Test Drive: Want a feature? New Chrysler minivans have it

SUN ISLAND RESORT, EL CAJON, Calif. -- This self-described family nudist resort features what must be the only family activity not specifically contemplated in the redesign of the Chrysler and Dodge minivans for the 2008 model year.

Odd thing about Sun Island, tucked beside the test drive route and all but demanding a stop for investigation: The expected tall fence surrounds the compound, but it's across the road from a tall, steep slope that one guesses would give the pruriently curious a good view. Mere speculation, though, as there seemed too little time during the minivan test drive to park a spell and hike uphill. Besides, nobody brought binoculars.

No such downhill lack of logic in the new minivans, though. However you can imagine using a family room on wheels, the '08 vans are at your service.

"We started with the Stow 'n Go center section and changed everything else," says Chrysler Vice President Larry Lyons. Stow 'n Go is Chrysler's name for the system that allows the middle row of seats to flip, fold and flop into under-floor bins to open large storage space in the middle of the van.

Bigger is better in Chrysler's view. First, the short-wheelbase vans were killed for '08. Only about 25% of buyers chose them, Chrysler says, too few to justify the cost and complexity of keeping them in the lineup. Second, the vans got bigger for '08: two inches longer outside, six inches wider inside.

About everything that Chrysler has found, since its 1983 pioneering model, that makes a good minivan is better in the '08s.

They still drive like minivans, though: A bit clumsy, even with the sportier suspension on the Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with optional 4-liter, overhead camshaft V-6. The two-lane roads outside San Diego proved that the new minivans are a ways from matching the crisp-handling Honda Odyssey, and don't ride as comfortably as the plush Toyota Sienna.

Here are the salient changes:

•Prices. Chrysler claims the new vans are about $3,400 less than similarly equipped predecessors. Some of that comes from price cuts, some from adding standard features than previously were extra-cost options. How much of each depends on model.

•Style. Squared off and slab-sided. The graceful, rounded, sweeping styling "had begun to seem stale," says van design chief Jeff Gale, son of respected and now retired Chrysler styling boss Tom Gale.

The best news about the new styling is that it doesn't look as ugly in person as it does in photos.

•Drivetrains. Three engines, all improvements over previous offerings, and two transmissions, likewise.

Obvious change: Gearshift no longer is mounted on the steering column. It pokes out toward you from the dashboard, adjacent to the steering column. Excellent for normal shifting, but compromises the ergonomics of the manual-shift mode. You move the lever left or right to manually change gears, and while that feels OK when the lever's sticking up from the floor, it's awkward when the lever is chest high.