Had some conference at work and 7 of us had to travel to Glasgow about 40miles away and company hired a Ford Galaxy which is about 2 yrs old. I had the misfortune to sit at the back on the fold open seats I know it might be an unfair comparison given the GV is bigger but i must i now appreciate the Grand Voyager even more

First of all the Fords seats are brick hard and the noise into the car is quite remarkable (almost like there is little sound insulation), no room (literally) for bags once 7 adults take all the seats and the ride is very bumpy, you feel every bounce and imperfection on the road. I was shocked given how new this car is.

My Grand Voyager is 2001 and has a superior ride and tons of space, we went on holiday and there was still rooms for 2 bags with 7 adults in it

Now resolved to fix the little problems like smoke, intermittently working power doors, non working side mirrors and reversing lights not working. Gotta get it working perfect and get the best out of it

 

I don't know of any other people carrier available in the UK, that has seating for 7 and luggage space too.

 

I had a brand new Volvo V70 back in 2008 with 2ltr TD engine, good performer but seats hard as board. To compare it with the 2003 CRD I've got now, Voyager comes out same for power but seats and stowage far much better in Voyager.

 

Citroen Grand C4 Picasso
SEAT Alhambra
Ford S-MAX
Ford Galaxy
Land Rover Discovery
Renault Grand Scenic
Ford Grand C-MAX
Kia Carens
Hyundai Santa Fe
Fiat 500L MPW

Apart from the Disco, with the unnecessary off-road & 4WD at about £10k-£15k for an 05 nothing comes close even for example the Alhambra and other clones which are Grand Voyagers built & dressed even more badly than the proper GV.

 

Is it mere coincidence that there are Kias that look very much like Grand Voyagers? The design is almost carbon copy

 

Unfortunately the decision has been taken for us to dispose of our GV.

Sure, when there was 6 of us, nothing beat it, but now there's only 5.

It'll need too much to justify repairs for next MOT (windscreen, 4 x tyres, 2 x rear calipers, possibly new battery, injector seals again, a black smoke issue and handbrake work).

Looking for her replacement right now, and will probably break. So if you're needing any spares, watch this space.

 

I think the only car that comes close to the space of the GV is the Grand Espace. When we were looking into a large family car I literally looked at everything. The problem with the Grand Espace was engine failure! Due to cam belts going. Even the 3.0L Isuzu diesel had bottom engine problem! The V6 Petrol was out if Nissan 350z that was very good! But the running cost was high due to, in part because the road tax was over 500 smackers a year.

I couldn't find another car with the "Stow n Go" that cost Chrysler 500m to develop. The 2.8L VM Motori is a good power unit! Coupled with the 41TE auto box. So... Pound for pound! It's gotta be one of the best in the XS guise.

 

I certainly agree with most of the above: It's too easy to get a dim view of any device, be it car, tv, washing machine when all you ever come across are problems. This website is a site for such problems.

The GV has many virtues, it's much more comfortable than the competition, it's bigger than the competition, it's diesel engine seems to be able to last forever (it's a London taxi engine) and the seat stowage giving a flat floor is brilliant.

But the GV is let down by amateurish electricals and a handbrake efficiency straight out of the 1970s. If the Japanese sent out a vehicle with such bad electricals someone would commit hara-kiri.

It's such a shame that the Chrysler (or is it Mercedes?) GV could be a world-beater if only the electricals were more professionally done, both in design and construction. This is most decidedly an "own goal" from Chrysler.

Leedsman.

 

Or is it Daimler?

 

No .. .. Daimler were the saviour of Chrysler. Not just in corporate and financial terms but in qualitative terms. Chrysler were up and down like a cork on rough seas [Mercedes bought control of Chrysler in '98, sold to Cerberus who squandered Chrysler in '07 leading to bankruptcy] and had been for close to 40 years. The automotive quality that the Germans brought to the table in the form of Daimler AG improved both the practices and the product of the company. The weak Chrysler company picked up its skits between 2000 and 2007 and became a much better company because of the influence of Daimler. Daimler in 7 short years might be gone - exit stage door left - enter Fiat, but the Chrysler management, product line and workforce are better for them having been there.