2003 Chevrolet Venture; photo courtesy GM. Click image to enlarge

By Chris Chase

General Motors’ first minivans were the Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari, which debuted in 1985. They were solid vehicles, but their truck-based underpinnings meant they couldn’t boast the car-like driving dynamics of the Chrysler minivans that created the segment in 1984.

It would be five years before GM launched its own car-based minivans, the Chevrolet Lumina APV and Pontiac Trans Sport (the Oldsmobile-badged Silhouette wouldn’t be sold in Canada until the late 1990s) arrived, sporting space-age styling that prompted journalists to nickname these vans “the Dustbuster.”

For this week’s review, however, I’ll skip ahead to 1997, when GM introduced its second-generation GM minivans. Pontiac and Oldsmobile’s versions kept their original names, but the Chevrolet version was now called the Venture. Designed to be sold both in North America and Europe (as the Opel and Vauxhall Sintra), the new Venture, Trans Sport and Silhouette were actually narrower than the vans they replaced: good for Europe’s crowded roads, but not so much for North America, where the narrow platform made for limited interior space compared to the competition.

2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette (top) and 2007 Saturn Relay; photos courtesy GM. Click image to enlarge

In 1998, Oldsmobile sold the Silhouette in Canada for the first time, and in 2000, the Trans Sport became the Montana (previously a top-line Trans Sport trim level).

These vans got new styling inside and out for 2005. The new front-end was a failure aesthetically, but it did good things for crash safety (see below). There were new names (again), too: the Chevy Venture was now the Uplander, and Saturn and Buick got their first minivans (the Relay and Terraza, respectively).

Right off the bat, the first of these second-generation vans earned criticism for poor performance in crash testing. In European testing, the steering wheel broke off in the frontal offset test and the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave these vans a “poor” rating in frontal offset crash tests.

The only remotely decent result came from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which gave the vans four stars for driver protection and three (1999 and 2000) or four stars (1997 and 2001 through 2005) for front passenger protection in frontal impact tests. In side impact tests, 1999 and newer versions earned five stars for front-seat occupant protection in side impacts, and 1999 and 2000 versions earned five stars for rear-seat occupant protection, while later versions got four stars.

2005 Chevrolet Venture (top) and 2007 Chevrolet Uplander; photos courtesy GM. Click image to enlarge

As I mentioned, the 2005 redesign didn’t do anything for these vans’ looks, but it improved crashworthiness: The NHTSA gave these restyled versions four and five stars all around, while the IIHS bestowed upon them its “good” rating in frontal offset crash tests, but only granted an “acceptable” rating in side impact tests. Note that side airbags were standard from 1999.

A 3.4-litre V6 paired with a four-speed automatic was the only powertrain offered in 1994-2004 models, while the redesigned 2005 models got a newer 3.5-litre engine instead. A 3.9-litre V6 was added to the options list in 2006, and this motor became the only choice in 2007, but the four-speed automatic remained as the only gearbox option throughout. All-wheel drive was available from 2002 through 2006.

Back in 1997, Natural Resources Canada’s fuel consumption ratings were 13.7 L/100 km (city) and 9.7 L/100 km (highway). In 2004 (the last year for the 3.4-litre engine in these vans), fuel consumption was down to 12 L/100 km (city) and 7.8 L/100 km (highway) for front-wheel drive models, and until 2005, a front-drive Venture or Trans Sport was the most fuel-efficient minivan you could buy, according to NRCan. Newer vans fitted with the 3.5-litre motor were rated at 12.6 L/100 km (city) and 8.3 L/100 km (highway); in all versions, opting for all-wheel drive will mean higher fuel consumption. If you take home a 2005 or newer version, keep in mind that the torquier 3.9-litre engine doesn’t use much more fuel than the 3.5-litre, according to NRCan.

2007 Chevrolet Uplander (top) and 2007 Pontiac Montana; photos courtesy GM. Click image to enlarge

Reliability has been uninspiring. The 3.4-litre V6 in earlier models is one of several GM V6s prone to coolant leaks into the crankcase via intake manifold gaskets that fail regularly after three or four years on the road. Check this thread at Topix.net for comments from owners who have experienced the problem.

Browse other forums for these vans and the gasket problem crops up more often than any other technical topic. However, the lack of an enthusiast following for these vans (does any minivan inspire enthusiasm?) means that the Internet doesn’t have a lot to offer in terms of really useful reliability information about these vans. There are many posts in Venture and Trans Sport forums discussing electrical issues and transmission problems; all of these types of problems are confirmed by Consumer Reports, which gives these vans a “much worse than average” used vehicle verdict. Yahoo Autos in the UK called the Sintra “Britain’s worst car.” That might be a little harsh, but I’d agree in the sense that, at least from a reliability standpoint, the Venture and its platform mates are best avoided, unless you get one new enough that it still has some of the factory warranty left. Also, make sure all the recalls issued for these vans over the years have been addressed before you buy.

2007 Saturn Relay (top) and 2003 Chevrolet Venture; photos courtesy GM. Click image to enlarge

But hey – used values are cheap, which may be the only positive aspect of buying one of these vans used. Canadian Red Book values start at $2,900 for a 1997 Venture to $28,600 for a 2007 Buick Terraza. There’s lots of depreciation at play here: as of this writing, many 2007 models, barely a year old, have already lost close to a third of their value from new. If you were dead set on buying a GM minivan, I’d advise stifling your gag reflex and going for a 2006 Uplander or Montana in a lower trim level. Why? First, go simple, and you’ll be spending as little money as possible – you should be able to get one for well under $20,000 – and fewer extras means fewer expensive fixes down the road, and second, go newer, and you’ll get some factory warranty coverage as part of the deal. The 2005 redesign didn’t include any serious mechanical updates, but reliability may be somewhat improved from 2004 and earlier versions.

In the end, I’d recommend a Dodge Caravan as far as domestic minivans go. Sure, these guys aren’t much more reliable, but at least the overall package is more innovative, what with the Caravan’s available (since 2005) Stow ‘n Go seats in the second and third rows and the numerous other features that have kept these Chrysler Corp. products at the top of the minivan sales heap for so many years.

Things are looking good so far for GM’s newly-launched crossovers; makes you wonder what GM could have done with a minivan had the company really put some thought into it. Sadly, though, with nothing but a low price to recommend them, I think these GM minivans are just too risky a venture as a used vehicle purchase.