Chevrolet Venture minivan primed with power plus surprises
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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Chevrolet's redesigned minivan, new from tip to trim, accepted a family's load of luggage at an airport parking lot in New Hampshire, yet still spared passenger space for the four adults who would spend the next three days aboard on holiday crisscrossing New England.
What better way to discover nuances of a new minivan than to pack the family aboard and drive, drive, drive?
With this premise we began a travelog in Chevrolet's new Venture.
Even from a distant view at Manchester's airport lot, the new Chevy mini appeared obviously fresh and new.
It looked sleek and round, seemingly smaller than its interior dimensions would indicate.
With shapely smooth corners and a cascading prow, Venture only vaguely resembles the predecessor Chevy mini, Lumina APV, which with severely sloped nose and boxy cabin looked like a Dustbuster on wheels.
This latest minivan interpretation, providing more space inside and less on-board weight, more people-pleasing interior amenities and tiers of seats sculptured for comfort, represents a fresh approach from General Motors, which has cast the concept in models for Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac.
It's a worldly idea for GM, which plans to market the vehicle on four continents.
The goal of Venture's design, quickly confirmed as one family motored off to the scenic White Mountains of New Hampshire, is to make the compact minivan as easy to use as that once-hallowed mechanical institution, the family station wagon.
This striking design, in regular and extended variations, still looks like a minivan, despite its curvy corners and the liberal expression of window glass.
Like other minivans, Venture can carry up to seven people or, with its two rear tiers of seats removed, a load of cargo. Unlike others, though, Venture's bay will accommodate loads as large as 4 by 8 sheets of plywood.
Also, riders won't have to hike a leg up or get a lift just to climb aboard because the floor's so low you can simply step aboard like stepping into a sedan.
In regular-length wheelbase, Venture applies two hinged front doors and a right-side sliding slab to access back seats, plus an easy-swing back lift gate.
In extended-length wheelbase, Venture's optional left-side sliding door signifies that backseat riders can reach their respective seats from either rear sliding side door because there's one etched into the left side to match the one on the right.
When combined with the two front hinged doors, that means there are four in all for passengers, which turns this minivan into a 4-door model like a sedan.
A second optional door feature -- power operation for the right sliding rear door -- elevates Venture ahead of all minivans in terms of convenience, particularly for carpooling drivers who face the daunting task of dropping off children who forget to shut that gate when departing.
Venture's solution with power-operated right side sliding door becomes as effortless to close as pushing a control button mounted to the overhead console.
The Venture tester used for our New England holiday contained both optional features, left sliding door and the right-side version with power controls. Despite all other amenities aboard -- including countless storage compartments and as many as 17 cupholders -- these two back doors produced the most significant convenience, as adults scrambled in and out of rear seats at countless stops from the White Mountains to the ragged coast of Maine.
From the driver's seat, Venture's broad and tall windshield improves outward visibility, as deep side windows further enhance views for passengers so you end up feeling like you're peering out of a fine sedan.
Further, that driver's seat, when coupled to Venture's redesigned instrument panel, sporty steering wheel, column-mounted shift lever and other tools, positions the person who maneuvers Venture in such a comfortable manner that you'd think you're guiding a far smaller vehicle.
For riders, Venture's floor slopes up toward the rear in ramplike fashion so rear tiers of seats stand higher than seats in front, which means passengers get a better view.
Venture's regular-wheelbase base edition installs two comfortable bucket seats up front separated by a walk-through aisle, followed by a 2-person bench in the center row and a rear 3-person bench -- for a capacity of seven.
Variations include split-bench designs for rows two and three to add flexibility in the configuration for people and cargo, plus optional modular buckets in second or both back rows for the ultimate in rider comfort.
Rear seats with aluminum frames weigh half as much as competitor models, by the way, which makes them easy to move when more cargo space is needed.
Further, one or two toddler safety seats, integrated in flip-out fashion in center-row bench, appear as options.
Beyond surprises of interior comforts and conveniences, Venture impresses with its easy-to-maneuver personality.
A turning radius of less than 40 feet for even the extended-wheelbase edition enables a driver to move easily in traffic and chart a course through that most difficult driving test, the supermarket parking lot.
A ladder-type chassis forms a solid, flex-resistant platform to mount front independent suspension components with MacPherson struts and variable-rate coil springs.
All Ventures add quick-response power rack and pinion steering, plus power-assisted brakes tied to computerized anti-lock system for precise control.
Venture's drivability became my biggest surprise, because steering a minivan was never a favorite chore.
It provides nice acceleration too, thanks to a 3.4-liter V6 installed in all issues to deliver 180 hp. A standard 4-speed electronic automatic transmission shifts smoothly and without abrupt interference.
Models include the two wheelbase versions, with upgraded trimmings for the longer edition. The most comfortable rig, Venture LS, emerges on top of the model chart: Four doors, bucket seats, power equipment galore -- what a way to go.
1997 CHEVROLET VENTURE
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| 1997 CHEVROLET VENTURE VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Compact minivan |
| Model Options: |
Compact minivan |
| Wheelbase: |
Regular: 112.0 inches
Extended: 120.0 inches |
| Overall Length: |
Regular: 186.9 inches
Extended: 200.9 inches
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| Engine Size: |
OHV 3.4-L V6
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power disc/drum/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 19,000 to $ 26,000 |
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