Poor design
Pros:
Looks good and does carry 7 passengers.
Cons:
Poor design, acceleration, and handling. Stalled on the freeway!
The Bottom Line:
Excruciatingly poor design. Frustrating at every step.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I've probably driven over 200 different types of vehicles in the last 35 years and this was the worst. I recently drove a rental with only 12,000 miles on it for 8 days in Southern California. As a former Air Force aviator, I've flown and flown in a variety of aircraft with well designed cockpits and driven cars in a dozen different countries so I have some background for comparison.
First, the good. The car handles fairly well and has reasonable, though certainly not exceptional, acceleration. It was comfortable and the ride was nice unless you hit a bump in the road.
Now, the bad. From a driver's point of view, the controls are laid out counter-intuitively. Almost everything but the turn signal operates in a different way than what you would expect. After 8 days I still hadn't figured out how to turn on the interior lights when the key was not in the ignition. There are far more dials and controls than are necessary or even wanted. Furthermore, even the dials that aren't really needed command your attention. On top of that, it is difficult to differentiate between one dial and another without serious scrutiny. The stereo alone has approximately 35 different controls.
The controls make it difficult to adjust your stereo unless you are at a stop. The water, oil, and engine temperature command your attention, detracting from other gages. The tachometer takes up a huge amount of dashboard space even though it is an automatic. Even the seat controls are poorly designed with two power adjustment knobs and a manual lever that you cant reach unless you have small hands or the door is open.
The seats are large and comfortable but they are so large that they detract from storage space and the seats don't fold down as easily or conveniently as many other vehicles.
My 2001 Volvo V70 won't carry 7 passengers but it will hold 5 and carry more cargo, handle better and get much better gas mileage. Plus, it is well designed and is very intuitive. I've only needed the owners manual once while I had the manual out for this beast at least 4 times in 8 days.
I definitely would not recommend this car. I would recommend a Dodge Caravan (or any of its clones) for about half the price and the same capacity with a much better design.
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