Ground Clearance and head room

MAJOR Safety weakness and aging look

I purchased a 1999 Venture mini van for $26,102. My first time buying a Chevrolet, and was not very happy with the experience. My first Venture was a "Lemon." After only 3 weeks, my Venture completely broke down and could not be fixed after a long try of fixes. So the dealer gave me another Venture to "take care of." The interior is nothing to brag about. The leather seating is mushy and not supportive. The look of the Venture is really aging. The engine is pretty good compared to other models, but the quality of this vehicle is not good at all. The interior side door panels are loose. I have to devote at least one Saturday each three month to tighten the screws inside the car. I don't want to scare anyone but I was shocked to find out that this vehicle performed the worst in off set crash test. I extremely recommend people considering the Chevy Venture to visit the NHTSA web site at:
http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/vans/crashvan.htm
If I would have seen this web site before hand, I would bought a Sienna or a Windstar. I do NOT recommend this mini van to people who consider safety an issue in a mini van.

Everything

I have been researching and test driving MiniVans for about a year now and once I tryed this vehicle I was Sold. It has incredible power for a minivan and superp handling. It has all of the bells and whistles. We got the Combo CD and Tape player and the sound is good for a built in unit. Also has the electric side door which is a must. Wish the Left passenger door were the same but you cant have everything. My insurance company said this vehicle has an extreemly high safety rating and I got a good Cut in my rates. Also has Airbags and ABS. Dodge might have had the corner on this market but this by far is the best MiniVan I have ever driven. If it behaves well mechanically by far will be the best. I would and have reccomended this to everyone looking for a minivan. Before you Buy Give this one a Try. (Sorry couldn't resist)

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Dodge Caravan, Ford Winstar

SUPER POWERFUL & Responsive (190hp EFI V6), quiet inside, Great interior, Seating options, Suspension, motorized remote controlled side door, built in child seats, SAFETY +++, ergonomics, air compressor built into cargo bay(yep!), storage compartments, & 25mpg!

The stock stereo choices are not so great... we got the cd which is the best choice, but the speakers are a little boxy. But hey, this is an automobile review, not an audiophile review, right?

This is an awesome vehicle. We needed a minivan after starting a family, and I was skeptical about enjoying this type of vehicle. We sprung for the fully loaded with the motorized side door and individual buckets throughout. What a monster vehicle. The engine delivers the smoothest performance of any vehicle I've owned, and the ride and steering is even better than my Honda Accord! This thing hauls butt even when going uphill (and we live in the Rockies, I mean BIG hills), and has run flawlessly. The attention to interior detail is exceptional, and (for once) makes sense. Hats off to Chevy, you guys made the funnest car I have owned. Before you buy any other car, drop your pride and take the venture for a drive. You will be impressed...

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windstar, caravan, odyssey

Flexible Seating Options

I think this vehicle deserves a lot more credit than it receives. I compared the new Honda Odyssey and the new Ford Windstar and what won me over to the Venture was the choices you have with the seating. Since my wife and I just gave birth to Quadruplets, we had some unique requirements. While visiting showrooms, we quickly realized that it was impossible to carry any child safety seats into the third row of other minivans because of the narrowness of the passthroughs. The Venture's seats (all of them) fold and flip out of the way to gives us plenty of room to maneuver in the back. The seats can just as easily be returned to their original setup for full duty. The seats will come out completely if needed to create more space, but the fold and flip design is so convenient that we rarely have to. There are also numerous safety features such as dual front and side airbags and automatic headlights. We paid extra to get the self sealing tires as an added insurance against breaking down. The Venture is also every bit as competent in other departments when compared with the competition. Give the Venture a closer look, you won't be disappointed.

The spacious interior cannot be beat by any minivan, not even the acclaimed Honda Odyssey. The versatility of the seats is phenomenal. Each seat can be folded up, back or taken out with EASE! Take all the seats out and you can go to the hardware store and stock up on drywall. This minivan has excellent payload and long range travel capabilities (with the optional big fuel tank). Averaging 26 mpg on the highway, this van has taken our family from Albert Lea, MN to Joplin, MO non-stop. We could have gone into Oklahoma. Great vacation driver! Rent one for your next trip.

I have had this minivan for 49000 miles. The brakes in the front seem to wear sooner than expected, but I believe the back drum brakes do not self-adjust correctly, causing premature wear in the front. The tires installed at the factory are sub-standard, so road noise is a little louder than normal. I plan on getting Michelin tires soon, but the factory Firestone's still have good tread on them. When the van is empty, it porpoises back and forth over bumps, but when full, rides like a dream. The engine has a clicking sound from time to time, which I believe is from poor self-adjusting valves (valve tapping). My experience is GM can't self-adjust themselves out of any problem.

The Chevrolet Venture LS is the perfect vehicle for those who want to become the chauffeur at all family gatherings. This is a great vacation vehicle, many adVENTUREs to be had. Excellent traction, ride (when full), and fuel consumption when compared to other minivans. The versatility of the seats is the winner in this vehicle, and the fact that it is the only 8 seater minivan on the market is a great tribute. You can't buy a minivan other than the Venture in which you can remove the third row of seats and still seat five people legally. It becomes like a low riding Ford Expedition or Chevy Tahoe in that configuration. Great minivan! The Venture is a regular swiss army knife.

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1989 Dodge Grand Caravan - A great minivan that died at 68,000 miles.

3.4L engine.

Headlights.

Beware of the defective headlights, the plastic cover falls off, same problem with the Pontiac Montana and the Oldsmobile Silhouette. Every mechanic and salvage yard in Chicago are aware of the problem but yet G.M. will tell you it's your fault and that there is no manufactor defect. Stay away from G.M. Do yourself a favor and buy a toyota, if you have to buy American buy the Windstar. If you own one of these already check your headlight covers, chances are they are loose. If so take them out and reglue them yourself.

Rides smooth, plenty of room, seats can be taken out, folded, etc with ease.

Brakes needed repair awful early. Sliding door problems. Problems with the transmission.

Overall we are very happy with the style and detail put into the interior and exterior of the van. Plenty of leg room, easy to remove and replace seats, can move large objects very easily, rear entertainment system is great for children. As I noted in another reveiw we had to replace the brake pads with less than 30,000 and with flat, city driving which seemed early, I have only had to replace the pads on my 1994 Toyota once. We also experience problems with the electronic sliding door for the first 1 1/2 years, only after notifying of our intention to use the Texas lemon law were we finally able to resolve this. Right after our 30,000 mile tune up the transmission went out. WE had told the dealer since day one that there was something wrong with the transmission and they didn't listen. It is now less than 2 months since a new transmission was put in and we are again having problems.

good ride on highway
fairly good gas milelage 19 to 24
like ding resistent body
very good paint job.
powerful air cond.
good stereo system
drives very nice

very poorly made
replaced both front door handles
replaced both head rests. new are no better than old - under warr.
replaced gas tank. - under warr.
short on power 3.1 liter
inside all plastic radiales very much

went to dealer with my used 1987 astro mini van intending to buy another astro. the was no good astros on the lot, and my astro after 176000 miles transmision was slipping. my wife & i said to each other when we went looking, that we would not buy a lumina apv. well end up dealer had one on the lot with 19000 miles on it. my wife said lets test drive it. well it didnt test drive to bad. but problems with this van have been very bad. i can't believe GM could make such a troublesome vehicle.

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my astro was much more reliable

plenty of power from the 3.4 engin, good gas milage, good traction on ice,snow and wet roads,plenty of room,good sound system,use of aux. sound system of kids ease of removing seats,rear heat and air.

none that i can think of

I LOVE MY VENTURE VAN! I WISH MY WIFE WOULD LET ME DRIVE IT MORE,BUT I CAN'T GET HER OUT OF IT! I will amit our relationship started out preaty shakey, but a few trips to our Dealership got all of the bugs worked out and we both love HER van. It is very comfortable on long trips(5- 13 hr and to many to count short trips), it fills very stable on ice and snow and wet roads,on one trip up North we hit a black ice on the Interstate and made it through with no trouble when others were sliding all over the place. There is not enough space to list all things i like about our van so I am going to stop here.

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I owned Ford Aerostar, that is why i bought a venture, need i say more

plenty if of room and easy to get in and out of. We love the sliding doors dependable, nice looking and easy to maintain

None

We have owned a Venture Van since 1997 and had very good experience with the van..good gas mileage, comfort and dependability. The dealership is great to deal with and our salesman Don White is the BEST !!! I would recommend the Venture to anyone at any age.

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no comparison