Sandy Turner shares the story of her family's drive from Michigan to Florida in a new 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. See their family ratings below right.

As we left the cold, gray Michigan winter for a long-awaited family spring break at Disney World, we celebrated the fact that we also left behind our eight-year old, 138,000 mile van.

We were traveling in style in a 2008, Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, which was loaded with more bells and whistles than any family could imagine, or know how to use.

After all, our family of five, plus the dog, was accustomed to piling into one of various mini-vans we had owned over the years that included such wonderful features as a cassette tape player.  So, the prospect of heading off to sunny Florida in such style had us all a bit giddy.

After loading the vacation gear, my husband proudly announced, with shock, to anyone that would listen, “Hey…I can still see out of the rear view mirror!”   Obviously that was not something he was accustomed to on previous trips.  However, the biggest screech came from our two girls (ages 14 and 11) when they discovered that you could actually watch the Hannah Montana TV show on the two drop-down DVD players (with wireless headsets) while we were driving!  You would’ve thought that Miley Cyrus herself had come along for the ride.

After we all loaded into the van and took off, we began to explore.  Because we are not typically an “Optional Equipment” family, it took the entire trip south (all 21 hours) to figure out what we had to work with.  When I finally did refer to the Owner’s Manual in an attempt to decipher the Satellite audio system, I was thrilled with noticing that every feature that was identified with, “If equipped” in the manual, was in our vehicle!  Definitely not the norm for our family.  This was soon followed by the opportunity for two separate DVD’s playing at the same time, a key feature with a teen boy and ‘tween girls riding in the same vehicle.  Although a third set of headphones would have been nice.

My husband and son were also pleased to find that they could listen to multiple games of the NCAA basketball tournament on satellite radio, without having to worry about losing the signal every 50 miles.  Prior to learning about this feature, they had both complained that we had chosen to be away from a television on one of the “most important sports days of the year.”  And when traffic congestion slowed us down for a couple hours (who’s idea was it to hit northern Atlanta at 4:30 pm on Good Friday anyway?), the ability to switch over to a family friendly comedy radio station on the satellite was a stress reducer.  Overall, the Sat Radio/DVD/Audio CD/Sat TV system was a huge hit. 

Several times during the trip the Sirius GPS Navigation feature became invaluable.  Heading south we were able to find a hotel on a moment’s notice when it became clear we wouldn’t make our planned destination due to our inevitable late start.  Also, getting the updated weather report and road conditions definitely saved us a treacherous, and possibly dangerous, final leg of our trip home.  Using the GPS, we were able to make the important decision to find a last minute hotel and stop for the night due to snow and freezing rain close to home.  One slight drawback to the Nav system… occupants cannot physically input info while the vehicle is moving.  It only allows input through voice recognition.  Obviously, this is for safety reasons; however it would be nice for a passenger to be able to input information without having to debate with the lady inside the unit… “Did you say diewjlks?”  Finally, when your daughter’s eyes are floating because she needs to use the facilities, be careful when the Nav system tells you that the next rest area is only four miles up the road.  It could very well be on the other side of the expressway!  So, as has been the case for many years, even with a GPS Navigation system, never leave home without your trusty old-fashioned Rand McNally Road Atlas!

Three of the most publicized and unique features of the 2008 Grand Caravan SXT are the Stow ‘n Go seating, the ability to swivel the second row of seats so they face backward, and the table you can set up in the back.          

Frankly, we never utilized the Stow ‘n Go feature.  The ability to press a button and have the seats fold into the floor seemed really cool, but we needed every seat we could get.  This feature was fun to play with (and very easy to operate) after we got home, but was not useful for us while traveling.

We did swivel the seats a couple times (not quite as easy to do as one might think), and set up the table.  After using the table for lunch on the road, we quickly decided that it was more for show than practical.  The novelty wore off quickly after legs were intertwined due to limited space when the seats faced each other.  One member of the family also experienced an issue with increased vulnerability to car sickness while facing backward.  So, for the vast majority of the trip, the seats were facing forward, and the table was safely stowed away.

On the final leg of our trip we experienced one of the more complicated features of the Grand Caravan.  After hitting a pot hole the size of Rhode Island in downtown Detroit (35 minutes from home!), we blew a tire.  It turned out to be quite a challenge accessing the tools and spare tire over the next 20 minutes.  After reading through the manual and shifting the luggage onto the children’s laps, we were soon on our way to changing the tire and heading home. 

Overall, we traveled 2,761 miles while averaging 22 miles per gallon in this luxurious family-friendly vehicle.  The handling and stability of the car were great, and the power of the 4.0 liter V6 engine handled every hill with ease. With a base price of $26,805, and a fully loaded cost of $39,305, the Dodge Grand Caravan SXT isn’t for the family on an economy car budget.  However, it was a fun car to drive, and a vehicle that certainly deserves strong consideration for a family that likes to do its traveling by car.

Family Ratings for the

2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT

1= Yuck

10=Awesome