If you’re a millennial like me, chances are your childhood was graced with a minimum of one (or three) Chrysler minivans. This could have been during your childhood with long road trips with the whole family, and even into your high school days and beyond. Heck, there’s a good chance that if the first car you drove wasn’t a Camry or an Accord, it was a Chrysler minivan.
One of the many variants, at least. There was the Dodge Caravan, the Plymouth (RIP) Voyager, and the big baller Chrysler Town & Country, not to mention the “Grand” versions of the first two. My family started with a wood-panelled, maroon-on-maroon Dodge Caravan; pretty classy if you ask me. Our second Caravan, the one I distinctly remember, was a ’99 finished in purple, with grey plastic bumpers and five-spoke hubcaps. That’s the car I drove around during my high school days and young adult life; I was going to make a quip about the trauma a purple Caravan does to a teenager trying to be cool, but it got me and friends where we needed to be, and did my family proud for years before finally being retired. I can’t ever recall this unappreciated workhorse leaving us stranded anywhere.
So this 2025 Chrysler Grand Caravan is a bit of a nostalgia trip. Yes, Chrysler — not Dodge — is the only way to get a Grand Caravan here in Canada, and only in SXT trim. Chrysler sells only two vehicles in 2025 — this Grand Caravan and the Pacifica — but counting them separately is a stretch, because the Pacifica is simply more upscale and has some different powertrain options. Is this latest Grand Caravan still the iconic people mover it was throughout the 1990s and 2000s?
Iconic? No. Vintage? Yes!
The Chrysler Grand Caravan still looks like a Caravan, wearing what appear to be updated looks that evolved from its third- and fourth-generation predecessors. It has rounded-off headlights that integrate well into the black grille; gone are boxy cheap looking headlights of the previous gen. Those swoopy headlights carry some old tech, though, relying on halogen bulbs for both DRLs and low/high beams. Vintage, baby! If you want LEDs, you’ll have to step up to the Pacifica.
Looking at it head on, the new Grand Caravan looks an entire league above the last one. The side profile comes off more modern as well, with less cheap chrome and a cleaner side profile. The 17” wheels and 65 profile tires feel like an ode to the past. A step up to 18” would be nice and lend a more premium aesthetic, but alas. The rear end has ditched the vertical style taillights that have existed since the beginning for horizontal ones which flow into a blacked out panel adorned with the winged Chrysler logo. The overall design is clean, reminiscent of the glory days yet far from daring.
Hey, I remember this!
Speaking of vintage, when’s the last time you saw an AUX port? This thing’s got one, flanked by no less than four more USB ports on the same panel. It also has analog gauges and a full suite of physical controls. There’s a rotary dial instead of the iconic-for-a-minivan column-mounted shifter, and the rest of the interior is a sea of black. The leatherette seating with some contrast stitching are perfectly passable for long hauls. The second row captain’s chairs are equally comfy and offer loads of space, as does the third-row bench when needed.
The 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen is powered by Chrysler’s latest UConnect5 software, which is mostly easy to navigate but can be cumbersome, even laggy at times in this minivan. The six-speaker audio system actually sounds pretty good though, a surprise given most audio systems go deep into double digits with the speaker count. I guess more isn’t always better.
The active safety tech you expect is on board, with your usual lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, and even hill assist. The backup camera has to be among the worst I’ve experienced when it comes to resolution, with the image coming off very soft and grainy, especially at night. It was clearly meant for a smaller screen.
Intuitive space
Although the cabin may be a little outdated and too much of a pit of black, the space it provides is cavernous, and the way it can be utilized is rather genius. Chrysler knows people buy minivans to move people and cargo, and the Grand Caravan excels at both. The wide power sliding doors on both sides make it easy to manoeuvre into the second and third rows. The Stow ‘n Go seating allows you to fold both the second and third rows flat into the floor with ease — and when you aren’t stowing the seats, Chrysler even provides form-fitting cubbies to fill the space in the floor so you can use it as storage. Neat!
Stow ‘n Go seating is really the party trick here, and is one of the few areas the Grand Caravan still has a leg up on its competition. Overall cargo capacity is just shy of 4,000 litres with everything folded, besting both the Sienna and Odyssey but falling a hair short of the Kia Carnival. Still, the practical advantage still belongs to the Grand Caravan — there’s even storage specifically for umbrellas next to the front seats. Eat your heart out, Rolls-Royce.
No turbo, no hybrid, no problem
Power still comes from a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6, with 287 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. This bests the hybrid-only Sienna by a fair bit, and inches ahead of the V6-powered Carnival and Odyssey as well. It feels perfectly capable and rather smooth in operation, avoiding any harsh vibrations or unpleasant noises while getting up to speed. The nine-speed automatic isn’t as seamless, sometimes slurring its shifts, but the overall powertrain experience is pleasant. Today’s Grand Caravan feels more refined and quieter than I would have expected.
The steering and suspension calibration is also just right for a minivan. The Grand Caravan is certainly soft, but it never feels unduly. The ride quality benefits from the soft suspension, and no doubt by the high profile tires which help to absorb both bumps and road noise.
Old is gold
Maybe not pure gold, but definitely gold-plated. The 2025 Chrysler Grand Caravan still exists alongside the nicer Pacifica, mainly as a fleet product open for public consumption, should buyers want something more budget-friendly. It’s still a little startling, coming in at $50,390 as-tested including destination, which is a couple hundred more than a more modern and feature-rich Kia Carnival EX. Although I’m sure Chrysler has some great incentives and offers to bring the real price of the Grand Caravan down to more palatable, vintage levels.
