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Vans & Minivans Chevrolet Uplander Chevy Uplander/Pontiac Montana SV6/Saturn Relay/Buick Terraza
2869 messages, Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 11:25 AM
You are in the Chevrolet Uplander Forum. Your Host is Karens
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I just thought I would let everyone know that I got to take a quick look at a Relay on Sunday. They had a loaded one at the Columbus Zoo for Saturn owners day. I don't own a Saturn or any domestic GM vehicle ('99 Saab 9-5 wgn), but I walked away relatively impressed with the product. Here's a list of some things I liked and some of my concerns. Exterior: Styling was handsome enough for a minivan, FUV,...polished 17" wheels were nice. It's smaller than competitors which could be a good thing or bad thing depending on your needs. Interior: Materials quality is definitely better than the current GM vans, but not quite as nice as my Saab. No more Fisher Price looking radio etc... The plood still looks like plood but it's not bad. They have those folding cargo trays in the 1st and 2nd rows which is nice. Those seats were felt comfortable. Plenty of storage space around the passengers. The 3rd row legroom looked fine for kids, tight for adults. I did not sit back there however. There seemed to be a cargo organizer installed behind the 3rd row bench which limited cargo capacity and made a higher liftover. Vans with magic seats have the extra foot of depth when the seat is used. I don't know if this tray is an option. A plus is that the seats do fold completely flat. Missing features: no power tailgate, and 2nd row 3 passenger bench (Uplander/Montana to have this?) Overall, it appears to be worth a test drive. It might be a little small if you have a large, younger family: 2+ kids in carseats, strollers, etc. It would probably be the perfect size if you had 2 older children. Sorry about the long post. Matt
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Great post. Glad to hear the van looked pretty good. The dash is the only big down fall of our 2004 Montnana so if that's fixed I think that is a good thing. The van shouldn't be much smaller, it's just a little more narrow than most vans. |
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| I have seen a lot of articles as of late giving GM a lot of credit for putting out something a little different, a van with an SUV look. Judging by a few looks inside, it sounds like it's not as bad as some people were making it out to be. | |
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There certainly is nothing like a reskin and the marketing folks conjuring up a faux category, lol. Even for the budget conscious, Im not sure a compelling reason exists to buy this minivan. The new Ody and Sienna will be dynamically far superior, and the 2005 DCX minis more versatile and similarly priced, and the overweight Kia Sedona is still cheaper. Somebody fill in the competitive advantage, because Im missing it.... ~alpha |
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Replying to: mattw8 (Sep 14, 2004 9:52 am) 1. No true fold flat seat, or rear stow well like the Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Ford products. 2. Underpowered and old tech (but newly re-designed) OHV V-6. The competition's best has DOHC V-6's with at least 230 HP. GM thinks people don't pay attention to what's under the hood. 3. Undersize minivan's like the Mazda MPV and now GM's offerings aren't what people want. People want room and big cabins. 4. Nobody will be fooled by the enlarged snout that this isn't anything but a "refreshed" Chevy Venture. These came out in 1996. It isn't state of the art in any respect. And trying to differentiate this model over four brands? Please. Bob Lutz probably came on too late to kill it, or delay it. Look for lots of incentives as they try move these. Sounds like some ghosts remain at GM from the brand management and dark years of the early 1990's. One has to wonder why GM didn't develop a minivan with all of the right attributes on it's fine global platform underpinning the Saab, G6 and Malibu. Probably don't have the cash right now. I understand this may bridge the gap until 2008-2009 MY when an all-new van comes. We have two little ones and are looking at a minivan. I've always bought GM and will give it at least a look but I can't help feeling that GM dropped the ball on this one. |
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| Sure, I can't think of a competitive advantage, but if you have GM Card points, and there's a massive cash back, and you plan to drive it into the ground, the GM vans could be a bargain. | |
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GM card- great point. That definitely could serve as a competitive advantage.. otherwise, these vans seem to lack what it takes. ~alpha |
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| It is true that the new minivans are just a refreshed model, but it is still an improvement. I sat in a terraza this weekend and the build quality is improved in the model I sat in. All gaps equal, I was unable to remove any plastic pieces by hand. The door closed with a very reassuring thud. In regards to the hp rating I know that Fords and DCX minivans have more hp, but they felt slower. I did notice that they were geared to more towing than the GM. I know several people that own the current GM minivans and have had very little trouble with them...all are high mile vehicles. My grandpa has a 1999 chrysler town and country...takes excellent care of it...and he has had numerous and expenisve problems. (AC compressor, entire instrument panel had to be replaced, a transmission and all new cv joints at 45,000 miles) No, he is not a bad driver, just a crappy vehicle. The pushrod v6 has been a good enigne for GM and until they build a new one from the ground up they should continue to use this one. | |
| The Cashback could be like $5,000 at model year end, and combine that with GM card points, anybody could drive off the dealer lot with a new Chevrolet, Pontiac or Saturn minivan loaded for a lot less than a midlevel Sienna or Odyssey! (The Terrazza would cost more, but still be a great bargain) | |
| When will these new sports van arrive at dealers? | |
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