Yeah, price was also an issue around here. However, I disagree about the power being a big problem. Yes, it was no sports car... but who cares about power when you can sleep in it, throw bikes in, carry a metric ton, haul a family of five with clothes, food, toys, windsurfing gear, bicycles, etc for a four week vacation?
Power's important in that stereotypical American way
Alone, the power seems adequate..but compared to the vans closest to Eurovan's size at it's launch here it was outnumbered:
93 Eurovan: 108 horsepower
93 Grand Caravan/Grand Voyager: 142 horsepower minimum...you could get up to 162 hp depending on engine
93 Previa: 135 horsepower
93 Aerostar: 145 horsepower minimum...you could get a 160 hp engine
93 Safari/Astro: 165 horsepower minimum...you could get a 200 hp engine
I've never missed that - it's one of those features where everyone answers "yes" when asked if they want that, but nobody really needs it.
Also, you'd have to lose the table if you want another door there. Additionally, a door there would be pointless once you've plonked the kitchen unit in there.
It wasn't until 96 that the driver's side sliding door was thrust into the mainstream by Chrysler. Since they were the leader in minivans at the time (arguably still am) buyers expected at least the option of that door. Ford was caught flat footed by the driver's sliding door's absence and fought back with a "king door" on the Windstar, where the drivers seat could tip/slide forward like a coupe for 2nd row access. They claimed it allowed parents to control street side access, but it was a flop. GM was just plain lucky, having designed the U-body vans (Venture/Sintra, etc..) for global sales.
That's probably a relic from the rear-engined times. Ours had a foldable rear bench. Lift up the bottom - access a storage area. Lift bottom, slide forwards, fold back bit flat - get a huge double bed. The storage area also housed the auxilliary heating unit, so removing it would be futile anyways.
Additionally, fold-away seats take up a lot of space. Undoing a few bolts is easy and frees up tons of room.
Awesome!
Yeah, the Aerostar's rear seats when optioned correctly, allowed for a similar bed transformation. Importantly, they were removable w/out tools.
Toolless removal is important in this segment here, esp in the late 90s - early 2000's era that later Eurovan's competed in. The van that MotorWeek reviewed in 2002 was a GLS with traditional seating and no camping package....so the third row should have been removable without tools.
On the power, just get Jeremy's Van GTI from 8x8?
No, don't ask about its price [/QUOTE]
Haha that sounds awesome...and no..I won't dare ask the price!