From page &

absorbing inside door pillars,
tear seat child anchors and
front seatbelt pretensioners.

Easy to drive
With the optional 215-
horsepower, 3.8-litre, OHV,
V6 engine, the Grand
Caravan has more than
enough power to accelerate
briskly from a stoplight,
merge onto the freeway, or
maintain a constant highway
speed on long, uphill grades.
The Grand Caravan is a
big vehicle — it’s over 200
inches long and it weighs a
hefty 1,881 kg (4,146 Ib.)
plus passengers and Oo —
so you really need the bigger
'3.8-litre engine when you
have a full load on board.

_. , Despite its size, it’s easy to
drive around town because of
the good outward visibility,
easy Steering, and responsive

-’ engine. However, when you
‘have to find a parking space

on the street you realize just

how long it is.” :

°° On the highway, the 3.8-

litre V6 motors quietly along _
at only 2,000 r.p.m. at a
steady 100 km/h. 2001 fuel

’ ‘consumption figures were not...

. available, but jast year’s Gran
“Caravan equipped with the;

3.8-litre vb was quite | thirsty A

the very best fuel consump-

_ Gon figures you can expect

..” are-13.9 litres per km (20
“m.p.g.) in the city na92
: Per. 100 km (21, mpg.)

BAS PIiCO.......ssssseccosssssssssssssssssessssessesesssessenmmesesenehOT 1000
Freight...scccscsccsssescsssssssssssseccesessssnsccsssssessesenssesssenseecenseO 4)
Price aS tOStOC ........sssesssssssssssssescsnscsecccscesessssseseereeee 42,070
TYPO... ssesssssssssssneeeeee f OUF-OOF, SeVEN-passenger mini-van
Layout.. transverse front engine/front-wheel-drive
Engine.. 3.8-litre V6
Horsepower 215 horsepower @ 5,000 r.p.m.
Torque... .245 ft-lb. @ 4,000 p.m.
Transmission four-speed automatic “AutoStick”
Curb Weight.........nesccccssssssccccenseeercseenened OOF KG (4,146 fb.)
Wtneelbase oun... ceesscssccccsecececesseeseeeeenesd08 M (119.3 in}
LOMQTH ..cssesecssosecoreecsecsssessesseesessessseeeeer 093 M (200.5 in.)
WIR... socossscsscccsosscosssescsssseserreceseeseeceonee 946 M (76.6 in.)
HeIQHL.........csssscsssesscsssssesssssnseesecceseereecered £48 M1 (68.8 in.)
Cargo capacity......behind rear seat 508 litres (20.0 cu. it.)

behind second seat 1,377 litres (54.2 cu. ft.)
behind front seats 4,754 jitres (167.5 cu. ft.)

Fuel consumption
Warranty...
’ Powertrain warranty .

on the highway.
~The Grand Caravan is a
very comfortable long-dis-
tance highway cruiser.
‘The nde, thanks to its.
long whecibase and supple
suspensica, is much like a

* limousine, and its handling is

surprisingly stable and well-
controlled for a big, front-
wheel-drive vehicle. The cabin

is quieter than in the previous

OY KIO rer
bore a2

«

model, in part due to
increased sound insulation
and revised engine and trans-

My test van had the
optional four-speed automatic
AutoStick transmission with a
column shift lever. After
putting the transmission in
first gear, the driver uses a
small toggle switch on the
column shifter to manually

i
mission components. i
|
}
i

oe 8s!

shift up and down gears by
pushing up or down with the
right thumb.

[ found this rather awk-
ward when compared with
the floor shift lever on other
AutoStick-equipped Chrysler
vehicles and I don’t think dni-
vers will find the column
shifter a satisfactory alterna-
tive to a manual transmission.
However, the AutoStick
transmission docs make it eas-
ier to hold the transmission in
a lower gear when tackling a
steep hill, or when coasting
down a hill.

Traction control and all-
wheel-drive are also available
on Graad Caravan models,
but I wouldn't recommend
them unless you five in an
area with a lot of snow. The
standard front-wheel-drive
Caravan and Grand Caravan
already offer excellent traction
in poor weather conditions.

Models and prices

Six versions of the
Chrysler minivans are offered
for 2001: Caravan SE
($26,395), Caravan Sport
($28,700), Grand Caravan
Sport ($29,505), Grand
Caravan ES ($37,600), Grand
Cafivan' Sport AWD
($39,555}, and Grand
Caravan’ ES ‘AWD ($41,430).

“My test van, a top-of-the-
line Grand Caravan ES came
to $42,670 with all options,
plus $940 freight.

Options on my test van
included leather seats

a DISSED *

720 MAO

NEWS photo Paul McGrath

A lockable, storage bin between the front seats can be
moved to a position between the second row seats.

($1,215), side airbags ($540),

heated front seats ($340),
power liftgate ($495), alarm
($270), four-disc in-dash CD
changer ($110), and
Preferred package which
included 17-inch tires and .
alloy wheels, touring suspen-
sion, steering wheel audio
controls, Infinity sound sys-
tem, traction control, remov-
able ceatre console, and
AutoStick transmission
($1,925). .

$42,670 is a lot of money -

MONDAY Te FRIDAY
00 PA

to pay for a “family van”. If
last year’s sales trends contin-
ue, the short wheelbase
Caravan SE will be the most
popular Chrysler minivan in
Canada. Most of the options
mentioned abuve, such as
leather and 17-inch wheels
aren't really necessary — but
I would seriously consider -
getting the power hatchback!

The 2001 Grand Caravan |
is built in Windsor, Ontario
and the Caravan is built i in St.
Louis, Missouri. :