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.

The base 3.3-liter V-6 is pepped up and quieted. The optional 3.8-liter V-6 no longer is so coarse you're embarrassed to take it out in public. The high-end, 4-liter, overhead-camshaft V-6 provides extra scoot previously missing from your minivan experience.

The 3.3 is teamed with a four-speed automatic that, surprise, makes a palatable package for those trying to keep the sticker price down.

The other two engines get a new six-speed automatic that shifted pretty well.

•Features. That's what a van is all about.

Intended as family machines, the new vans rightly have the array of bags and electronic nannies you associate with safety for your loved ones — three-row head-curtain bags and stability control, for instance.

But the marquee item is the optional table you can erect between the second and third rows. Retrieve the table and its single leg from the under-floor storage bin, snug the leg into a floor mount and spin the easy-moving, so-called Swivel 'n Go second-row bucket seats 180 degrees, to face the third-row riders across the table. Good for playing dominoes, fighting over Cheetos or just chatting. Leg room gets chummy, as facing second- and third-row passengers share the space. The rear video screen won't swivel to face the backward-riding passengers, Chrysler fretting that it could distract the driver in the rearview mirror.

Lyons says the arrangement has been tested to be sure it is as safe as when the seats face front, and to be sure the table neither comes loose in a crash, nor becomes an obstacle for belted occupants.

A few miles in a rear-facing second-row seat pointed out how absurdly close other motorists follow. Unnerving when you're facing backward.

Otherwise, if you don't mind seeing where you've been, instead of where you're going, there's nothing about the minivan seats that will bother you. If you don't like riding backward, there's nothing about the seats that will overcome that.

The seating choices can get confusing. There are three configurations.

• Basic layout is a two-passenger second-row bench seat with a three-passenger third row that folds into the floor. There's under-floor storage in front of the second row.

• Optional Stow 'n Go ($795 on Chryslers, $945 on Dodges) retains the disappearing third row, and allows you to tuck the second row under the floor for room enough to swallow 4x8-foot sheets of building material.

• Swivel 'n Go ($495) surrenders the second-row Stow 'n Go feature, but retains under-floor storage.

Interior lights are LED, light emitting diodes. Expensive, but extraordinary at illuminating targets brightly — and in the case of ceiling lights, doing so without spilling as a distraction into the driver's peripheral vision. One options package uses the LED to create a soft halo around ceiling-mounted options such as DVD screen or storage bins. If dealers can demonstrate that feature at night, when it's most dramatic, it will be the kind of Wow! item that will close a lot of sales.

An optional multi-level, removable front console provides a top tier that slides well to the rear so second-row riders have a spot for burgers, iPods and other necessities. The console felt flimsy in the pre-production test vans.

Sirius satellite entertainment will provide three kids-oriented TV channels for an extra monthly fee atop the $12.95 for Sirius radio service and in addition to $495 for the backseat TV. Be warned: Sirius radio is plagued with signal dropouts in some areas where rival XM comes in fine. Along much of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, just for example.

You don't have to buy the pricey navigation system to get the backup camera. A video screen sits in the dashboard where the nav screen would be, displaying the rear view when you're in reverse.

Airflow is well managed driving with windows down. There's little buffeting.

•Handling. The light-touch steering won't win fans among those who like road feel, but could please drivers who want exceptional ease in low-speed maneuvers.

Suspension is disappointing. It doesn't provide the bump-swallowing ride you probably want in a family bus. Nor does the optional, sportier suspension available with the also optional 4-liter V-6 provide much yippee factor. And its small amount of sporting feel is undermined by that too-boosted power steering. Brakes are OK.

If it's features you want, the Doge and Chrysler vans are major contenders. But if you hoped that the new vans would have technology along the lines of Odyssey's mileage-enhancing cylinder shutoff or Sienna's all-wheel drive, sorry.

If you likewise hoped that the automaker responsible for the exciting Chrysler 300 sedan and Dodge Magnum wagon would infuse some of that mojo into its vans, well, life often is disappointing.

2008 Dodge and Chrysler minivans

What are they? Bigger, quicker, quieter, lower-priced overhaul of the company's mainstay product, sold under the names Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country. Short-wheelbase versions have been discontinued. Front-wheel drive, seven-passenger vans, still known as minivans though they're as long and wide as a full-size SUV. Manufactured at St. Louis and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

How soon? On sale this month.

How much? Dodge Grand Caravan SE, base model, starts at $22,470 including $730 destination charge. SXT starts at $27,535.

Chrysler Town & Country LX starts at $23,190. Touring starts at $28,430. Limited is $36,400.

How many? 400,000 annually, more or less. Chrysler, in the mode of the day, won't say out loud how many it plans.

What's the drivetrain? Standard on Grand Caravan SE and Town & Country LX: 3.3-liter V-6 rated 175 horsepower at 5,000 rpm, 205 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000; four-speed automatic transmission.

Standard on Grand Caravan SXT and Town & Country Touring: 3.8 liter V-6 rated 197 hp at 5,200 rpm, 230 lbs.-ft. at 4,000; six-speed automatic with manual shift mode.

Standard on Town & Country Limited, optional on Grand Caravan SXT: 4-liter, overhead camshaft V-6 rated 251 hp at 6,000, 259 lbs.-ft. at 4,200; six-speed automatic with manual mode.

What's the safety gear? Expected bags and belts, plus three-row head-curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability control. Built-in child booster seats will be optional later in the model year.

What's the rest? Standard on all: Power steering, brakes, windows, locks; climate control; AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo; rear window wiper, washer, defroster; cruise control; grocery bag hooks; tilt-adjustable steering column.

Other standard, optional features vary by model. Details at www.dodge.com and www.chrysler.com.

How big? As long, wide as a full-size SUV. Grand Caravan and Town & Country are 202.5 inches long, 78.7 inches wide, 68.9 inches tall on a 121.2-inch wheelbase.

Weights range from 4,321 to 4,621 pounds, depending on model.

Grand Caravan passenger space is listed as 163.5 cubic feet. Cargo volume, in cubic feet: Behind third row, 32.3; with third row folded, 83; with second and third rows folded, 144.3.

Town & Country dimensions are similar.

Turning circle is listed as 39.1 feet, curb-to-curb.

Tows up to 3,600 pounds properly equipped.

Rated to carry 1,150 pounds of people, cargo.

How thirsty? 3.3-liter V-6 rated 17 miles per gallon in town, 24 on the highway, 19 in combined driving. 3.8- and 4-liter V-6s rated 16/23/18. Regular grade gasoline is specified. 3.3 is compatible with E85 ethanol fuel.

Tank holds 20 gallons.

Overall:Feature-laden, thoughtfully executed, but not great to drive.