The 2025 Chrysler Grand Caravan is a Canadian Icon and a Road Trip Warrior

When my kids were little, a minivan purchase was like a sneeze: you knew it was coming and you couldn’t do a darn thing about it. These four-wheeled domestic dromedaries were plentiful, affordable, and undoubtedly the smartest way to move lots of people and lots of stuff. Fast forward a couple of decades, and the minivan is expensive, terminally uncool, and, wait for it… still the smartest way to move lots of people and lots of stuff. 

With that in mind, I booked a 2025 Chrysler Grand Caravan for a band road trip wherein Pretzel Logic, a Toronto-based Steely Dan tribute band, needed to get to Kingston and back for a concert gig. Sure, there was some trepidation on my part, as my eyes twitched with the fond memories of a family excursion that involved kids bickering, wondering if we were “there yet,” and generally being pains in the keister for hours on end. I knew from experience that a van full of musicians could very well play out the same way.

As the old joke goes, “Dad, I want to be a musician when I grow up.” 

“Sorry, kid, you can’t have both.”

But I had another reason for booking the Chrysler. This was Canada Day weekend, and I challenge anyone to find a new vehicle more patriotic than the Grand Caravan. Not only is this van built in Windsor, Ont., but the Grand Caravan is a Canada-only model not sold stateside. Sure, the world is hung up on three-row crossovers, but when it comes to family hauling, we Canadians are still a pragmatic lot, willing to embrace a slightly decontented Chrysler Pacifica minivan in the interest of saving a few bucks. Not that an MSRP of $47,700 is exactly chump change, but the Caravan is an icon. The original minivan is now in its sixth generation and has sold over 15 million units worldwide under such brands as Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, Volkswagen (Routan) and, yes, Lancia. And praise be, this 2025 Grand Caravan tester is red. Oh, Canada indeed.

Despite being an “entry level” model, we five members of Pretzel Logic were hardly roughing it. For 2025, the Grand Caravan gets a new 10.1-inch Uconnect 5 central touchscreen, 7.0-inch digital gauge cluster, second-row sunshades, three-zone climate controls, super console, and more standard safety features. In essence, the SafetyTec Group that was a $1,495 option in 2024 has been made standard for 2025. Other standard features include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, second row captain’s chairs, power-sliding side doors and liftgate, and the amazing Stow ’n Go second and third-row seating that has said chairs magically folding flat into the floor. The engineers who came up with this deserve knighthood.

With the third row in place (the configuration for this journey), there’s a spacious floor well behind into which the seat will tumble. It gets three clever storage bins with the $895 Interior Protection Package, and when removed, there’s extra room for guitars, small amps, saxophones, and all kinds of other musoid detritus.

So, we’re off to Kingston – five adults… er, musicians, and a load of gear. The Grand Caravan gets motivation from Dodge/Chrysler’s long-serving 3.6-litre naturally aspirated V6, here putting out 287 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque and hooked up to a nine-speed automatic transmission powering the front wheels. This powertrain gets the job done, and on the highway, the van settles into a calm and secure cruise. The ride quality is nice too, thanks to its 17-inch wheels wearing cushy and unfashionable high-profile tires. So sensible. And when it comes time to buy new tires, Dad and Mom won’t have to cash in Junior’s college fund.

The drive to Kingston went surprisingly well, as I hardly had to yell at “the kids” at all. Sure, there was some bickering, but it was mostly good-natured.

“Hey Marco, would you mind sliding your seat forward so I can have some more legroom?”

“Yeah sure. And would you like a fruit plate with that too?”

The good thing about being in a small space with a bunch of musicians claiming over 200 years of collective experience (and great comedic timing) is… ah, let me think about this… Oh yes, road stories. Lots of ‘em. Priceless entertainment that made the drive to the show and back again that night in this wonderful conveyance a fairly painless exercise. 

I kind of feel sorry for parents today. When I was a kid, the station wagon was the default family vehicle. Then along came the minivan, which happened to coincide with my time adding to the world population. But now, most parents don’t want to be seen in a minivan. They’d rather fork out $70,000 to $80,000 on a three-row crossover that’s less practical and sucks more gas. Sigh. If I had a dollar for every time I recommended someone buy a minivan and got shot down… well, I could buy a minivan.

But with “elbows up” sweeping the nation, let’s wave our flags, eat our poutine, crank up the Hip, and take pride in the fact that there are enough smart family folks north of the 49th Parallel to warrant the existence of this most pragmatic Canada-only minivan, the Chrysler Grand Caravan. Eh.