Which van that gets at least 25 mpg (gasoline), has the most cargo space?

[SoulRaven]

The 4.8 is a V8.  The 6 speed gives it a extremely high range of gears.  (Motor goes slower, body goes faster.)

I managed 17 mpg at one point with my Dodge 318.  It would fail smog in 1/2 the states...

I average 15/18 with my 1986 Dodge Maxi-Van with a 318.  Totally reliable and very little maintenance required.  Perfect.

 

[SoulRaven]

Cool, yeah I hear you. But I want to drive from the NE to the SW in the winter and that is 3,000+ miles just going directly. Also, I want something reliable as I don't want my transmission to give out as I'm driving through texas...

I go the opposite direction usually,  NW <-> SE, and the best thing that ever happened to me was having other van dwelling friends convince me that the older vans are better.  They just don't have all of the transmission problems and plethora of other problems that the newer ones do.

 

[SoulRaven]

The gas Provan uses the engine and trans from the Caravan. So you could get real world MPG from those, and the Provan is lots bigger.

And they will know how to rebuild the 62 TE trans in Texas. They have some issues...  But these have been addressed in the Provan.  "Trust us".

Now that's scary, because the newer caravans are pretty well known for engine and transmission issues.

 

[LeeRevell]

My study indicates the older Gen One and Gen Two Chrysler/Dodge minivans had those troubles, while the Gen Three and Gen Four (mine is a Gen Four) are known for more electrical/electronic problems. My 3.8L motor and my tranny have been fine, for my now-eleven-year-old vehicle. 18MPG city and 25MPG highway.
I haven't studied up on the Gen Fives yet.

 

[Bdog1]

The 62TE is a six speed. (The older 4speeds are more sorted.) the compounder and the associated bearings caused the issues, being somewhat less than robust.

 

[myke]

I only know one guy with a Promaster and he says he gets 20-22 easily and better on the freeway.

Do you know if that's the gasoline version?

 

[akrvbob]

Yes, it's a very small gas engine. I don't remember which one but I remember thinking how small it was for a big van. The main advancements in MPG today is with multi-speed transmission that let little engines do more work than the big ones used to do.

Plus, there are small V6s now that put out more horsepower than the big V8s used to.
Bob

 

[myke]

Yes, it's a very small gas engine. I don't remember which one but I remember thinking how small it was for a big van. The main advancements in MPG today is with multi-speed transmission that let little engines do more work than the big ones used to do.

Plus, there are small V6s now that put out more horsepower than the big V8s used to.
Bob

Great, thanks for the info. I am really liking that van, 20-22 mpg (possibly, hopefully) and I can stand up in it, tons of room. Plus I like how that guy has his set up, very basic... that's how I would start out too. Only drawback is I think the stealth factor goes down a bit with these because of the height and you just don't see too many of them, so they sort of stand out...

Upon research, under somewhat similar conditions some report 20-22 mpg while others report 15-17 mpg.