What is the best Dodge Caravan/Ram Van for fuel economy?

The strongest year was 1985 at 23 mpg combined, against 17 mpg in 1985. That is a 6 mpg spread across the nameplate's history.

How much does a Dodge Caravan/Ram Van cost to fuel each year?

At 11,500 miles a year the 1986 model uses between 523 and 639 gallons, or $1,830 to $2,236 at $3.50 a gallon.

What does the Dodge Caravan/Ram Van emit?

EPA reports 403.95454545454544 to 493.72222222222223 grams of tailpipe CO2 per mile for the 1986 model year, or about 4.6 to 5.7 tons over a year of driving.

Dodge Caravan/Ram Van MPG by year — every rating on record

The Dodge Caravan/Ram Van has a combined EPA fuel economy rating for 3 model years, from 1984 to 1986. Across those years its best rated version returned 23 mpg (1985) and its thirstiest returned 17 mpg (1985). The EPA record holds 24 configurations for this nameplate, most recently a Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD.

23best combined mpg (1985)

17worst combined mpg (1985)

22latest year best (1986)

24configurations on record

Year-by-year EPA ratings

Model year	Configurations	Best combined	Worst combined	Class rank that year	Drivetrains	Fuel	EPA class
1984	7	22 mpg	18 mpg	#4 of 14 (77th pct)	2-Wheel Drive	Regular	Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD
1985	10	23 mpg	17 mpg	#1 of 16 (100th pct)	Front-Wheel Drive	Regular	Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD
1986	7	22 mpg	18 mpg	#3 of 16 (87th pct)	Front-Wheel Drive	Regular	Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD

Where it has stood in its class

Ranked against every other nameplate the EPA filed under the same class that year. The Dodge Caravan/Ram Van placed highest in 1985 at #1 of 16, and lowest in 1984 at #4 of 14. It spent 3 of its 3 ranked years in the top half of its class.

Every configuration on record

All 24 configurations EPA lists for this nameplate, newest first.

Year	Configuration	Engine detail	City	Highway	Combined	Gallons/yr	Barrels/yr	EPA fuel cost/yr	CO2 g/mi	GHG
1986	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	(FFS)	17	20	18	638.9	16.5	$3,450	493.72222222222223	n/a
1986	2.6L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	2.6L 4-cyl	17	20	18	638.9	16.5	$3,450	493.72222222222223	n/a
1986	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	18	21	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1986	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	(FFS)	19	24	21	547.6	14.2	$2,950	423.1904761904762	n/a
1986	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	18	25	21	547.6	14.2	$2,950	423.1904761904762	n/a
1986	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS)	18	25	21	547.6	14.2	$2,950	423.1904761904762	n/a
1986	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	19	26	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	(FFS)	16	19	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	2.6L 4-cyl	16	20	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	(FFS) CA model	16	20	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	CA model	16	19	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	17	20	18	638.9	16.5	$3,450	493.72222222222223	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS)	18	25	20	575.0	14.9	$3,100	444.35	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	18	25	21	547.6	14.2	$2,950	423.1904761904762	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	(FFS) CA model	20	25	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	21	26	23	500.0	12.9	$2,700	386.39130434782606	n/a
1985	2.2L 4-cyl Front-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	21	26	23	500.0	12.9	$2,700	386.39130434782606	n/a
1984	2.6L 4-cyl 2-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	2.6L 4-cyl	17	20	18	638.9	16.5	$3,450	493.72222222222223	n/a
1984	2.2L 4-cyl 2-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	18	22	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.2L 4-cyl 2-Wheel Drive Automatic 3-spd Regular	(FFS) CA model	18	22	20	575.0	14.9	$3,100	444.35	n/a
1984	2.2L 4-cyl 2-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS) CA model	18	26	21	547.6	14.2	$2,950	423.1904761904762	n/a
1984	2.2L 4-cyl 2-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	20	26	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a
1984	2.2L 4-cyl 2-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Regular	2.2L 4-cyl	19	26	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a
1984	2.2L 4-cyl 2-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	(FFS) CA model	20	24	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a

How the rating has moved between model years

Comparing the best-rated configuration of each year. 1 of 2 year-over-year steps improved the top rating.

Change	Best combined	Delta	Gallons a year at the newer rating
1984 → 1985	22 → 23 mpg	+1 mpg	500 gal
1985 → 1986	23 → 22 mpg	-1 mpg	523 gal

What Caravan/Ram Van fuel costs over a year

At the EPA's 11,500 miles a year, the 1986 Dodge Caravan/Ram Van burns 523 to 639 gallons depending on configuration. Below is what that costs at three pump prices, and how much more the thirstiest configuration costs than the most efficient one.

Pump price	Most efficient	Thirstiest	Spread
$3.00/gal	$1,568	$1,917	$348
$3.50/gal	$1,830	$2,236	$407
$4.00/gal	$2,091	$2,556	$465

EPA’s own estimate for the 1986 model year is $2,850 to $3,450 a year in fuel, or $5,250 more than the average new vehicle over five years.

How it compares with other Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD

Across the 93 nameplates EPA classifies as Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD, the median best combined rating is 22 mpg. At 22 mpg the Dodge Caravan/Ram Van is exactly at the median.

All Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD rankings — every nameplate in the class, best to worst.

Other Dodge nameplates

Every Dodge model compared → — all nameplates ranked by best combined rating, with what each one costs a year.