Since the first Voyager came off the line in Detroit
in 1983, the company has been the market-leader worldwide in this people-mover
segment, selling almost nine million examples in that time. So a new Voyager is
big news to families everywhere.
In South Africa, the old Voyager became the leader in the large MPV segment, and
the newcomer, featuring a whole raft of improvements, looks set to continue the
dominance. The range is now made up of two Voyagers in SE trim, a 2,4-litre petrol-engined
five-speed, an automatic powered by the same engine, and four Grand Voyagers,
a 3,3-litre V6-engined SE auto, a 2,5-litre diesel SE with five-speed manual transmission,
a 3,3-litre V6 LX auto, and the range-topping 3,3-litre V6-engined Limited auto.
Although the vehicle is all-new, it’s unmistakably a Voyager, with its
steeply raked nose and almost seamless sideglass. There’s now a larger,
distinctively U-shaped grille that melds into a raised centre-bonnet section,
large, glassed-in quad headlights, and wheelarch surrounds that are beefier than
on previous generation models. Wheels are 16-inchers (steel rims with full covers
on the SE test vehicle) shod with 215/65 rubber, and there are practical grey
plastic protective strips on the vehicle’s flanks. All Voyagers come with
a handy roof-rack, complete with crossrails. Chrysler says the new body structure
is stiffer, and crash safety improved.
Under their sloping bonnets, the entry-level Voyager SE models have had a significant
upgrade, getting Chrysler’s 2,4-litre 16-valve four instead of the previous
two-litre. Peak power is up from 98 kW at 5 850 r/min to 108 kW at a slightly
lower 5 200, while torque goes up from the previous rather peaky 174 N.m at 4
850 to 226 N.m at 4 000. The uprated engine has made it possible to offer the
Voyager SE in four-speed auto guise as well as in five-speed manual form.
Suspension is similar to the outgoing Voyager’s, with MacPherson struts
in front and a tubular beam-axle arrangement at the rear. But the components have
been fine-tuned to achieve improvements in ride and handling. And, where previous-generation
models were stopped by a disc/drum combination, all new SA-market models have
four-wheel discs (ventilated in front) with ABS and electronic variable brake
proportioning.
Although the short-wheelbase Voyager SE is the entry-level model in the Voyager/Grand
Voyager range, it is offered with an impressive list of standard equipment. Included
in the spec list are front airbags for driver and passenger, as well as front
side-bags, height-adjustable, pre-tensioned front seatbelts, side-impact anti-intrusion
reinforcements, a full-size spare tyre, high-level brake light, speed-sensitive
wipers, load-levelling height-control shock absorbers, a headlight-levelling system,
power windows (with one-touch facility for the driver), keyless entry with power
door-locks and alarm/immobiliser, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors, two
accessory power sockets and air-conditioning with particle filters and dual-zone
temperature control.
The roomy interior is airy and finished in quality materials, with cloth-covered
individual chairs in the front and middle rows and a bench seat at the back, deep-pile
carpets, and light-coloured good quality plastic for facia and door-cappings.
Seats are removable and adjustable in established MPV fashion, and ingress to
the rear is provided by a pair of large, sliding doors. Sadly, as on the previous
generation Voyager, the glass on these doors is fixed. A large upward-hinging
tailgate, supported by gas struts, accesses the primary luggage compartment.
With all seats in place, the Voyager can accommodate almost 200 dm3 of luggage,
with additional small items under the rear seat. But with the second and third
rows removed, cargo space is gigantic, totalling 2 380 dm3 (measured by the ISO
block method). As is the norm with this type of vehicle, cupholders and hidey-holes
for oddments abound.
Up front, driver and passenger are accommodated in armchair comfort. Facia architecture
is conventional, with climate controls and sound system (including single-disc
front-loading CD player) in the central “hang-down” section, a stalk
for indicators, wipers and hi-lo beam on the left of the steering column, the
white-faced instruments (including a tachometer) in a pod viewed through the padded
wheel, and the light switch on the facia to the right of the driver. A departure
from convention on the automatic test car was the location of the column-shift,
which was to the right of the steering column. We found it easy enough to operate
in normal driving, despite its unfamiliar position. Interestingly, there’s
no cruise control, a feature offered only on the top-of-the-range Grand Voyager
Limited.
Fire up the d-o-h-c four and it idles unobtrusively, as one might expect of a
unit designed to suit American tastes. Pull out into the traffic, and you are
impressed by the unfussed character of the engine and the smooth shifting of the
autobox. Kickdown is unobtrusive in moderate-throttle situations as well. Plant
your right foot hard on the gas, however, and the composure disappears, the engine
becoming raucous at high revs, the changes a touch jerkier. But, considering the
weight and bulk of the vehicle, overtaking times are good.
That’s also the way to achieve the 13,76-second zero to 100 acceleration
times recorded in our test. In such situations the right-hand column-shift is
best left in the Drive position, as manual override is awkward and a lot slower.
Keep your foot down, and the LS auto reaches a top speed of 176 km/h in third
gear, but terminal speed slows to under 170 if you lift off a fraction to coax
the ‘box into top. Apply pressure to the pedal, and you’re back to
third again…
Pulling up 1 800 kilos of MPV is a pretty demanding task, but we remember that
the previously-offered ABS-modulated disc/drum combination was up to the job.
The new model, with its four-wheel discs, also with ABS and electronically controlled
brake proportioning, easily matched the earlier figures, averaging 3,0 seconds
in our 10-stop 100-to-zero emergency braking test, and pedal feel was subjectively
better.
In our constant-speed fuel tests, the Voyager SE recorded a consumption figure
of 8,64 litres/100 km at 100 km/h, which equates to a CAR fuel index (a figure
most drivers should better in normal day-to-day use) of 12,10. That suggests that
a range of 620 km should be achieved fairly easily on the 75-litre fuel tank.
