The Cessna aircraft are some of the best turboprop airliners in the market for private use. The Caravan by Cessna has been around for a long time and is widely used as a private airliner. Then the company introduced the Grand Caravan and both the planes have since been considered as the best private aircraft in the industry. However, if you are at the verge of making a purchase decision and need to decide between the two, here is a comparison that will help you make a decision.

The Similarities

Since both the planes are designed with slight variations, there are several factors you would find are similar in them. Both these planes are powered by a turboprop engine and are intended for private use, having the ability to seat 14 passengers at a time. Both the planes are equipped with several standard and basic features including lavatory, cabin lighting, moveable chairs, monitors and wireless headsets. Both planes feature a P&W PT6A-114A engine that provides an output of 675 Horsepower. There is no doubt about the fact that both these planes are exceptional in performance and can be conveniently used as private people-haulers.

The Variances

The Grand Caravan, while incorporating the best features of the Caravan, had some remarkable variations made to it. The Grand Caravan has a longer fuselage while it is also equipped with cabin hardware that can allow you to convert this plane from being a people-hauler to a cargo truck, or a combination of the two. The Cessna Grand Caravan has four doors in total, with a separate cargo door. Compared to the maximum takeoff weight limit of Caravan of 8,000 lbs, the Grand Caravan has a maximum takeoff weight limit of 8,750 lbs.

The Grand Caravan is different in some prop plane features as it is corrosion proof and includes a defroster, strobe lights, ice protection system and electronic roll-up door. Moreover, the Grand Caravan can also have floats attached to it instead of wheels, allowing the plane to land on water if the landing strip is busy, unavailable or not large enough. All these variations in the features and design of the Grand Caravan enhance its performance significantly, making it the winner among the two planes.

However, while it is given that the Grand Caravan is slightly better in performance than the Cessna Caravan, there is a difference in their prices as well. The price of Caravan is $1.6 million you can buy the Grand Caravan for $1.75 million. Now, whether the additional features are of enough use to you to make such an investment or not is purely your decision to make. In terms of performance, both these planes are remarkable in their own way.