Good room for the kids. Nice captain chairs.

See above

Well, Where do I start??? Clunks and nioses, The brakes are junk, The trans. leaks.( only 18,000 miles) Already have replaced the factory battery twice. My advice if buy a chevrolet get the extended warranty. The resale vaulue in the worst!!. I'll stick with the toyota !! I tried too buy american, but have been, very disappointed.

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Toyota.

Strong motor and drive train, Towing capacity, Size - Can seat 6 for long trips and 8 in town, Fair gas milage, Can haul large items when seat or folded down or removed. Large doors

Lot of little items have broken or stopped working. Little heat to drives side floor, Front leg room is a tight. Engine is hard to get at. Interior trim level poor.

Purchased new and now has 60,000 miles. No problems with the power-train other than gas pedal sticks at top. Problem not in pedal or cable, need to have looked at.
Interior trim is poor. Gaps and seams don't line up.
Front elec door lock no longer work. Need to have them looked at too.
Had to replace brake pads and shoes at 30,000 miles.
Wife really likes the Astro and I just put up with it.
Kids like the room and can bring friends along.
Have taken on camping trips loaded with people and a utilty trailer. Lots of power and stable at speed.

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1995 Dodge caravan - Astro is bigger, has more power and doesn't eat trannies.

Roomy, fully loaded, both driver and passenger's seats are totally adjustable and comfortable

Van vibrates all over, and steering wheel vibrates. Brakes vibrate when stopping, and there's a "thump". Excessive wind noises on passenger's side. Loose interior moldings and panels.Waters enter passenger's side top of door when driving in heavy rain.Passenger's side and cargo door seem loose on rough roads. Very noisy.

Very bad experience over all. Bought this van NEW.This Van was bought for me to travel to work and for family trips. I have not driven this van in two months. for I feel it is not safe to take long distances ( I travel over 60 miles a day to and from work).

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Drove other Astro.. No comparison to this one. They all drove smooth and quiet, with no vibrations.

Powerful, rear wheel drive, truck suspension and feel, loads of cargo room, body holding up well considering the salt used on Syracuse roads, good gas milage for size, can easily camp/sleep in it on road trips

Reliability leaves a bit to be desired...I affectionately call my ABS "PBS" instead (pro-lock) because the ABS works inconsistently and when it chooses not to, the brakes lock in situations that a vehicle without this feature would never exnibit. The van does have 142,000 city miles on it (was a telcom van) but has required a new fuel system (including gas tank ($800), alternator, and currently burns a gallon of antifreeze every 2 weeks (reliable mechanic can find no evidence of a leak) indicating a head gasket or internal engine problem. Also transmission line and oil pan rotted out and the oil pressure gauge has gone bad twice (engine temp went bad once). The transmission jerks when shifting if there is no load. VERY dangerous ride on snow if not weighted down with at least 400 pounds over rear axle (but this is the case with all trucks), the vehicle is very difficult to work on unless you have access to a lift due to the engin location and position/angle

I have a love hate relationship with this vehicle. I love the size and power and the fact that I got it for 1/2 the trade-in bluebook value (due to high miles). I hate the fact that I bought it to travel and go on trips in and it is unreliable enough that I can not take long trips ro go too far out into remote country without constant worry. I can not recommend this vehicle in that other Astro owners I know have had similar reliability issues. If you are a good mechanic and have access to a lift, go ahead and buy it

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1987 Mazda B2000 pickup, 1986 Nissan pickup, 1998 Mazda B2200, Chevy Lumina (1996), 1996 chevy extended passenger van. Aside from reliability, I take the Astro hands down for its cargo room and ride (the full size van ate gas and was hard to handle the lumina is way too small)

Price (compared to what SUV's are going for)..gas mileage(for size and carrying capacity)..built on S-10 truck chassis..Tight(no wind noise at hiway speeds)..doesn't rattle like vans of yesteryear..handles excellent..AWD is idiot-proof(you can't forget to engage when it is needed)..looks rowdy tough compared to other mimi-vans..great visibilty in traffic..

wish it had dual side doors..
wish it had a tachometer..

I had the 87 Astro for 3 years in Flagstaff,arizona..It looked like crap but it never ever let me down..Based on my satisfaction with it,I bought a 99 Astro AWD..Flagstaff gets about 130" of snow each year and I wanted AWD for piece of mind (though the 87 never did get stuck or fail to make it up the mountain)..
I bought the 99 AWD in June 2000..I took it on a trip to Indiana and back and it got 20mpg at interstae hiway speeds WITH the a/c on..Can't complain about that..It has awesome power for its size..Flagstaff is at 7,000 feet and the thin air doesn't hinder its' power AT ALL..
After the Indiana trip I decided to raise my van a few inches..After going crazy talking to all of the "authorities" listed in the 4x4 magazines I went to my local suspension shop and was told "no problem"..They simply adjusted the front torsion bar and put longer shock absorbers all the way around ( I also checked with the local Chevy dealership and they concurred with this method of modification)..piece of cake and all for less than $500 out the door..I was even able to put 235 series all terrain tires on it..Now my oil pan is 10.5 inches off the ground instead of 8 inches..I can change the oil without having to raise the front end..
And the amazing part to me is that the ride is pretty darn smooth ESPECIALLY when traveling the many forest service roads out west..You have to contend with "stutter" bumps alot of the time and this setup smooths them right out..I also drove over Cinnamon Pass between Lake City,Colorado and Silverton,Colorado..The AWD worked just fine..You just have to remember to use your different gears (don't just leave tranny in "Overdrive" all of the time) (a tachometer would come in handy under these circumstances)..1st gear is all you need to get up steep inclines..and even at over 12,000 feet the engine never felt underpowered..
For all you folks who can't decide between an ASTRO AWD and one of the MANY MANY OVERPRICED SUV's on the market--All I can say is "TRY IT-You WILL like it" ALOT.. and if ya don't need seating for 8 just remove the rear bench seat..The amount of open cargo area will amaze and impress you..
By the way,after raising the van, the gas mileage is STILL exactly the SAME: 20 mpg hiway..
If I were to buy another one, I would try to get the option of 4 captains chairs and one rear bench seat instead of my 2 captains chairs and 2 bench seats setup..
I recently moved to Colorado and am looking forward to loading up the mountain bikes and kayak and going out (way out) to play and camp..
Buy the AWD Van.. $$$$$$$ well spent...

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1996 toyota tacoma sr5 4x4..1984 suburban..1997 Subaru impreza..

Tough, lots of room , big doors to load real life items. ( IE something bigger tan a grocery bag ) Engine has adequate power. For commercial use, it can get in and out of areas full sized vans cannot.

leg room in front seat area is limited. Back seat is heavy

We never buy new trucks for our business. The price paid new ~vs~ the lack of warranty coverage just dont make sense for us. We bought two 86 astros about 2 years ago. Both have 300.000+ Kms on them. With heavy service in both rough rural and city enviroments.

Im impressed - big time

Bought 2 new Astros, 9 months ago no complaints. Improved somewhat over the 86's still in use now. Better on fuel and nicer ride.

A good value for commercial use.

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Dodge carovan, ( we have had 3 - i know, im sorry too )
Ford aerostar, ( after the fire it was a mere memory )
Chev S10 Blazer, ( not bad, needed more storage area )

the room inside is incredible. 8 people can sit comfortably with leg room in any seat. sits high up which is a big plus for safety. Love the pickup when pulling out onto the highway. this minivan is built like a truck so there is alot of strength within.

whistling when the drivers window is down on the highway. Creaks when going over bumps. drivers side window stopped working but was covered under warranty. daytime running lamps no way to shut off unless you put on the hand brake. brakes are wearing on 35,000 miles.

i have had this van for 2 years and love it. i feel very safe because it sits up high off the ground. i thought about a suv but with the rollover problems decided on the astro and have not regretted it yet. i have traveled in this van and the highway mileage is excellant. i have also taken this van off road and it was a very smooth ride as it handled the bumps. this is a very good durable van with lots of room and strength for towing. This is a good van for people who like to travel and/or moms who have to cart around lots of children for anyone as a matter of fact that can handle the bigger vehicles.

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dodge caravan, too low to the ground. town and country is the next best thing as it has just as much room and the seats are more comfortable but does not sit up as high off the ground. pontiac montanta is too small inside not wide at all, passengers are best if they are kids.

Big and tough. Very strong for pulling boat, work trailer or RV. LOTS of leg room for second and back seats. Can carry many kids to many feildtrips.Plus there is an average size storage in back. Middle and back seats are removable. Nice and big for a great price. Parked the van next to the Suburban and it was just as tall and long for HALF the price. Gas mileage is great too!!

Like many others said.......it pulls to the left. Especially after new tires. But if you take it to a great alienment guy it will be fixed. DO NOT take it to the Chevy Dealer. They will tell you that "nothing is wrong". The auto window motor had to be replaced and the plastic inside is cheap and brakes easy. Drive and front seat passenger leg room is limited. And the "air noise" that someone else wrote about is also true. It sounds like the window won't close.

We like this van. It beats the price of SUV's with the same luxuries. It doesn't look like a "mini" van. Several of my friends have Suburbans and my Astro Van rides just like theirs without the poor gas mileage. And it's not in the shop as much as theirs is.

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MPV and Aerostar

awsome power great ride blow,s away my wife,s areostar.Sit,s up high great for towing awsome cargo space for my two large dog,s and the wife and kid,s.

ride,s ruff Ie. truck like front end seem,s to eat tires hard to align.Would like to see a 8 in the van.

The best van that anyone could own.I would tell people to get one.

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areostar junk likes to eat tranny.s

I"m a young guy still in high school when my parents decided to get a minivan, the most appealing to me was the astro. It looks alot better and much more masculine than all the other minivans.Other great points, besides the biggest youth look appeal of all the minivans around, is the amount of strength this baby carries we were able to tow one 20 foot luxury yacht with ease up and down Beverly Hills and toe beach.

its a minivan

truck is very reliable and doesn't look have bad,but its still a minivan

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my moms crhysler town and country,
astro is way better