Dodge/Chrysler minivan mileage

[jkv357]

What's everyone getting for mileage with their Dodge or Chrysler minivans?

I can hit 20 MPG in town if I'm careful, but only about 24/25 MPG at 70 MPH on the hwy (summertime, cruise, no A/C, fully loaded) using E10. Is that about right?

I just recently found E0 87 and need to see if it is worth the $.10 per gal.

Let me know what you can do with yours!

Thanks.


Jay

[SentraSE-R]

Your mpgs sound about right, comparable to the fuel economy I got driving my daughter's Grand Caravan. I got 26 mpg on a 250 mile highway trip @ 62 mph. She got 21.5 mpg @ 80 mph going the other direction.

[Fat Charlie]

Which minivans? RT, RS, NS or AS? I4 or V6? 3 or 4 speed? FWD or AWD? There are so many differences covered by "Chrysler minivan" that I need more.

I'm looking to replace my wife's 02 Xterra with an 07 3.8 minivan real soon. I'm looking forward to saving the gas money.

[jkv357]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Which minivans? RT, RS, NS or AS? I4 or V6? 3 or 4 speed? FWD or AWD? There are so many differences covered by "Chrysler minivan" that I need more.

I'm looking to replace my wife's 02 Xterra with an 07 3.8 minivan real soon. I'm looking forward to saving the gas money.

Here's some more info -

I've had the '98 3.3L V6 2WD Flexfuel and now have a '02 3.8L V6 2WD ES model (2nd gen) w/ "autostick" "manual" shifting and 60K. No roof rack. The current 3.8L does better MPG all around than the previous 3.3L. Driving "normally" the wife gets about 17 MPG on her 5 mi daily commute.

In town I usually autostick to shift earlier, and I've seen 21+MPG average on occasion, but short trips and A/C kill it quick. A good short trip in-town for me is 20 MPG. I've been doing as much P&G as possible (lots of hills here - for better or worse) and cycling the A/C if near 90 degrees.

On the hwy (interstate) I'm usually loaded with the wife and 3 kids + dog and gear. When I'm at 70MPH w/A/C I usually see about 22 MPG like that. Empty I can get closer to 25MPG.

Recently switched to Pirelli P4 Allseason tires from Goodyear Assurance and have seen a MPG drop (about 1MPG) and generally feel like they coast worse. They do perform a lot better than the Goodyears in the snow and ice, which was my major concern with all the hills in this area (WI).

I'm running 5W-30 synthetic and tire pressure is at 40 PSI.

That's all I can think of...

Thanks.


Jay

[fud2468]

This is a twin of the shorty Caravan, probably heavier because of the 2nd sliding door.
Specifically I'm wondering what one of these would do at a steady 55-60 mph, 40 psi in tires, lightly loaded, no A/C, flat terrain, 3.3 engine & 4-speed automatic, roof rack removed but no other mods. Specs show about 2000 rpm at 60 mph.
Ray Mac.

[jkv357]

I could never get as good of MPG from my 3.3L as I could from my 3.8L under the same conditions, and I owned both at the same time and routinely drove the same route.

The 3.8L had more stuff on it, and had to be heavier. No roof rack on the 3.8 though.


Jay

[SentraSE-R]

My daughter's Grand Caravan has the 3.3 and AT, 2WD. She's not a hypermiler, so tires are probably inflated to mid-30's psi.

[Dad]

I have one of these (2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT 3.8L -- see my fuel log in my profile). Averaging low to mid 20's isnt' difficult. My best tank so far has been 27mpg. I can usually average about 23-24mpg on my 65 mile commute without really even hypermiling, just driving easy. Doing some mild hypermiling gets me 25-26mpg. Then my wife drives it around town and gets 15mpg.

[trooper Tdiesel]

over the years we have had a 92 and a 98 model

bolth had the AWD system, and where the extra long model,
92 had the 3.3L
98 had the 3.8L

18\19 was common with the 92
21\22 was normal for the 98 the 98 on the scales was around 5,000LBs

where not in flat land, home is at 1,000 every thing else is at sea level.

[hondaguy72]

2001 t&c here. 25.5 is pretty achieveable with the 3.8 on an easy cruise on the highway. More would be possible with p&g.