Back in the market for a minivan, sometime in the next year or so. I had an '03 GC sport for a few years which was a very good vehicles asides from its inability to stop by itself when my daughter was driving it! I was able to patch it back up after that episode, but, we ended up selling it because my daughter was the primary driver and the mileage was killing us.

Anyway, I would really like a stow and go set up. Are there any cons to this? Is there reduced headroom? It would seem there has to be as a floor needs to be fairly deep to swallow a chair.

How about engines? My last was the 3.3 and I was very happy with it. Are any of the newer OHC engines really any better? In my opinion, OHC is nice.....in race cars and motorcycles where power to weight is critical. But in the real world, which is spent almost exclusively under 4K RPM, it really isn't that big a deal.

I might consider the shorty with the 4 cylinder. Is there much of a mileage gain? Does this configuration have stow and go?

I am likely looking at something in the 03-07 model year range. New ones are just too pricey and I just don't trust a first or second year of a new new model, particularly from mopar.

Any pro/con info onn the various models would be appreciated. Or maybe a link to existing threads. I looked for some, but, didn't find much.

 

Stow'n go are great, but try seating in them. They aren't the most confortables in this class. I don't mind, because my kids are using child safety seats. But I tested both the Sienna and Odessey second row seats and they are better (but they don't fold).

 

No such thing as shorty with stow and go. There is simply no room for seating stow boxes to be mounted underneath the floor. They would have to delete the fuel tank, muffler and rear bumper lol.

The floor is not significantly raised for stow and go feature, so cargo space does not suffer compared to removing seats. The stow-and-go bucket seats fold into boxes mounted below the existing frame and floor. Exhaust and spare tire has been moved to accommodate. Basic models with 3.3 motor do not have second row stow and go. They instead have a second row bench that must be removed. Only buckets stow.

The '08 is really not an "all new" vehicle, but it is the first generation specifically optimized for stow-and-go. They are now selling for $7K (SE) to $10K (SXT). The chassis is roughly a carryover design from prior generation with new sheetmetal and different shaped plastic interior parts. It has larger brakes and 6spd with the 3.8, not much else. The engine and tranny designs were both Chrysler carryover designs (neither new for '08) with no teething issues. History clearly shows the 2010 has the same issues as a 2008. No significant issues were "corrected or fixed" after rollout.

1) DOHC 3.6 V-6 motor was released in 2011, so those vans cost over $15K used. All 2011 to present vans have this motor.
2) SOHC 4.0 V-6 motor was offered from 2008 thru 2010, but they are incredibly rare and only found in loaded vans fetching top dollar.
3) OHV 3.8 V-6 motor was found in most SXT's, offered from '90's thru 2010. It is very torquey, pulls hills and loads without needing to downshift. Gets same economy as the 3.3 ( I own both). The 3.8 is simply a bored and stroked 3.3 motor.
4) OHV 3.3 V-6 motor was found in most SE's and Sport versions, offered from '90's thru 2010. It is a gutless dog, downshifts on the slightest grades and has marginal acceleration at best. This engine will downshift into 2nd gear on hills going 70 MPH with cruise on. Lots of RPM, but little power. Economy is fair, but no better than 3.8L. I have 210K mi on my 3.3.

As for transmissions, all 2001 thru 2010 3.3L and the 2001 thru 2007 3.8L had the old 4spd automatic. For 2008 to present, all 3.6L, 3.8 and 4.0L had a 6spd automatic that was proven in other fwd Chrysler designs prior to 2008.

The 2008 thru 2010 stow-and-go seats are more comfortable and less clunky than the first generation 2005 thru 2007 version.