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By
EWAN KENNEDY
7 April 2008
Who says a people mover has to be boxy and boring? Certainly
not the guys and gals at Chrysler, because their new Grand Voyager
is something special in the styling department. Its front end is
so positive that it could almost be called aggressive, and it
certainly owes a lot to the spectacular face of the Chrysler 300C
‘gangster’ sedan.
But the really clever styling is in the exterior and rear of
the cabin. The roof side-rails run boldly where no roof rails have
ever gone before, then turn positively downwards to frame the bold
tailgate design. It really is a work of automotive art, perhaps
not in the normal sense of a phrase that’s normally devoted to
low-slung sports models, but art in a voluminous shape isn’t
easy to achieve.
Grand Voyager is just as fascinating inside, where the dash
design moves neatly into the console in the centre and to sweeping
door details at each side. The seats themselves are nicely shaped
for support and seem certain to appeal to the kids who ride in
them.
Because kids are what people movers are all about. Whether you
have large family in your own right, or a blended family – one
that’s made up of children from two different previous marriages
– this big Chrysler will move them in style.
This has always been a big people mover, now it’s bigger than
ever before. Grand Voyager has been stretched in overall length,
wheelbase and width to give it more leg-, shoulder- and hip-room.
Interestingly, even though it has been lowered slightly over the
previous generation, interior height has been maintained by using
a form-fitted ceiling.
The reduction in height is there to improve stability as well
as to present a more aerodynamic face to the world. And thus
reduce fuel consumption and wind rush. Chrysler figures show lower
overall consumption both from the 3.8-litre V6 petrol and the 2.8
four-cylinder five-cylinder turbo-diesel. Our initial road testing
at the time of the press launch out of Melbourne appeared to
confirm this lower consumption, but we will have to wait until we
conduct formal figures in our home area over our usual week’s
test period to ratify this.
People movers should be all about interior fittings and yet
again Chrysler has excelled. The standard seating system sees two
rows of bucket seats with a rear bench in the rearmost situation.
All seats behind the driver’s area can be folded down in less
than thirty seconds to give a flat floor that gives virtually
van-like stowage space. When these seats are in use the areas from
which they have been unfolded can be used to stow a substantial
amount of personal items. Kids will just love having these little
private areas.
Junior travellers will also appreciate the option of centre-row
bucket seats that can be swivelled to face rearwards, and the
folding table that can sit between the two rear rows of seats.
Just the thing for setting up games, colouring-in books and the
like. Indeed, not-so junior travellers will also appreciate this
area for holding meetings, or perhaps just a quiet drink at the
end of the day.
Then there are the various entertainment packages including
Chrysler's impressive MyGig system with its inbuilt 20 Gb hard
disc for storing music and photos. There are also input jacks for
MP3 players such as iPods. Now comes the really exciting stuff,
DVD screens that can show movies and be connected to Playstations
as well as Xboxes. Ally these with cordless headphones and the
dreaded ‘are-we-nearly-there-yet?’ pleas from the back seats
can be postponed just about indefinitely.
There's lots more in the entertainment areas of this latest
Grand Voyager, but rather than filling the rest of this report
with details may we suggest you drop into your local Chrysler
dealer for a full run down? And don’t forget to take the kids.
Boot space is impressive, with an ultra-low bin that has almost
as much volume below the floor as you will find in the complete
boot of many a small hatchback. Seats can folded in various
permutations to let you juggle people and/or items of cargo of
various sizes and shapes.
Safety is paramount when carting kids and Chrysler has excelled
itself, with multiple airbags, including side-curtain units that
protect all three seating rows. A reversing camera in all models
lets you keep an eye out for the littlies, as well as items they
may have abandoned in the driveway behind your car.
Our test drives showed the new Grand Voyager to be smooth and
comfortable to ride in, with handling that’s safe and
predictable. Noise and vibration are kept under control. The sheer
size of the vehicle can be a hassle in tight parking areas but the
size is a factor of the interior space so is more than acceptable.
The complete Chrysler Grand Voyager range, with prices
(excluding on-road costs) is:
Grand Voyager LX 3.8-litre V6 petrol: $56,990
Grand Voyager CRD LX 2.8-litre turbo-diesel: $59,990
Grand Voyager Touring 3.8-litre V6 petrol: $62,990
Grand Voyager CRD Touring 2.8-litre turbo-diesel: $65,990
Grand Voyager Limited 3.8-litre V6 petrol: $72,990
Grand Voyager CRD Limited 2.8-litre turbo-diesel: $75,990
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Marque Publishing Company
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