Dodge Introduces An AWD Dodge Caravan for 2014

By Jonathon Henly

In 2005 Dodge made their last AWD minivan. Other AWD makers have also left the market, leaving the Toyota Sienna as the only AWD minivan in the market.

For 2014, Dodge is announcing that it will redesign the Caravan and add AWD as a new feature for added safety. Undoubtedly, it will help them better compete with Toyota.

In the early days of the minivan, Dodge was the front runner, creating trends that other companies have scrambled to keep up with.

In fact, companies such as Ford and Chevy have changed their minivan designs to better emulate Dodge’s style, since their vans have always sold so well.

Continuing to make one of the most popular minivans on the market is a tough job. Especially considering how tough the market it is you are selling to. Dodge’s customer base is all middle-class people who work hard to provide for their families and expect their minivans to be safe and affordable. Adding All Wheel Drive can help them meet this promise, while also competing more effectively with the Toyota Sienna — the only other AWD minivan on the market.

The real challenge, however, comes in trying to knock the Honda Odyssey off as the favored minivan as reviewed by consumer agencies. The Dodge minivans can already offer a lot of the same safety features as the Honda Odyssey, but at a much lower price point.

This addition of an All Wheel Drive option to the Dodge minivan will position it as a vehicle slated to better capture more of the cost-conscious market who already appreciates and will pay more for the features of Honda and Toyota.

So far, Dodge has not released a price estimate on the 2014 minivan models. However, as long as they can keep the price below the $30,000 range, they should be able to compete effectively with the Honda Odyssey.

One other major benefit of The redesigned Dodge Caravan is that it will use the new Pentastar engine. In addition to being a highly-efficient engine, it will also support the use of E85 and E87 fuels for even greater savings.

There is still a lot of speculation as to whether there will be any changes to the interior of the van as part of the upgrade. Traditionally, All Wheel Drive models have had to sacrifice some storage space to allow room for the drivetrain underneath. Hopefully, the engineers will be able to still allow plenty of room for some of the popular storage components.

Plus, we can expect to see a narrower version of the 2014 Caravan released overseas to better meet the needs of Dodge’s European customers.

Dodge is also hoping that by announcing its upcoming product release it can help squash rumors about it possibly discontinuing its minivan product line.

I have been minivan shopping and have put together a list of awd minivans with good reviewsto help make it easier. Also published at Dodge Introduces An AWD Dodge Caravan for 2014.

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