2015 Dodge Grand Caravan: Car Seat Check
Dodge’s Grand Caravan is a minivan that can move people or larger cargo thanks to its Stow ‘n Go seats in the second row. These captain’s chairs can fold into the floor, creating a lot of space for taking your older child to college or for just running everyday errands.
In this round of car-seat installation, we turned a critical eye to tether anchors and downgraded some of the Grand Caravan’s scores associated with this important piece of the Latch system. The top tether anchor holds a forward-facing car seat against a car’s backseat, reducing the car seat’s forward and side movement in a crash. Unfortunately, more than 50 percent of parents who install a forward-facing car seat don’t use the car seat’s tether strap, according to a recent study.
We tested a 2015 Grand Caravan SXT Plus with leatherette and suede seats; it had seating for seven.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
How many car seats fit in the third row? Two
What We Like
- The two sets of lower Latch anchors in the second-row captain’s chairs are exposed and easy to use.
- Both the rear-facing infant and convertible seats installed easily in the second row, and we didn’t need to move the front passenger seat forward to fit either car seat.
- The forward-facing convertible also fit well in the second and third rows, but we knocked down its grades because of the difficult-to-find tether anchors in both rows.
- The booster seat fit well in the second and third rows, but the floppy seat belt buckles in the third row lowered its grade.
- The second-row captain’s chairs tumble forward to create a wide opening to the third-row. Kids can also use the walkway between the captain’s chairs for third-row access.
What We Don’t
- The second and third rows’ tether anchors are unmarked and hard to find. They’re positioned toward the base of the seatback, where parents may overlook them.
- In the third row, the Grand Caravan has an additional set of lower Latch anchors and a top tether anchor, which we’re glad to see. However, the Latch anchors are in the middle of the three-seat bench, which uses up two seating positions.
Grading Scale
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.
C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available.
D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child-safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. To learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks, go here.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
