When I was looking for a van for my GROWING family, I was frustrated repeatedly by the options. While many vans out there are high-tech and super suave on the inside, I needed something simpler and more affordable. Then, I came across this 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. Silver and slightly aged, it was in great condition! We could tell immediately that it had held up well to its previous owner (and it only had one before our purchase). The leather interior and spaciousness is exceptionally comfortable. The automatic functions of the doors makes getting two toddlers (while pregnant) in and out of the vehicle a breeze. Even with almost 100,000 miles on the van, it has not given us the first sign of trouble. It runs well, is easy to drive, and provides us a comfortable environment no matter how long the trip. The seats all fold down in the back, which has provided us great utility when hauling items that we would normally have to borrow a truck to get home. When the seats are in the up position, however, it can be a tight squeeze in the backseat. While a couple of children or a car seat plus one adult can fit comfortably, it does get fairly tight. Also, the angling of the seats can make it frustrating to position car seats correctly. Additionally, the lack of seatbelt locking troubled us when we first realized that the belts did not lock the way our other car's locked. A search through the owner's manual (and a bit of forum hopping) revealed the functionality of the seats, and while it made me feel better, I would still prefer if the belts locked where they come out and not just over the lap. Overall, we are VERY happy with our purchase of this van, and I'd buy another one again in a heartbeat!

I rate this car highly because it has been dependable. We have had very little mechanically go wrong with the engine, transmission, or drive train. The engine is only 6 cylinder, but it has the power we need for our purposes. We do not pull heavy trailers or do excessive driving on difficult roads. It is a little bit sluggish in the Ozark mountains. It auto shifts down on the steeper inclines, but we make it up. I do have a few problems with body construction. The car is not very quiet. You get a lot of outside noises from tires and traffic. One of the electric side doors does not auto close, like it is supposed to, all of the time. It comes and goes, which can be irritating. There is not a lot of cargo space behind the back bench seat, but the overhead cargo rack on top is strong and sufficient to tie on most of what we need to haul. The top rack accommodates my kayak very well. This car is roomy enough to haul six adults, even though it is rated to haul seven adults. That seventh person has to be quite thin to be comfortable. But, I can haul all six of my grandkids in it with out any problems. It is a little bit awkward to get into the rear most bench seat. There are other make and models of vans which has much easier access to the rear seats without having to climb over the middle seats. The car runs straight and true down the highway, and is fairly easy to drive. The front drivers seat is electronic, and has many subtle adjustments that can be changed while driving to improve comfort on long trips. The stereo system is adequate. It is not a top end system, but it has everything that we need. There is no built in GPS or satellite radio, which I would have liked to have, but both can be added. Installation is limited on where to put these external devices. Overall, I would rate this car an eight on a scale of one to ten.