Now personally I am more of a Toyota fan boy but my friend is a GM freak and he is looking at getting a Chevy uplander as a family car. I told him to let me do a little research first and I was wondering if any of you guys could give me some info. Thank you for the help you guys give.
@rj313
They have terrible crash test results, if you can get it to roll downhill...
As far as I'm concerned it's one of the worst vehicles ever made I would not sell one to my worst enemy
@scottykilmer
Thank you so much for your help I'm trying to turn him into a Toyota fan before he loses any large amount of money!!
Which is worse, an Uplander or a Caravan?
As an ex-GM employee, let me tell you....Scotty is right on this one. They were horrible vehicles and I would never recommend one to anyone.
@mod_man
Thank you so much for your help I really appreciate it!!
Not only are they junk (That 3400 V6 was such a miserable turd and they love having electrical issues under the passenger front carpeting), but they'll also fold in on you in an accident. One of the worst tested minivans in the IIHS crash tests.
Actually they did good in the IIHS crash test, it was the Venture that folded on you.
Going to be moving on from my 2006 Uplander in about a year. 97,000 miles on it. (All suburban mom carpool driving apart from the occasional "Italian tune-up" Scotty refers to them as.)
Plusses:
Huge cargo area. So much more than most other minivans when you measure how big of a 'box' you could fit standing up. Height and width. Too many minivans curve at the top corners, reducing usability in this regard. I took out the back row of seats and was able to get all the stuff for the kid's dorm in it, with nothing having to be strapped to the top. This included 4 sets of drawers, standing up, filled with clothes. No way would a Traverse or Tahoe, or porbably a Suburban been useful. Boxxy is better .
Engine power. Even with 6 people in it, it had great go power. Good low end torque. Would spin the tires though if it was empty sometimes on starting from a stop.
Normal maintenance around my area is about 30% cheaper than Toyota or Honda for oil changes, alignment, etc.
No transmission, radiator, power-steering issues.
Minuses:
Glad I bought the extended warranty. After 3 years had a transmission done.
The dual power-sliding doors worked good for 4 years and then sensor and chip problems, so I just took out the fuses and we close'm the old fashioned way.
Replaced the power-steering rack.
Replaced the front control arms. (The Mrs. attracts potholes.)
Replaced the back airshock assembly.
Broken temperature door actuator lever broken means no switching to heat. No part made for it after all these years. Plastic!
Neighbor had one, nothing but transmission issues!
