Chrysler Voyager 2005 review: first drive

It has some real, useable luggage space behind the third row of seats.

This is unusual because most of the large people movers have 500mm or less with the third seat in use, and it can be a struggle to fit in something the esky for a picnic.

Also, for what is ostensibly a family wagon, it makes it pretty difficult to pack up and take the tribe on hols without taking a trailer or using an expensive, roof-mounted luggage pod.

Even more impressive is Voyager's new "Stow n Go" system that allows both second and third row seats to be folded. tumbled and hidden completely out of sight beneath the cabin floor.

With the seats upright, the storage bins below offer an additional 340 litres of storage space.

In some people movers you can stow the third row under the floor, but Chrysler is the only company to offer the facility for both rows.

As you can image, with both rows of seats tucked away, the Voyager has a huge flat load area suitable for carrying larger items like furniture.

We were impressed last time we drove Voyager, particularly with the car's whisper quiet ride.

Our test vehicle, the base model Grand Voyager (they're all Grand/long wheelbase models now) exhibits the same kind of refinement.

The extra 288mm length (5096mm versus 4808mm) and the addition of Stow and Go takes the car to another level.

However, Voyager is certainly not aimed at the budget end of the market, not with a starting price of $55,990.

And the size of the car sometimes works against it, particularly when it comes to parking.

The seven-seat Voyager is powered by a 3.3-litre petrol V6 that delivers 128kW of power and 278Nm of torque.

Transmission is a traditional four-speed auto operated even more traditionally by a column mounted shift.

Sorry Chrysler but this is just a bit too American for our tastes and can be fiddly to operate.

It works well enough but most manufac- turers are now offering five cogs with their autos.

The car also lacks a driver's footrest, probably a victim of the change from left to right hand drive.

Chrysler needs to address both items plus Voyager's fuel consumption could be an issue.

Claimed fuel use is 13.3L/100km, but in real world driving it gets more like 15.7L which is excessive.

On the safety front Voyager scores a maximum five-star safety rating from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- tration.

Standard equipment includes three-row sup- plemental side curtain airbags, advanced multi- stage front air bags, ABS and three-zone airconditioning.