Weekend Athlete: 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan

A van is a wonderful thing for carrying people and things. Your cargo stays dry — unlike in a pickup — and the load floor is usually lower than an SUV's. Combine that with power hatches and doors, and the ingredients are there for a good Weekend Athlete car.

There's almost no reason not to take this thing for a weekend of car camping. Four people and their gear will fit with room to spare after you fold the third row. What's interesting is that I still needed to remove my front wheel to fit my bike in if I left the second-row seats in place.

I wasn't expecting that, and this costs the Grand Caravan some Weekend Athlete points. It's simply not better than the other cars I've tested. Yes, I know that if you drop the second-row seat you have enough room for a complete bike (or six), and only the champion Honda Element could compete with that. But still — this is a minivan. It's HUGE, so I don't see why I need to take a wheel off with the second row in place.

Once the front wheel was removed, there was a nice amount of room for gear, the bike and two friends. I'm also certain that with a bit of creativity, bungee cords and patience, you could fit three or more bikes behind the second row by standing them up, lashing them together and lashing them down to the seat anchors in the floor.

Visibility was excellent. The Grand Caravan is neither short nor narrow, but I was still able to parallel park easily the first time out. It had a rearview camera, but I didn't need it. I was very impressed with how manageable it was despite its size.

Unlike the Ford Taurus X I tested, the power hatches and doors open easily if you do so manually. Again, the power feature is nice, but it's not a necessity. Personally, I'd rather spend the money on a new set of tires or race registrations, but different strokes, I guess.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

The Grand Caravan is very utilitarian, easy to drive and the price is right, but I don't see me ever needing three rows of seats. Since I have to take the front wheel off my bike anyway, why not buy the Element or Subaru Legacy? If I had kids or ran a cycling team this might be the new champ, but I don't, so I rank it a respectable 8.5.

Again, though, if you're a Mom or Dad who races and/or camps, vans in general should be on your test-drive list. Just measure your bikes and give the cargo area a good looking over.