The interior is both cavernous and luxurious. With all seven seats in position it is an executive luxury vehicle, complete with plush upholstery, video screens, audio headphones and tinted windows. The sort of vehicle that would usher a celebrity from the arrivals gate to their pre-prepared hideaway. The kids had a real air of fame about them as they proudly stepped in and out of the sleek machine. The specification both technically and in other respects is impressive, rivalling many prestige marques in terms of gadgets and facilities. They are also incorporated in a way that makes them easy to use and accessible.
It is a very easy car to drive, the controls and steering are deceptively light and relaxing. The elevated driving position makes it very easy to see over the traffic ahead and even the view to the rear is fairly good – not that it was absolutely necessary on this model, as the rear camera and park assist made extremely light work of close-quarter manoevring. I would definitely warn any prospective owners that this is a very L O N G car, and many spaces allocated in multi-storey and town-centre car parks require very careful manoeuvring to fit in. The huge driver and passenger doors require a fair bit of space each side for getting in and out too. It's not an issue for the passengers, as the side doors are motorised sliding doors, which can be operated either locally or remotely, using switches above the dash or the remote key. (Great fun at times, as we discovered to the great surprise of passers-by. Even the tailgate can be opened remotely.)
To drive, it is definitely a cruising car, not a run-around, if only due to its sheer size. It demands a lot of concentration around town, as you are effectively driving around in something that is almost commercial in size. On the open road it really comes into its own. It is smooth, quiet and comfortable. Cruise control makes for effortless distance driving and there are enogh bits and bobs to stimulate those little ones with even the shortest of attention spans. The DVD entertainment system is superb, allowing the rear passengers to both watch and control their programmes.
Another test the new Grand Voyager had to fulfil was a load carrying exercise, bringing various long and awkwardly-shaped garden shed fodder home from the local DIY emporium. Some MPVs are very good at fitting the little ones into and accommodating their needs and wants, but many fall down a little when it comes to lugging inanimate clobber around. The “Stow & Go” seating arrangement allows all the rear seats to be collapsed and stowed at floor level, making an extremely large load carrying bay for virtually anything two humans are likely to want to carry. Collapsing the rear bench-type seat was effortless and without fuss, but I did find the middle two seats a little more awkward. The front seats need to be moved to their furthest forward position, and the actual seat collapse needs a fairly strong hand to unlock and flip them into their recessed stowed position. Likewise for restoring them to the original configuration. Not for the weak-armed amongst us!
The end of the week proved that something this big, that appears to be this gas-guzzling doesn't necessarily have to be so. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that fuel consumption was far from the frighteningly thirsty result I expected and was actually quite reasonable for this size of vehicle. The fuel tank, being over 75 litres would take a fair few tenners to fill it at today's prices, but conversely, it wouldn't have to be done that often either.
I enjoyed using the Grand Voyager for the time I used it, as did the kids and Mrs C. Would I buy one? If my purpose was ferrying around lots of people and lots of big bits and pieces on a regular basis, then I would say yes, as its versatility and sheer physical size makes it almost unbeatable when there is no desire to sacrifice luxury for versatility. However, as the offspring are now getting older, and spending less time with us, we are becoming very aware of the economies of family motoring and with this in mind I would incline towards something a little smaller. Notwithstanding any of this, the Chrysler Grand Voyager is a well-built, well finished and luxurious large family car that could fulfil almost any role required of the modern large family.
Model Driven: Grand Voyager 2.8 CRD Limited
Price OTR: £33,000
Nigel Crawford
June 2008
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