Minivans have an image problem.
The commonly held opinion is that they're way handy, but no fun to drive and definitely not cool to be seen in.
Dodge believes it has a solution: The sporty Caravan ESS is a minivan concept with some extra muscle and ultrahigh-performance styling. We spent a day at the test track with the ESS and came away with sincere hopes that the company will build a production version. And if enough interest is shown by crowds viewing this Viper-for-six on the auto-show circuit, it's a definite possibility.
Bill Hines, a Chrysler minivan marketing specialist, says there may be quite a future for performance vans. "Chrysler is one-stop minivan shopping," Hines explained. "And we're going to aggressively go after all the niches. Keep in mind that Dodge means strong powertrains, affordable performance, and bold, expressive styling. The ESS works very well with the Dodge brand image."
Indeed, driving minivans got a whole lot more interesting after this year's redesign of Chrysler's people hauler. In fact, we thought so highly of the new Caravan, it was named 1996 Motor Trend Car of the Year.
If you haven't checked lately, Chrysler minivans no longer look like the box a sedan came in. And that's despite a 30 percent increase in interior volume, to a Wal-Mart-swallowing 146.2 cubic feet.
Brighter, more exciting colors always have a powerful effect on a vehicle's looks. In this case, stylists settled on a Viper-like theme, with a retina-scorching Torch Red body color and bold, yellow 18-inch wheels. And just in case show crowds weren't sure what division created the ESS, "Dodge" is painted on the broad wheel rims. Up front, the fascia has a bolder, single-piece Viper look with large radiator openings and integrated night-blasting foglamps. In back, there's a swoopy roof-level spoiler.
Inside, the ESS modifications are mostly subtle except for the steering wheel, which is bright red to match the exterior. The only other major change involves the instrument panel; it's covered with a faux carbon-fiber treatment that does a reasonable imitation of the megabuck stuff. The rest of the van's appearance is stock, with six buckets awaiting a good pilot and five fellow enthusiasts.
The Caravan ESS is powered by a 3.8-liter OHV V-6 with a hotter cam and a bigger throttle body, which Chrysler engineers estimate boost output from 166 to 215 horses. Our best 0-60-mph run with the ultralow-mileage engine broke into the nines-not too shabby for Mom's taxi, but not as quick as we'd expected. (Keep in mind that this show van is almost 300 pounds heavier than a stock Caravan, and it hasn't been fully sorted out.) All the while, it tickled our ears with a low-restriction Borla exhaust that portends its go-fast potential.
The ESS features the first minivan installation of ChryCo's four-speed AutoStick transaxle. A press on the plus-marked side of the AutoStick's steering-wheel-spoke rocker switch upshifts the electronic four-speed, and a finger-flick across the minus sign grabs a downshift. Using the manual-select mode for acceleration runs didn't improve times because the electronically controlled automatic does such a good job of selecting redline shifts. Still, the AutoStick could come in handy to hold a gear in a tricky corner.
No vehicle-dynamics engineer will ever be able to turn a 4150-pound minivan into a light, low, wide sports car, but the ESS proves that despite a minivan's higher center of gravity and less-than-perfect polar moment of inertia, you don't have to settle for less-than-sporty handling. The wide contact patch of the 50-series tires, 225/50VR18s versus the stock 215/65TR16s, gives this van significantly more bite than that offered by the standard 65-series Michelins. The ESS also sits on shorter springs, which slightly reduces the ride height.
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