2013 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT

Traveling with a family of six inside a seven-passenger vehicle with Stow ‘n Go is a genuine benefit of the Dodge Grand Caravan. Like a lot of families, summer is a great time to travel to a variety of destinations while the kids are free from school. One destination of choice was spending time with grandparents. My wife and kids were picked up and swept away from Logan by Grandpa and Grandma for an extended stay in Eastern Utah. While they were in the Basin area, they enjoyed their stay at nearby reservoirs, parks and recreational facilities. To save some drive time on the return trip, we decided to meet halfway to exchange family members and luggage. This is when I realized the literal meaning of “Stow ‘n Go”, thanks to the Dodge Caravan.


Since my father owns a full size SUV with ample storage space behind the third row of seats, we were all skeptical about having enough room in the Caravan for the luggage that had previously filled his large SUV. To my surprise, the deep compartment in the rear of the van provided plenty of room for all of the luggage- even compared to a vehicle that seemed to have more storage space. The Stow ‘n Go comes with an option to fold down one or all of the second or third row seats if more storage space is needed. As it turned out, we didn't need any additional storage space for this trip due to the added benefit of the Dodge Caravan’s Stow ‘n Go system.

The second and third row seats have separate overhead nine-inch, high definition multimedia interface Video Graphics Array screens, plus the Blue-Ray/DVD player can be accessed from the front seats. Wireless headphones can be used while watching a movie on one screen at the same time a gaming system can be powered through the 115-volt auxiliary power outlet and played on the second screen. Sectioning off the sound or controlling the video interface can be done with a remote or directly from the 6.5-inch touch screen display located on the center dash. To top it all off, the driver and front passenger can listen to music through SiriusXM satellite radio or stream music from a mobile device via Bluetooth while the second and third row media centers are being utilized. A far cry from my childhood memories of playing “the sign game” or “license plate bingo” during long trips.

The customizable options for the Caravan include leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, remote start, left and right power sliding doors, overhead storage bins, overhead ambient surround lighting, a Garmin navigation system, ParkView rear back-up camera and Uconnect Voice Command complete with Bluetooth. Uconnect comes with a “replay” feature that essentially records the SiriusXM station currently being enjoyed for future playback. Up to 50 favorite artists or songs can be stored on a favorite list, as well. Plus, anytime a favorite song or artist is playing on any other SiriusXM station an alert appears on the touch screen.

Driving a Redline 2-Coat Pearl Caravan for a week and all of the available options with more than enough room for a full-sized family with full-sized luggage averaged about 20 MPG made for a great experience.

You can find the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT at Heritage Motor Company in Tremonton located at 101 North 300 East. 435-257-5221

Standard Vehicle Pricing: $26,695
Price as Driven: $32,875