2012 Dodge Grand Caravan - Awesome vehicle, defies expectations
I absolutely love this minivan. Having always had an SUV for fear of the minivan being too "soccer mom-ish," I was worried that I would hate it. Its has gone above and beyond what little expectations I did have. I love the room, seats seven people completely comfortably and when there's not seven people in it you can put the seats in the floor and you have space the size of a small bedroom. It rides so nice, making it perfect for family road trips, and has enough room to throw two seats down and toss one of my kids and their bike in the back. The truck space when the back seats are up is small but deep so it works. The air conditioning in the back of the van could use a little work and I've had a ton of small issues, like the driver's side window getting stuck, the door you slide on on... (more)
I absolutely love this minivan. Having always had an SUV for fear of the minivan being too "soccer mom-ish," I was worried that I would hate it. Its has gone above and beyond what little expectations I did have. I love the room, seats seven people completely comfortably and when there's not seven people in it you can put the seats in the floor and you have space the size of a small bedroom. It rides so nice, making it perfect for family road trips, and has enough room to throw two seats down and toss one of my kids and their bike in the back. The truck space when the back seats are up is small but deep so it works. The air conditioning in the back of the van could use a little work and I've had a ton of small issues, like the driver's side window getting stuck, the door you slide on one side falls off the track once in a while, and it seems like it runs out of fluids faster than most vehicles I have had. Also, the tires constantly have to be rotated and replaced, but that could be because I'm always driving it. All in all, I haven't had any large issues with the vehicle and you cannot beat the storage (oh yea, there is storage under the seats when they aren't down!!) and I don't think I could drive anything else at this point!
Well this wasn't exactly around my location but we left my location as a starting point. Our first road trip in the van was for my son's birthday and we rented a cabin about three hours away. We knew this vehicle was perfect when we turned around to see the three kids in the very back of the van, cuddled under their blankets (we left at like 5 am) watching a movie on the iPad they somehow tied... (more)
Well this wasn't exactly around my location but we left my location as a starting point. Our first road trip in the van was for my son's birthday and we rented a cabin about three hours away. We knew this vehicle was perfect when we turned around to see the three kids in the very back of the van, cuddled under their blankets (we left at like 5 am) watching a movie on the iPad they somehow tied to the back of the head rests in front of them. Needless to say an hour up the road on our way to the destination they were asleep on top of each other, but seeing them close and excited to be headed on vacation was awesome.
Plenty of room for both body space and travel essentials. Stow-and-go seating making traveling a breeze especially with three kids and all of their friends. You can put just one or more of the seats down, or use the compartments under the seats as storage.
Smooth driving with minimal maintenance that would cause any total inconvenience. Awesome gas mileage and as long as you change the oil there's not much more that will need to be dome mechanically for a while. Very nice interior with a lot of convenient holders and places to put little things. I believe there are 8 or 10 cup holders, pl... (more)
Plenty of room for both body space and travel essentials. Stow-and-go seating making traveling a breeze especially with three kids and all of their friends. You can put just one or more of the seats down, or use the compartments under the seats as storage.
Smooth driving with minimal maintenance that would cause any total inconvenience. Awesome gas mileage and as long as you change the oil there's not much more that will need to be dome mechanically for a while. Very nice interior with a lot of convenient holders and places to put little things. I believe there are 8 or 10 cup holders, plus two glove compartments, a sunglass tray, a small space under radio, a large center console and either side of the way back has little compartments as well as the driver and passenger side doors that also have compartments for storage.
CD player, really nice stock radio, AUX compatible and speakers throughout the van.
The driver and passenger can control their heat and/or air separately which is a plus since my husband likes to freeze himself out. All vents can be adjusted with regard to direction, air pressure and can also be closed or opened.
The air conditioning in the back has been just about useless even when Dodge looked at it. It barely lets a cool breeze out no matter how we adjust the controls.
This van is VERY hard to clean. Vacuuming can be a challenge unless you try to do it every day. Although the compartments in the center console come out to clean them the rest is just digging for whatever you kids dropped or spilled and getting a car vacuum around all of the edges has proven to be difficult. The small inconveniences that we have had a hard time getting repaired for lack of reason for it happening; one sliding doo... (more)
The air conditioning in the back has been just about useless even when Dodge looked at it. It barely lets a cool breeze out no matter how we adjust the controls.
This van is VERY hard to clean. Vacuuming can be a challenge unless you try to do it every day. Although the compartments in the center console come out to clean them the rest is just digging for whatever you kids dropped or spilled and getting a car vacuum around all of the edges has proven to be difficult. The small inconveniences that we have had a hard time getting repaired for lack of reason for it happening; one sliding door occasionally comes off track. This is brutal. The driver's side window locks up and we are unable to move it back up with any sort of ease. In order to get the seats in the back down, you have to adjust both the driver's side and passenger side seats to move completely forward, both the seat itself and the back, which at times gets in the way of moving the back seats down and I've hurt myself trying to shove the seat into the floor. Not so much a con but a pain in the butt.
2012 Dodge Grand Caravan - Great family van
The Dodge Grand Caravan is a great very roomy family vehicle. The trunk space is substantial, and the stow-and-go seating cannot be beat. This is especially helpful for having a big family and transporting a lot of sports equipment. The sliding doors and bucket seating are also great to make carpooling easier with a bunch of kids. However, I see the benefits of this vehicle for other owners too that aren't moms of young children. It's very updated and nice. I love the sporty updated look, versus feeling like I'm driving a minivan. I would highly recommend this purchase for most owners that have a moderate budget, but are looking for a lot of space. It also has many awesome features that are usually not seen in moderately priced vehicles, such as Sirius XM radio, a DVD player, and plent... (more)
The Dodge Grand Caravan is a great very roomy family vehicle. The trunk space is substantial, and the stow-and-go seating cannot be beat. This is especially helpful for having a big family and transporting a lot of sports equipment. The sliding doors and bucket seating are also great to make carpooling easier with a bunch of kids. However, I see the benefits of this vehicle for other owners too that aren't moms of young children. It's very updated and nice. I love the sporty updated look, versus feeling like I'm driving a minivan. I would highly recommend this purchase for most owners that have a moderate budget, but are looking for a lot of space. It also has many awesome features that are usually not seen in moderately priced vehicles, such as Sirius XM radio, a DVD player, and plenty of USB and charging ports devices. I also love the backup camera that helps me maneuver in tight spots. The engine is fast and quiet, and easily goes from a slow 20 mpg to interstate highway speeds without stopping. I also sincerely love the good sound system to really enjoy my drive time. Unrelated, but my older grandmother enjoys this vehicle because she can get up and down easily without pain as it's easy to slide into the seats. Lastly, this vehicle hands snow and ice quite well. This was an icy Midwestern winter, and I was pleasantly surprised as my tires are nothing special.
My daughter just learned how to drive in this vehicle. She now loves it, despite the fact that she did not want to be a teenager driving a minivan full of stinky little boy sports equipment. She quickly grew to love the space, music, and all the other updated features. The back-up camera was awesome for a new driver to help get into spaces and avoid parking lot accidents. My daughter now refer... (more)
My daughter just learned how to drive in this vehicle. She now loves it, despite the fact that she did not want to be a teenager driving a minivan full of stinky little boy sports equipment. She quickly grew to love the space, music, and all the other updated features. The back-up camera was awesome for a new driver to help get into spaces and avoid parking lot accidents. My daughter now refers to this van as "the party bus" and has requested that we pass it on to her next year when she graduates high school and goes off to college. Her friends love that they can fit several kids in for games or other events versus taking multiple vehicles. The party bus has become a cool hangout!
My favorite thing about this vehicle is the reasonable cost. I did have the funds to purchase a brand-new Dodge Pacifica but truly feel that the Dodge Grand Journey gives me many of those same features. I love that I can transport a lot of kids, fit my sports equipment and groceries with room to spare. I also love the sleek body style and interior design. The braking system, back-up camera, air bags and various safety devices are a great perk. For instance, when I am backing up, the radio enables a lock device so that it cannot be touched. I also have the ability to lock the back windows a... (more)
My favorite thing about this vehicle is the reasonable cost. I did have the funds to purchase a brand-new Dodge Pacifica but truly feel that the Dodge Grand Journey gives me many of those same features. I love that I can transport a lot of kids, fit my sports equipment and groceries with room to spare. I also love the sleek body style and interior design. The braking system, back-up camera, air bags and various safety devices are a great perk. For instance, when I am backing up, the radio enables a lock device so that it cannot be touched. I also have the ability to lock the back windows and sliding doors to keep little fingers from pushing buttons. Also, there is a safety feature with the sliding doors that prevents it from closing on an object, such as someone's finger. I love driving this vehicle and it was definitely a nice upgrade from my 2006 minivan that felt, well, like a mom van. This makes me feel sporty and young. For me, affordability and ease of use are my biggest pros. The van also drives really well, smooth, and is quiet. I have not had any major mechanical issues either, beyond normal wear and tear and maintenance. The dashboard signals when it's time for an oil change which is handy!
I struggled to think of negatives, but my interior and exterior of this are both white. They both show dirt so easily. Looking back, I would have gotten another color. The other negative is that recently, I replaced the brakes on this and learned that this vehicle uses ceramic brakes versus traditional brake pads. This tends to make the brakes sound squeaky in a wet or humid atmosphere, when they really are absolutely fine. I have heard other complaints that this vehicle is hard on brakes for some reason, and they must be replaced nearly yearly. I don't know how accurate that is, but it's ... (more)
I struggled to think of negatives, but my interior and exterior of this are both white. They both show dirt so easily. Looking back, I would have gotten another color. The other negative is that recently, I replaced the brakes on this and learned that this vehicle uses ceramic brakes versus traditional brake pads. This tends to make the brakes sound squeaky in a wet or humid atmosphere, when they really are absolutely fine. I have heard other complaints that this vehicle is hard on brakes for some reason, and they must be replaced nearly yearly. I don't know how accurate that is, but it's a common complaint. Sometimes, the touch screen is laggy and can glitch and be slow when I'm trying to use Bluetooth. It seems a bit behind in the technology side compared to other models. I could also see how some people might think the interior looks very standard or basic, because lacks a high end updated design. The console materials are just basic hard plastic. Gas mileage is okay, but could be somewhat better in my opinion. I also think a con is that this vehicle does not have a reputation for holding up long-term in terms of having a quality engine. I also do not like that the everyday driver cannot access the transmission fluid to check if it is low because of where it is located. Lastly, this drives very smooth on city and well paved roads, but is somewhat bumpy on dirt back roads. My husband's truck is more suited for that sort of driving.
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