Practicality never looked so good.
Since the creation of the automobile, carrying capacity has been a concern of many discerning car shoppers. That's why nearly every large automaker has its own iteration of a people mover, but it wasn't always that way. Before seatbelts were mandated, your mom's 1960 Dodge Polara sedan would seat as many as you could fit on both the rear and front benches. If you did get a van, you had a seriously large family. However, those days are long gone, and for good reason. The three-point seatbelt has saved well over one million lives since it made its way into cars, and that paved the way for the Dodge Grand Caravan and, of course, the three-row SUV. But if you ask us, the Caravan is still the ultimate family car, and here's why:
When Dodge first introduced the Caravan in 1983, it was a game changer for many reasons. It drives like a car, it gets relatively good MPGs (25 on the highway, to be exact), and offers a staggering 140 cubic feet of storage space. That's close to one-third of the size of many Capitol Hill apartments.
Then, there's the price – and here's where it beats out the three-row crossovers. The 2019 Grand Caravan starts at $26,650. To compare, the all-new, three-row Subaru Ascent starts at $31,995. That's over $5,000 difference! And if you have a family big enough to require one of these vehicles, that's a lot of money.
The Subaru does get two MPG better on the highway and offers all-wheel-drive, but as we've mentioned before, that doesn't matter if you use winter tires.
With a $5,000 difference, we'd say it's worth it to rock the Blizzaks.
What are your thoughts? I know some of you secretly find minivans to be cool, don't lie. Let's get the conversation started in the comments below.
