Anyone know which minivan has more room?

[Tony P. IL.]

This would be between a Ford Windstar and Dodge Grand Caravan.

 

[DVC-Don]

We have a Windstar and our neighbor has a Dodge Grand. They are pretty much the same size.

 

[zulaya]

I have a Grand and I thought my friends Windstar was slightly smaller, but only in terms of length and space between the back seat. I am pretty sure that both models still seat 7, just that the cargo space is different.

Your best bet is to go to the Ford's and Dodge's website and look at the specs and see what they say.

 

[sgtdisney]

Bear in mind if you are considering renting from Dollar, all they will guarantee you on their web page is a Caravan, not a Grand Caravan. In this case the Windstar is substantially bigger than the regular wheelbase Caravan. Dollar has a policy now where they may will may you pay an upgrade charge in SOME cases when you pick up the van if you want or need the larger Grand Caravan. Factor that into your price. People have had varying experiences here on DIS with having to pay for the upgrade to a Grand Caravan and simply being given the Grand Caravan for the price they reserved. When I contacted Dollar they did say that they consider the Caravan to be the standard minivan rental and the Grand Caravan to be an upgrade. Just a thought...

 

[ebhurleys]

I am going to switch my ressie to National. It winds up being about $30 more for 9 days but they have the Chevy Aero Star which is substantially larger. There will be six of us with luggage, car seat and stroller.

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by ebhurleys
I am going to switch my ressie to National. It winds up being about $30 more for 9 days but they have the Chevy Aero Star which is substantially larger. There will be six of us with luggage, car seat and stroller.

Hopefully you will get the Chevy Astro van, but bear in mind that National also rents Chevy Ventures and Pontiac Montanas as their minivan class as well and you may not be guaranteed an Astro Van... I have even seen the occasional Grand Caravan on the National lot.

 

[Mom of 5]

We are a family of 7 (with 2 children in carseats) and own a Grand Caravan. For our trip to WDW in January, we flew, but we flew out of New Orleans, which is a little over an hour away from us. We were able to fit all of our luggage for a week trip, plus a stroller and box of breakfast/snack foods in the van with no problem.

So, if you end up with a Grand Caravan after all, you should be just fine.

 

[pugdog]

i just happen to be researching buying a new minivan and the Grand Caravan igives you about 10 inches more leg room and 8 inches of more sholder room in the 3rd row.

 

[Tony P. IL.]

Looks like a Grand Caravan wins for room. Thanks for your help.

 

[sgtdisney]

Actually the differences between the Grand Caravan, the Windstar and the extended length Montana are not all that great. They are all about the same length, within an inch or so and have about the same wheelbase. Here are some links to some comparison webpages I referenced. While there are differences between them, all the extended length models are pretty close.

http://carpoint.msn.com/compare/cho...10571&MakeName1=25&ModelName1=10425&pt=compet

http://applications.edmunds.com/pro...inivan+(3.4L+6cyl+4A)&button=Compare+Vehicles