Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo

[Jake]

When MM went to VIR in March, we rented one of these...



...but ours was twenty years newer, base-model white, and had one more sliding door and one less turbocharger. It was still kind of a pile, though. Was a 2009 Grand Caravan with only 7,xxx on the odometer. I put 542 miles on it according to JMU, so I got a good feel for the "experience" - and all I have to say is



C'mon Dodge. You can do better.

This was the "SE" trim, which in Dodge-speak means "base model with stuff removed" like in Joey's Malibu. Ours had the surprisingly underpowered 3.3L V6 that's rated around 170 hp. 4-speed AutoStick, so I could slap it into a lower gear if I wanted. No tachometer in the gauge cluster. Hurrrwha?

The DGC was ├╝ber-slow and frequently downshifted into 2nd for small hills. I could AutoStick it, but the upshift from 2nd to 3rd when in AutoStick resulted in a big ol' slip from the trans. With 7,000 miles on the van. Yeah.

Stereo system was good, it had an aux input so we could rock out. The Stow & Go seats were cool in theory but because they have to fit into a shallow well, the seats themselves are really thin and full of fail. Driver's seat was comfy enough. Lots of cupholders and space for "things" and "activities."

We managed ~17 mpg out of the van which was not surprising considering the need for 2nd gear on any hill. In going over the mountain on 250 in the rain, I discovered that both the high and low beams were sourced from the cheapest bidder... they were terrible.

Overall, it was a marginal van. I have no need for a minivan (and would never buy one) but I can easily see why Honda and Toyota are above Dodge/Chrysler in the list of mommy-mobiles. Time to step up the game, Dodge.