Grand Caravan EX N727EX, photographed in 2023. · Photo: ZLEA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cessna · Turboprop
Grand Caravan EX
The current long-body Caravan, sold alongside the short-body Caravan 208 since 2013.
The Grand Caravan EX pairs one of the roomiest cabins in its class with an 867-horsepower engine that fixed the older Grand Caravan's sluggish climb. It is slow, unpressurized and has no toilet, but it is easy to support and easy to resell.
Buy it if
You need to move six to nine people, or bulky cargo, on trips under about 600 nautical miles, want one pilot up front, and value a huge support network and strong resale over speed.
Skip it if
Your trips regularly run past 700 nautical miles, your passengers expect a pressurized, quiet cabin with a toilet, or you often fly in winter icing. A Pilatus PC-12 costs more but flies higher, faster and farther.
Biggest compromise
Speed and comfort. With a cargo pod it cruises near 175 to 185 knots, and the cabin is not pressurized, so most trips stay below 12,500 feet, where oxygen is not needed but the air is often bumpy.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$2.65M
typical asking · $1.85M–$3.75M
What it costs per year
$467K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
912 nm
365–684 nm with passengers
How fast
185 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
8
8 executive, up to 12 commuter
Pilots needed
1
Certified for single-pilot operation; the right cockpit seat can hold a copilot or passenger.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$2,650,000
Where asking prices sit
Low
$1.85M
Typical
$2.65M
High
$3.75M
Most asking prices fall inside this band.
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Nine of 17 listings show prices: $1.85M for a 17,700-hour 2013 ex-airline aircraft up to $3.75M for a 2021 amphibian; most ask $2.4M–$3.3M.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Grand Caravan EX · This aircraft
$2.65M
Sits between the Caravan (208) and the PC-12 NG (/47E).
For sale now
1 on TheJetGrade marketplace
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe and propeller maintenance, engine program or overhaul reserve and landing fees, cleaning and miscellaneous rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$112,50024%
- Recurrent training$9,0002%
- Hangar$29,5006%
- Insurance$23,0005%
- Subscriptions and databases$6,0001%
- Fuel$149,04032%
- Airframe and propeller maintenance$75,00016%
- Engine program or overhaul reserve$52,50011%
- Landing fees, cleaning and miscellaneous$10,0002%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 32% of the total.
The JetGrade
77 out of 100 — Clearly above its class
Peer group: Daher Kodiak 100 Series III, Daher Kodiak 900, Cessna Caravan 208, Cessna Grand Caravan 208B, Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on reliability & support, weakest on running costs.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-02.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
1 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.6 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Easy nonstop with fuel to spare
- 4.2 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Nonstop, but oxygen needed over the Rockies
- 5.0 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Nonstop only with light bags and good weather
- 5.6 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · One fuel stop, typically in the Carolinas
- 7.3 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One fuel stop, typically near the midpoint
- 13.4 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two or three fuel stops; a full day
Lineage
What came before and after
2013–present
Grand Caravan EX
Long-body Caravan with the 867-horsepower PT6A-140 and Garmin glass cockpit.
What changed from the Grand Caravan 208B
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 with 867 horsepower replaces the 675-horsepower PT6A-114A.
- Climb improves about 38%, and takeoff roll shortens by roughly 350 feet.
- Cruise rises about 10 to 12 knots, to 185 knots with the cargo pod.
- Takeoff weight rises to 8,807 lb, but a heavier empty weight limits payload gains.
- Garmin G1000 NXi standard from 2017; stability and underspeed protection optional from 2019.
- Engine fuel heating removes the need for an anti-icing fuel additive.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Grand Caravan EX
- JetGrade
- 77
- Price
- $2.65M
- Cost per year
- $467K
- Range
- 912 nm
- Speed
- 185 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Cabin length
- 16′ 9″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2013–now
← Before
- JetGrade
- 76
- Price
- $1.99M
- Cost per year
- $442K
- Range
- 1,163 nm
- Speed
- 184 kt
- Seats
- 9
- Cabin length
- 16′ 9″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1986–2012
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 70
- Cost per year
- $303K
- Range
- 1,129 nm
- Speed
- 210 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 18′ 11″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2022–now
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 79
- Price
- $4.42M
- Cost per year
- $524K
- Range
- 1,830 nm
- Speed
- 280 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 16′ 11″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2008–2020
- Daher Kodiak 900 instead: About 25 knots faster with shorter takeoffs and a newer design, but a smaller cabin and a much smaller fleet and service network.
- Pilatus PC-12 NG instead: Pressurized and about 280 knots, with an enclosed toilet option and much longer range, at a higher purchase price and operating cost.
- Cessna Grand Caravan 208B instead: The same cabin and cargo pod for less money, with the older 675-horsepower engine that climbs and performs noticeably worse on hot days.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 · 867 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Elevator torque tube fastener check · 200 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 2,000 hr
- Propeller overhaul · 3,000 hr
- Engine overhaul · 4,000 hr
- Annual or phased inspection every 12 months
Hourly engine plans cover overhaul and hot section costs; confirm the plan, its level and transfer terms before buying.
Known issues
Engine overhaul cost
Overhaul starts at $600,000, roughly a quarter of a typical asking price; check engine time and plan coverage.
Icing limits and history
Past accidents led to strict icing rules, minimum airspeeds and training; winter flying needs ice protection and discipline.
High-time ex-airline aircraft
Many used EXs flew commuter or cargo routes, logging 15,000-plus hours and 30,000-plus landings.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Textron Aviation supports the Caravan through 20 company-owned service centers, more than 300 authorized shops and over 50 mobile service units, and Pratt & Whitney Canada backs the PT6A-140 worldwide.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- A 64-inch-wide, 54-inch-tall cabin of about 352 cubic feet, larger than any Kodiak's, with a separate airstair door.
- Carries up to about 3,190 lb of people and cargo; the belly pod and rear cabin hold 1,410 lb of bags.
- More than 3,000 Caravans delivered and 300-plus authorized shops worldwide keep parts, mechanics and buyers easy to find.
Limitations
- Unpressurized with no factory toilet: flights above 12,500 feet need oxygen, and passengers ride lower, in rougher air.
- Cruises at about 175 to 185 knots with a cargo pod, roughly 100 knots slower than a Pilatus PC-12.
- With four passengers, planning range is about 684 nautical miles, so trips like New York to Palm Beach need a fuel stop.
The Grand Caravan EX is the current long-body version of Cessna's Caravan, the single-engine utility turboprop that has passed 3,000 deliveries since 1985 and flies with airlines, cargo feeders, militaries and private owners in more than 100 countries. The EX arrived in 2013, replacing the 675-horsepower Grand Caravan 208B with an 867-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 in the same long-body airframe. Textron Aviation still builds it in Kansas, alongside the short-body Caravan 208.
Pilot's take
Pilot reports describe the EX as a big, stable, forgiving airplane that handles like a heavy truck in the best sense. The PT6A-140 transforms the Grand Caravan's takeoff and climb, especially when hot or heavy, and the Garmin G1000 panel with a capable autopilot keeps single-pilot workload reasonable. It rewards respect for its limits: the long cabin needs careful loading, cruise is leisurely, and icing demands strict airspeed discipline and a willingness to turn around. On floats, its sturdy airframe and reversing propeller make it a true utility tool rather than a fair-weather executive ride.
Who this is for
Owners and operators who need a flying minivan: island and lake hoppers on amphibious floats, ranch and lodge owners, skydiving, survey and relief operators, and families or companies moving six to eight people plus gear on regional trips.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Grand Caravan EX.
Your earlier questionsOwners
Private to verified ownersOwn a Cessna Grand Caravan EX? Verify with its FAA registration to join the owners' thread and the real-cost poll.