OK. So I am doing a week-long test drive of a fully-loaded, 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. Part of a word-of-mouth marketing campaign I became aware of recently. Pretty cool - I get a free van for a week, tell them what I think, and then blog about it, etc.
As I am a woman with no shortage of opinions (good or bad) on any given subject, I hope not to let you down, lol.
Day one:
Took a while to get MiniMe's (my 5yo) car seat in. But then, it's a GI-NORMOUS car seat (that's Gigantic x Enormous, in case you were wondering), that doesn't fit in ANY vehicle easily. But it keeps her in a 5pt harness until 59 inches or 80 lbs. While that might seem a lot to most of you, she was 40 lbs before she turned three. So I had a still-two-years-old child that had outgrown her previous seat, liked to escape, and certainly wasn't ready for a booster seat (legally, or maturity-wise, regardless of her length/weight). She is now, at barely 5 years and 2 months, roughly the size of a 7 or 8 year old. But I digress.
Once I FINALLY got her car seat in (on the back left side, since the headrest was able to go flat, and that section of the third-row seat was actually wide enough to accommodate the seat), we set about figuring out the satellite television. Not one, not two, but THREE screens. Can you say "overkill"? While it would actually have been nice to have such a set-up on our last road trip, the portable DVD player we brought worked just fine, and was thousands of dollars cheaper. But there is something to be said for a system that is hard-wired, so you don't have to rig straps, juggle DVDs while you try to change them in s seat behind you, etc. EACH rear screen has it's very own DVD player, located in the dashboard console. Very nice set-up, and Mom and Dad have total control. Since this is a fully-loaded model, it of course comes with three satellite stations (and Sirius Radio, MP3 player, etc.... not to mention full Navigation system): Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network. MiniMe enjoyed seeing Spongebob Squarepants on all three screens at once. Had to break it to her gently that just because I finally (20 minutes, and I am pretty tech-savvy) figured out how to use the system, does NOT mean she will be watching TV each and every time we are in the vehicle. (Another win for our portable DVD player).
The stow and go seating is not as friendly as they said. Unless I am missing something, which I most certainly am; the "rear strap" on the second row seats? Well, the manual says it's there, but the seats? They have never met the strap, or it has gone on vacation in Barbados. Either way, there is nary a strap to be found. I did finally get the table pulled out and stowed (not making myself sound too bright, am I?).
MiniMe didn't want to get out of the van. I had to turn off the TVs (which I of course was doing anyway), and tell her she could not go with me to pick up Nana, if she didn't come in the house for a while. Yes, we've had the "this isn't our van, we can't keep it, so don't name it" talk. Multiple times. We'll see how "goodbye" goes next week.
Speaking of "goodbye" - this isn't a full week. It's really 6 days. 5.5 if you count the time they drop it off, and when they pick it up. But that's OK with me. I don't see Honda or Toyota offering this type of test drive. And really, with the amount of time it takes to get used to all the features, it's not a bad idea.
As soon as LittleBit finishes up her nap, we'll take it for a spin!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment