[WEE

26 - Friday, July 12, 1996 -

test
drive

THE Chevrolet Astro
mini-van and its twin
the GMC Safari were
first introduced in

1985.

Though there have been

. soine changes over the years.

such as the addition of fuel
injection in 1986, the avail-
ability of all-wheel-drive and
four-wheel ABS in 1990, new
front-end styling in 1995, and
a restyled interior in 1996.
these mini-vans retain the
same robusi character and
heavy-duty nature that comes
from their truck-like chassis
and powertrain.

' The Asiro is best known
for its powerful 4.3-litre V6
engine, excellent towing
capacity and eight-passenger
seating capacity. Unlike most
front-wheel-drive mini-vans
which have unit-body con--

Astro has a body-on-frame
design which gives it the

capacity to carry heavier loads -. price you pay for the ability to

and tow good-sized recre-

-ational trailers — something

: most front-wheel-drive mini-

. Vvans'can’t do. ‘

‘... The Astro is also available

“with full-time four-wheel-
drive to improve traction on

. snow, ice, gravel and other
slippery surfaces. The AWD

~ system does not diminish the —

Astro’s towing ability.

The downside to the
Astro's truck-like design is its
heavier curb weight. taller

height, higher step-in height, °

cand thirsty fuel consumption.

“Compared to the popular:
Dodge Grand Caravan, the-..

_ RWD Astro is more than 240
kilograms (500 Ibs.) heavier,
and 195 mm (7.6 in.) taller.’

The Astro’s 6 ft 4 in. roof

“height allows it to fit into.
most garages, but my test van
was equipped with a roof
rack, and wouldn’t fit under

“my garage-door-opener.
(Yours may be different).

“With the largest V6 engine

~ in ‘its class it’s not surprising '

that the Astro averages 12.3
litres per 100 kilometres (22
m.p.g.) in combined city and

‘highway driving (Transport

North Shore News

NEWS photo Terry Paters °

TRE 1986 Chevrolet Astre has a restyled inierior, more useable power from its
_struction, the rear-wheel-drive 190 horsepower V6 engine and the availability of rear-wheel-drive or ali-wheel-
drive. Test drive anew Asiro at Dick invin Chevrolet, 845 Marine Dr, North Van. -

- tow trailers and carry heavy
payloads.

Last yeu, the Astro
received cleaner front-end
styling and the standard _
wheelbase Astro was discon-
tinued leaving only the

._ ‘extended wheelbase model.
‘For 1996, the interior was
_ completely redesigned to
bring it up to :
date with a
‘rounder, gen-
tler’ styling
philosophy.

”. The dash
features semi-
circular

* . shapes, over- _
-’ $ize knobs and
, well-marked
controls, while
the center dash
_ area has been
angled towards
the driver to
* make it easier
to use the controls. The new
dash also includes standard
_ dual airbags this year.

RWD)

-. ‘The Astro seats between

five and eight passengers,
depending on the choice of
seats. The standard eight-pas-

_ Canada figures). But that’s the | ° senger version has two front

| (MECHANICAL & BODY

3

res
AY

|”. SERVICE & USED PARTS

(CL AWD).
Base price: $25,385 (CL

Type: three-door, eight-
_passenger mini-van
Layout: longitudinal front
engine/all-wheel-drive
Engine: 4.3-lire OHV V6
Horsepower:
44001.p.m.

buckets, a three-person centre
bench and a three-person rear
bench. Both rear benches have
fore-aft travel, a rarity in
mini-vans, and both can be
easily untatched and removed
from the van. New integrated
child seats are now available
for the centre bench’s out-
board seating positions. Radio
controls with headphone jacks
are now offered at
the centre seat
position, and a
separate rear
heater and air-
conditioning
system is also
available.
The Astro has a
right-side. rear
sliding-door
which provides
a large opening
for passengers.
and includes a
child safety”
lock to prevent
children from opening it from
the inside. However, the door
is heavy, particularly for chii-
dren.

At the rear, the Astro has a
unique three-part door system
which replaces the twin
‘Dutch’ doors. The top half of

190 @

the door has a one-piece glass
hatch which provides easy
access for, groceries and
smaller items while offering

: unimpeded rearward visibility

for the driver. Pcveath the
hatch, two small doors swing-
out to provide floor-level
access. .

The Astro’s standard 190 ~
horsepower 4.3-litre V6
engine retuned this year to
offer more power at lower
revs and smoother, quieter
operation. It’s still somewhat
noisy on takeoff, but settles’
down to a quiet burble at.
highway speeds. The four-
speed automatic transmission
with a column shifter has
comfortable, smooth shifts.

The available four-wheel-
drive system is an all-the-time
system that dozsn’t require
shifting from 2WD to 4WD.
It's virtually undetectable
when driving on dry pave-
ment, but offers the safetv of
superior traction in winter, »

For those who want a van
capable of towing a good-
sized trailer while ferrying up
to eight passengers, the Astro
is a good choice — and one of
the few truck-derived mini-
vans left on the market.

. estimate and our work is
« performed by government certified
mechanics.

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