"Leadbull" (leadbull911)
02/09/2014 at 21:54 • Filed to: Reviews
0
14|
"Leadbull" (leadbull911)
02/09/2014 at 21:54 • Filed to: Reviews | 0
| 14 |
Wow. So Doge. Many caravan. No, I didn't take a picture of the exterior—you'll just have to deal with that. It was white.
A family-related complication forced my parents, my brother and I to make an 800 mile trek to North Carolina this past week. We've been driving out there once or twice a year for as long as I can remember, so it's gotten a little old by now. Even though there's only four of us, we wanted to drive something with more room this time, so we rented a Caravan from Budget. You know it's Budget because they didn't bother to vacuum up the previous client's dog hair. Here is a short review.
Exterior
It's not bad, for a mini van. It certainly looks better than the Toyota Sienna, which resembles an inbred beluga whale. But if you purchase a minivan based on it's looks, you should probably give up on pretending you're young already. JUST SAYIN'
Interior
Now, I'm regretting the fact that I only took one picture. Just help me out here and Google it, ok? It seems roomy enough, but I don't drive very many vans, so I have no point of reference. All I know is that I'm 6'3" and I fit in the third row just fine. Headroom was a bit limited, but then again, how many 6'3" adults are you gonna be hauling around back there on a daily basis? Leg room was ample. Downsides? Well, for one, the seats sucked. It should be a federal crime to make young children sit in those things—it could be detrimental to their young spinal columns. My rear was numb after about five minutes. Also, there were no secret cubby holes or anything, so I was a bit disappointed.
Drivetrain
Obamanotbad.jpg.
The 3.6L Pentastar V6 was STRONG LIKE OX. According to Wikipedia, it makes 280 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. It's definitely the Caravan's strongest point, and the six-speed autobox wasn't bad, either. One gripe: chuggin' along, with cruise control on, at 75mph in 6th gear, it really didn't like hills. Speed would steadily drop, sometimes down five or so mph, before the tranny bothered to downshift. This tends to annoy the crap out of you when you're driving through the Appalachians. Eventually, I just said screw it and drove with my right foot like some sort of Barbarian from the 20th century. Otherwise, all good!
Handling
BODY ROLL BODY ROLL BODY ROLL WEIGHT TRANSFER BODY ROLL UNDERSTEEEER
It's a minivan; what do you freaking want? But, seriously, it's not bad. The steering had a surprisingly good weight to it, although the rack was about as accurate as I am with a bow and arrow (I am not accurate with a bow and arrow). It rode adequately—the shocks handled potholes well, but a series of small bumps would really unsettle the van. It's like Spider Man 3, where Peter destroys Venom with sonic resonance. Or maybe it's more like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge... I don't know. Either way, the suspension can't level out quick enough, and 1:58 of this video happens!
Toys
It had a GPS, which worked. However, there seems to be no way to shut up the annoying voice lady. YES, I CAN SEE THE LEFT TURN IN 60 YARDS. There's also a flip down DVD player, but you there are't any headphone jacks, and you can't listen to music up front if a movie is playing. Meh.
Overall Impression
One of my Jr. high school friend's mom drove a Honda Oddessy. It had leather and electric captains chairs. During my journey, I wanted so badly to be inside that Oddessy. If you're going to buy a minivan, don't go for the strong engine and manly styling. Just give it up and go full beige.
AM3R
> Leadbull
02/09/2014 at 22:23 |
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My mom had a loaded 2005 honda odyssey. Vtech yo... It had a nice V6 and it wasn't bad looking for a van.
SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
> Leadbull
02/09/2014 at 22:25 |
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I agree with you on all points... I drove from Columbus, OH to Clearwater, FL back in July in a '13 Grand Caravan.
But the Odyssey is definitely the best minivan on market
Planktron
> Leadbull
02/09/2014 at 22:30 |
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Unrelated. When I was younger I raced my mom's LHS against my friends mom's Sienna. I won, but my mom's realtor stickers complete with cell number on the side of the car got me caught. I never street raced again. Ever.
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Leadbull
> SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
02/09/2014 at 22:30 |
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I also drove someone's Kia Sedona last year, and I liked it better than the Dodge, as well.
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Leadbull
> AM3R
02/09/2014 at 22:32 |
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Your mom must've been the envy of your booster soccer league.
jariten1781
> Leadbull
02/09/2014 at 22:32 |
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The higher trim caravans and the town and country are pretty good vehicles. On the lower trim you should just chuck out the rear seats and haul around mattresses or bookcases or something.
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SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
> AM3R
02/09/2014 at 22:34 |
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VTEC.... please, not Vtech
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Leadbull
> jariten1781
02/09/2014 at 22:37 |
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Yeah, I kind of assumed that.
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AM3R
> SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
02/09/2014 at 22:47 |
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Sorry, not a honda guy.
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AM3R
> Leadbull
02/09/2014 at 22:48 |
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Nah this was back when huge SUV's were becoming super popular
I own dead car brands only
> Leadbull
02/09/2014 at 23:20 |
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I loved my rental caravan when I was living in Oregon. I hustled it around the switchbacks in the mountains. It got to the point my passengers forced me out of the driver seat.
Because racevan
JasonStern911
> Leadbull
02/10/2014 at 00:40 |
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last year I went on a business trip and had to drive a rental minivan back. I think it was the Dodge, but am not 100% sure. I remember being really impressed with the engine, having the suspension be about as expected, but horribly disappointed by the transmission. I had to drive it across the Sierra Nevadas, and the transmission just could not find a gear it was happy with. this meant second-long gear change after second-long gear change. and I have driven plenty of automatics, so it wasn't like my throttle input was making it shift gears. it just didn't like the frequently changing altitude and kept trying to find the ideal gear for fuel economy/power, which really took away from the driving experience.
Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents
> Leadbull
02/10/2014 at 00:41 |
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I remember falling asleep in the last row of an Odyssey. In a grand caravan? Not so much. I guess when you're shopping for minivans, comfort reigns supreme and the odyssey was comfy as heck. Although the grand caravan had a lot of power.
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Leadbull
> JasonStern911
02/10/2014 at 08:42 |
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Sounds about right. However, the manual shift function held whatever gear I dropped it into, so that was nice coming down the mountains.