid off so our family's main vehicle is a minivan that we currently have financed. We got a van that's only 3 years old instead of 6, better terms on our loan with a lower payment, 20,000 more miles, and a DVD player for the kiddos. The Dodge Grand Caravan is ranked highest in it's class for safety for 2009 and that was VERY appealing to me. So here I'm laying out my personal opinion as well as the pro's and con's to each minivan. Both vehicles are a V6, both seat 7, and both have the middle row captains chairs. The gas mileage for each minivan is the same as far as I can tell, I've only filled the gas tank in the Dodge twice and both calculations were averaging what the Nissan gets. One of my observations so far is the Nissan has more get up and go and quicker response when you step on that gas pedal than the Dodge, BUT the Dodge does SO MUCH BETTER in the snow, which is important during Colorado winters. Another thing is the brakes in the Nissan are, quite frankly, ridiculous. The way the van stops (my husband said something about the back brakes being drum brakes and the front are another....lol who knows) makes the van feel like everyone in the back seat would fly out the windshield if you needed to step on the brakes for one reason or another. The Dodge doesn't have this problem, compared to the Nissan I love the way the Grand Caravan stops on a dime but you don't feel like you'll give the kids in the back whiplash. Another one of my favorite things about the Dodge Grand Caravan is the Stow N Go seating. Oh my gosh, it's amazing, with 3 kids under 5 regularly riding in this van, I will usually put one 2 year old's seat in the middle row, and put the other captains chair down. Then, I'll put the other 2 year old's seat in the back, along with my 5 year old's booster seat. *Side note: Thanks so much to my friend Linette who is state certified for installing car seats and has shown me how to bold those babies in to stay safe while riding along. Anyway, the Stow N Go seating makes it so easy to put that other captains chair down into the floor and it's completely gone! Tucked in entirely so the munchkins crawling back to the 3rd row aren't tripping over it. Here is my son standing in the Grand Caravan with the driver's side captain's chair put down and it looks so much better as well. The Nissan definitely doesn't go down that smooth and makes for a miniature obstacle course for the kids going to the back seat. Not that it was that big of a deal before, I didn't like it but until I had the Stow N Go seating I had no idea how inconvenient it was. The mechanics of the sliding doors are different in each van and I prefer the Grand Caravan style because you can basically tap it and the door slides shut, whereas with the Nissan you have to put a little more muscle into it. The mileage calculator and distance to empty display was super nice in the Nissan but it's not a big deal that the Grand Caravan doesn't have that. We have the DVD player in the Dodge with 2 pairs of wireless headphones that is worth it's weight in gold for those long car trips where an hour or so into it the kids are already restless. On short rides and everyday car trips it doesn't even get taken down but the excursions with it are more more tolerable for parents and children alike. I think I've covered the little things that I prefer in each minivan but please leave any comments, feedback or questions :) Happy New Year!
<3 Timmie
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