If customers purchase a Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country, Jeep Commander or Jeep Grand Cherokee, they’ll receive a rear-seat DVD entertainment package free of charge. In the minivans, that includes screens for both the second and third rows. This national deal is on top of other cash-back and financing incentives, and it expires Jan. 5.
News has been focusing on falling SUV and truck sales, but the minivan is also in a slump as of late. For prospective minivan buyers out there, we went through our incentives list and checked out the deals available. Some are significant, like the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country getting $3,500 cash back and the 2008 Kia Sedona’s $5,000 or 0.0% financing for 60 months.
There are cash-back deals on some 2009 models as well: The 2009 Nissan Quest gets $2,500 cash back or 2.9% financing for 72 months, while the 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan has a nice little $1,000 deal. See the list below for the models we found, or check out our full list of regional incentives here.
Dodge’s all-new Grand Caravan minivan was just given the full crash treatment from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The good news for Dodge is that the minivan received top scores of Good in front and side crashes. The bad news is that the rear crash tests came back with a Marginal score, the second lowest possible.
The front and side crash tests are an improvement from the previous-generation’s Average scores; those are the tests that detail the most serious types of accidents. IIHS describes rear crash tests as “an assessment of occupant protection against neck injury in rear impacts at low to moderate speeds. Although such injuries usually aren't serious, they occur frequently.”
Minivans that have received IIHS’ Top Safety Pick designation — for Good scores in all three tests — include the 2008 Honda Odyssey, 2008 Hyundai Entourage and the 2008 Kia Sedona.
While most requests we hear from families involve wanting a car that has all the capabilities of a minivan but isn’t actually a minivan, there are still minivan shoppers out there. Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder and Mike Hanley took on three popular models, including the newly redesigned Dodge Grand Caravan and slightly tweaked Honda Odyssey. Can the Nissan hold its own against such tough competition? Check out the Faceoff to find out.
Cars.comparison: Family Workhorses
President’s Day is Monday and you’ve probably seen a lot of commercials about big car sales. Automakers had a pretty dismal January for car sales across the board and they’re looking to pick things up in February. Besides our full list of incentives you can find here, many are offering short-term incentives for just the weekend. Here are some of the best we’ve found in terms of quality, safety and value. Yes, there are three minivans.
2008 Kia Sedona
MSRP: $20,695
Cash back: $1,500
Percent off MSRP: 7.2%
Expires: 3/3/08
5-Year Ownership Costs
Kia’s minivan has been an underachiever for some time, but still is one of only three minivans to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award. The interior isn’t the best in the class but the base price and long warranty are mighty alluring. Add up to $1,500 cash back depending on where you live and the Sedona seems mighty sensible.
Yesterday, we detailed our scheme to document the real-world mileage of four 2008 models — a Nissan Rogue, Subaru Impreza, Dodge Grand Caravan and Hyundai Sonata. All the cars except the Rogue had trip computers with mileage readouts, so we were able to easily track our mileage along the way. The results are in:
As the price for a gallon of regular gas hovers above $3 a gallon — $3.40 in California — it’s high time we investigate what sort of mileage our cars achieve in the real world. In October, the EPA released its 2008 Fuel Economy Guide, which rates mileage using stricter standards for acceleration, air-conditioning use, cold weather and top speeds than were used in the past. The new measures purportedly reflect real-world driving better than before; MPG ratings dropped some 5 to 15 percent per car using the new standards.
Still, the EPA tests are done in laboratories, not on the road. To test real-world mileage, we took four cars across interstates and rural roads between Chicago and Madison, Wis., in October. Nine hours, two pit stops and one greasy lunch later, we had logged some 300 miles.
The Chrysler Event of a Lifetime might be hyperbolically named. After all, anyone who considers a year-end car manufacturer sale the event of their lifetime probably needs to do some serious self-examination. Therapy might even be in order.
While they're getting those issues sorted out, though, the rest of us can take advantage of the deals Chrysler's event entails. The automaker is offering a variety of savings on 2008 models, including $3,000 on a 300C (excluding the SRT8), $2,000 on Sebring convertibles, $1,000 on a Town & Country, and $1,500 and $2,000 on five- and six-passenger Pacificas, respectively.
Dodge and Jeep are in on the act, too. Dodge trucks get the highest discounts — $3,000 on the 2008 Durango and $4,500 on certain Ram trims — while the 2008 Jeep Commander and Grand Cherokee get $3,000 each.
A variety of long-term financing deals are also available.
Time is of the essence: current deals expire Monday, Dec. 3, and Chrysler has yet to announce any incentives past the current expiration date. Though surely Chrysler would want to extend the Event of All Our Lifetimes, right?
Check out Cars.com's Incentives page for a full list of deals.
The best-selling minivan on the market is back with a completely new design, inside and out. Mike Hanley dissects the DGC to reveal a heavily upgraded, but still not top of the heap, family-mover that deserves consideration.
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan Expert Review (Cars.com)
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.
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