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I discovered families on my recent drive across the United States.

They live in small towns such as Winslow, Ariz., and Galena, Kan. They work on farms and in what factories remain in the once-mighty industrial heartland of America. They meet at local eateries such as Galena’s 4 Women on the Route. In communities where businesses are struggling, where hard times seem like normal times, many of those families — husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and a whole mess of cousins, uncles and aunts — still go to church.

When they go to church, or to athletic and social events, they usually go in bunches. It is a matter of economics as much as it is the need for fraternity. Not everyone in the family has a car or a truck. So, they share rides pretty much the way they share everything else. Their ride-sharing, more often than not, is done in sedans, minivans and wagons.

Those families are the reasons minivans still exist, and probably will remain in existence for many years to come despite the pompous pronouncements of automotive sophists, me included, who erroneously have predicted their demise.

The problem is that too many of us in the automotive media have been seduced by fashion and illusions of high-speed grandeur, by transient importance that isn’t important. Families in those little towns are concerned with matters of greater value — with one another and the preservation, as much as possible, of a shared way of life.

They like style, which is why they like minivans such as this week’s subject vehicle, the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT 4.0 with its optional, second-row Swivel ‘n Go seats that can turn 180 degrees to face the third row. It is an old idea, notably used in old Volkswagen vans and buses, meant to enhance a mobile community.

But many families might prefer the base Dodge Grand Caravan SE, which is attractively styled inside and out, and which comes with a raft of standard equipment, including power locks and windows, electronic stability and traction control, MP3 player capability and lots of storage space. It is substantially improved over the previous Dodge Caravan in ergonomic design and passenger comfort. But it has lower purchase and operating cost than the tested SXT 4.0, which comes with a 251-horsepower V-6 and a six-speed automatic transmission.

The base SE is available with a 3.3-liter, 175-horsepower V-6 mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It can run on E85 — 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline — or regular unleaded gasoline. If your aim is more miles per gallon, use regular gasoline. If your goal is to reduce consumption of oil, foreign or otherwise, use E85.

But if you have the desire and the money for luxurious utility — a term that isn’t the least bit oxymoronic in this case — go ahead and buy the SXT 4.0 V-6 with all of the trimmings. You’ll be in minivan heaven. In addition to the Swivel ‘n Go seats, you can have a dining table (no joke!) between the second- and third-row seats, an ambient “halo” from an overhead console, illuminated map pockets, navigation, telecommunications, and an audiovisual entertainment system that will ignite your senses more than a stay in a $1,000-a-night room in the MGM Grand Detroit Hotel and Casino.

“It’s like being in your living room or a family room,” said my associate, Ria Manglapus. “It’s like being at home,” she said, turning around, eyeing her youngest son, Q, lost in sleep in a third-row chair while her oldest son, Bori, leaned on the dining table thinking about whatever it is that high school seniors think about.

Seen from that perspective, there is not much sexy about the Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. It is a family hauler, albeit one elegantly done. Even with the 4.0-liter, V-6 engine, there is little about the Dodge Grand Caravan SXT that can be called zoom-zoom, although it demonstrates substantial straight-line performance on high-speed expressways. Going around curves in the minivan, which stretches nearly 17 feet and weighs 4,483 pounds, requires a modicum of common sense. It’s not a sports car. It was never meant to be one. It is, instead, a remarkably nice mobile lounge, and it should be driven that way.