2013 Grand Caravan 36mpg
 

I see the dodge website and other comercials showing 36mpg hwy for the new Grand Caravan...First i don't think it's possible, 2nd i checked the fueleconomy website and it's showing 25mpg why so how are they advertising 36 mpg and getting away with it?

Could it be 36 MPG (imperial gallons) because of Canadian advertising ? When converted, it is 29.77 US MPG or 7.9L/100km. Transport Canada's test methods differ from the EPA's (more conservative figures).

Mauricio's got it.

NRCan is showing miles per Imperial gallon, and we're still using ratings/test methodology that are roughly equivalent to the "old" (pre-2008) EPA values.

For 2008 onward, EPA significantly revised (down) its ratings for all vehicles to make them more "real world", and we did not follow suit. Before that, ratings between the US & Canada used to be pretty similar.

EG: You can see the size of the resulting ratings differences (city MPG, all converted to US gallons) of four sample vehicles in this thread: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ion-23772.html . Compare the EPA city vs. NRCAN city values on the charts.

Strip it down as much as you can, get a full belly pan, and you can maybe get on low 30s in a Grand Caravan :D

Jokes apart, there are some versions of the Grand Caravan in overseas markets fitted with Diesel engines, easily breaking the 30MPG barrier.

Over in japan they had diesel mini vans and they were fairly common.
They could hit high 20s in the MPG department no problem.

Unfortunately they're not so popular there anymore.

personal experience. with a perfect drive and properly inflated tires just regular driving. No engine off coasting or neutral coasting I Have achieved 36mpg U.S. on the gauge… not sure how accurate the gauge is but I can at least assume I'm close. I usually average about 29-30mpg in my van.

Not necessarily. Factory MPG gauges are generally a bit optimistic. When my Mustang's gauge indicated 34 MPG for the tank, actual was only 32.3 MPG.
Your fuel log indicates closer to 25-26 MPG. :confused:

according to the US EPA the 2013 Grand Caravan gets 35 MPG highway, old test, unadjusted. I really love finding that they publish the raw data on the old test. That is a lower speed, lighter acceleration test that shows what you could potentially get if you didn't drive like an average person, AKA moron.

We just bought a 2011 Town and country with the same drivetrain as the 2013 model. It has new Michelin Defender LRR tires and is broken in with 47,000 miles. It has a great fuel economy gauge that shows average, but with a bar underneath with instant up from 0-45MPG and then an arrow on the bar where the average is currently at. Easy to tell if you are under or over average with a quick glance. I haven't even aired up the tires or done much but drive across a frozen town but can tell this thing is going to get some good mileage (for a 7 passenger car that can move a full size sofa inside). Flat ground steady 35 mph it is reading well over 30mpg. We will have to get a tank thought it to tell how good the gauge is. It also is flex fuel so I will be looking to try that. The roof rack has fold sideways and down flat cross bars which I didn't know and a bit of a Kammback spoiler on the roof. Makes me want to block the grill, add rear wheel skirts, and skin the belly.

A neighbor has a 2013 T&C and they seem pretty happy with the mpg, they say they ve averaged at least 24-25 on longer road trips. Pretty good for almost 300 hp two ton plus vehicle.

I rented a Town & Country over the summer to drive from Orlando to Nashville (1000 miles). We were loaded up with 4 adults, 1 kid, and all the bags. Averaged 28mpg on the built in guage. I was quite impressed.

My family has a 2007 3.3L Town and Country LX, 6000 lbs, built in trip "computer" is always +2-3 MPG over actual.... I have had it as high as 33 but I know that's not real. Right now I'm using it for the 50 mile one way work commute to Brown Deer, WI. and with the winter blend and the excessive cold of late actual MPG is around 22-23(80% Hwy at 51-55mph with cruise and some down hill coasting in OD for injector cutoff)

I ran a comparison of new minivans on the market. They all seem to be 3.5L V6 with auto trans and are rated at 25-27 mpg highway. Does anyone have a 4 cyl. 5 spd van for comparison? The latest Challenger 3.6L with 7 spd automatic is rated at 30 mpg hwy. One could hope for a diesel van with a low Cd to get 40 mpg. A current model getting 25 mpg given our other successes should be capable of double that; half from aero reduction and half from driving technique.

If there was a 5speed deisel minivan I would make all efforts to replace my truck with it asap :)

The Challenger actually has an 8 speed (compared to the vans 6), more efficient RWD and exhaust, better CD and less frontal area then the van although the motors are the same. So 30 isn't that great compared to 27 especially considering the room in the Challenger you give up.

Mazda was making a bit smaller van with a manual and a 4 cylinder but it wasn't a big gain either. They do make lots of diesel minivans overseas, I think even the Dodge but they called it a Lancia. I have also seen some VW TDI conversions as well.