First Glance
Chevrolet calls its medium sized Uplander a “van” and lumps it together with its full size Savana delivery van, which I found confusing. The front wheel drive Uplander looks no more like your classic bread van than does the Impala. The short wheel base (SWB) version is particularly appealing to my eye – then again, I like my minivans and I prefer them compact.I tested the SWB base model LS. It comes with 17” wheels and fat tires. Several increasingly more upscale LT models are also available. These come with shiny alloy wheels and a number of other desirable but not always necessary features (at least for those of us without young kids) like a built in “overhead rail” housing the DVD entertainment system. Privacy glass is a welcome (and much appreciated) standard feature.
Front and side air bags for both front seat occupants are standard on all models. Side airbags for rear seat passengers are standard on LT models, optional on the base LS.
With all three rows of seats in place, cargo space in the SWB version I tested is not unexpectedly at a premium. If you plan to tote around a lot of stuff along with a bunch of children, I’d check out the long wheel base (LWB) model Uplander. It’s got lots more cargo space.
- Visit the 2007 Chevrolet Uplander LS Photo Gallery
In the Driver’s Seat
The seat cushions in the Uplander are set high off the floor. This allows for easy entry and exit as well as excellent forward and side sight lines from all three rows of seats. A total of seven people can be accommodated but the driver and front row passenger have the premium seats.
The two passengers who grab the middle row bucket seats will be fairly comfortable but, for some reason – saving a few bucks is my guess – whoever at GM spec’d the middle row chairs neglected to include arm rests.
Legroom is surprisingly ample in the third row but elbowroom is at a premium. Two will be far more comfortable back there than three. The second and third row seatbacks can be folded forward for storing long objects. Both of the second row chairs can be tilted forward for more room. The second and third rows can also be removed completely. Unfortunately, there is no “stow and go” type feature like you find in Dodge and Chrysler minivans.
On the Road
The ride is probably too soft for the Euro sports sedan crowd but perfect for someone like my cousin, a driving enthusiast unable to drive the kind of automobiles he loves in the kind of way he used to enjoy. Unfortunately, his recent health problems rendered the ride of even his 2006 Toyota Avalon “too harsh” for him.He declared the Uplander’s cushy yet well-controlled ride, “perfect”
GM’s new 3.9L V-6 sports both variable valve timing (VVT) and the familiar pushrod camshafts. These two features are not often (if at all) found in the same engine. Yet so well do they work together that Popular Mechanics recently gave GM an award for technical innovation. The 3.9L’s torque cuts in at a very low 1400 rpm. With its very flat torque curve, the 3.9L pulls smoothly up to higher rpm. This makes the Uplander a particularly pleasant vehicle to drive around town, where not incidentally, fuel economy shouldn’t be too bad. I’d expect an honest 18mpg if you’re not too heavy of foot. On the highway, you should get 23 - 25mpg.
I must mention too that standard features on the Uplander include both 4-wheel disc brakes and ABS. Traction control is a low cost option. Get it. It’s very useful, especially if you live in the snow belt.
Journey’s End
Folks who need a minivan but don’t really need the carrying capacity of a schoolbus, will appreciate the short wheel base (SWP) Uplander. It has all of the features you want in a minivan along with relatively compact exterior dimensions, which make it easy to maneuver and to parallel park. It reminds me of a less expensive Mazda MPV minivan – very roomy inside yet narrow and relatively compact outside.
Although vehicles like the class-leading Honda Odyssey and the new Hyundai Entourage boast more features and more sheer technology than the Uplander, they are not for everybody. They’re not for folks who need interior space more than they need the latest gimmicks. Strangely enough, my cousin reports his grandchildren seem to experience much less tendency to carsickness in the 2007 Uplander than they did in the family’s 2005 Odyssey minivan. I don’t have any explanation for that.
Anyhow, the new Uplander currently leads the minivan category of my personal bargain-of-the-year sweeps.
- Visit the 2007 Chevrolet Uplander LS Photo Gallery