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The stereo system, with six speakers and a single-disc player, pumps out pleasingly well-defined sound. Britney Spears offering to be our slave never sounded so good. However, the Pioneer head unit lacks any of her voluptuous looks, and the buttons are not as easy to press, too. The buttons are small and difficult to decipher. Dual-blower air conditioning is of course standard, and it can be controlled from the second row as well from the driver's chair. We shut off Britney, fired up the 2.9-liter turbodiesel, and away we went. Slowly, that is. From low revs, the engine’s 170 Nm of torque at just 2200 rpm worked well and the van pulls away quickly from standstill. After a few tens of meters though, the van seemed to be running out of breath already. The engine's lack of punch at mid to high revs can make for a frustrating run down to the supermarket. In-gear acceleration is also appallingly slow; press the accelerator to the floor and nothing happens for three to four seconds. The engine gets into the act only after that interval, and by then it's usually time to shift to the next gear. The clutch is easy to actuate, but the gear shift is notchy and makes it difficult to shift quickly. That's with a manual; an automatic would have the advantage of always having the throttle pressed down even while shifting, thus keeping the turbo blowing, but the performance would certainly be degraded even more if coupled with an automatic. Fuel mileage is 6.0 kilometers per liter. The double wishbone front/ multi-link rear suspension filter out bumps and potholes, giving a comfortable ride. The downside of that is the compromised response when cornering. Handling is not wallowy, but you are aware every instant that there is a van below you rather than a normal sedan. Of course, this is a minivan and not a roadster, so such considerations may well be secondary and even unnecessary. So the propulsion, cornering and deceleration systems all seem to be holding up well. Performance did not seem to have degraded noticeably in 24000 km. The van has trekked to Baguio and back without throwing any tantrums. We next checked the interior. The plastic parts all seemed to be secure, and doors still opened and closed with a smooth motion, including the single sliding door. |
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