By Jacqueline Mitchell
u it t i
Packed
With Power,
Personality
and Versatility.
Back in the day, this was a no-
brainer. W hat’s the best minivan
to purchase? Chrysler, of course,
was the immediate reply. In the
1980s, no one else made them.
Sure, GM , Ford and Toyota rolled out competing versions, but those
minivans were no-match for the market leader. Families replacing
space-con lining station wagons with roomier, more versatile vehicles
turned to the functional and practical Chrysler minivan. Surely,
Chrysler had nothing to fear.
Until now.
As the decade winds to a close, automakers are taking another
shot at the minivan market, and this time several have landed closer
to the mark. The new generation minivans are packaged in sleek
bodies loaded with power, personality and versatility. The ride is
smooth, comfortable and more car-like. Safety features abound,
taking into account that children are the likely cargo in these ve
hicles. And the minivans are easy to park and nimbly maneuver
around slower drivers.
Chrysler minivans, certainly, are of all of this and more. But so
are G M ’s all-new family of minivans: The Pontiac Trans Sport,
Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette. /dO lt-'editors selected
G M ’s redesigned trio of minivans as our Top Urban Pick because
they pose the first real challenge to Chrysler’s dynamic duo, the
Dodge Caravan and the Plymouth Voyager and upscale cousin,
Chrysler Town and Country.
Both GM and Chrysler offer the optional sliding door on the
driver's side, a verv useful feature that earned high marks from AAOW
editors. No other minivan offers that feature, including Ford’s
Windstar, another favorite. The GM minivan's are a tad longer than
Chrysler’s, and a little narrower.
Meanwhile, the import makers continue to take stabs at the
minivan market. The Honda Odyssey is worth a look. It functions
like a minivan, looks like a sport-utility and feels like a car. As for
Toyota, it will roll out its Sienna minivan, a replacement tor the
Previa, in the 1998 model year.
2
AFRICAN A.MERK AN SO N W HEEI s
Top Urban Pick:
Pontiac Trans Sport,
Chevrolet Venture,
Oldsmobile Silhouette
GM missed the mark in its first attempt to chal
lenge Chrysler in the minivan segment. The wide-bodv,
long-nosed minivans were comfortable and functional,
but awkward. The new GM family of minivans in
clude the Pontiac Trans Sport, the Chevy Venture, and
the Oldsmobile Silhouette. For urban performance, we
found them to be sleek, nimble and stvlish. Ihev are
equipped with a powerful 3.4-liter V6 engine, boast
ing 180 horsepower. Editor Warren Brown says it
“handles like a big sedan” on the highway, "but seems
to do even better in the city.” Seating is comfortable,
and the seats are easy to remove when more cargo space
is needed. The Trans Sport Montana version has a lot
of personality. Radio controls are conveniently placed
on the steering wheel, and there's a net between the
driver and passenger seat to keep purses and diaper
bags from rolling around on the floor. These features
were made with parents of small children in mind. With
a base price of just over S19,000. these vehicles offer a
lot of personality at a reasonable price.
The 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse Turbos are fast. Really fast. Of course,
that's no surprise, thanks to the most powerful engine in its class.*
Backed by the athletic handling of 4-wheel independent multi-link
suspension and speed-sensitive power steering. According to Motor
Trend, they "tear apart most other sport coupes limb by limb." And
with 140-horsepower non-turbo models
MITSUBISHI
ECLIPSE
starting at just s15,560,T even our most
affordable Eclipse is hard to pass up.
B u ilt
For
L iv in g .
For th e dealer nearest you o r a fre e brochure ca 1 -8 0 0 -55MITSU. O r visit our w eb site at W W W .m itS U C â r S .C O m
‘ Eclipse Turbo class consists o f im port-brand sports coupes including H onda Prelude Toyota Cehca GT. Nissan 240SX SE Mazda
M X-6 LS. and Acura Integra GS-R and Type R tE clipse GSX shown is S 23.640 including destination MSRP excludes taxes title ,
license registration fee, dealer options and charges Excluding Alaska Prices and availability may vary Actual prices set by dealers