Approximately two years ago, we purchased a 2006 Chevy Uplander mini-van. We liked the look of the van, it was more of a cross-over vehicle than the normal mini-van look. Looking at it from the front, you would think that it was a sport utility truck (it almost looked like a Dodge Durango from the front). The Uplander first became available in the 2005 model year, making this a very young vehicle. Over the past two years, we have put approximately 25,000 miles on the vehicle. Over half of the miles are from normal small town driving; short hops from here to there. However, the other half are from longer trips that have been taken on the highways in and around Pennsylvania and Ohio. All in all, a good variety of normal miles that fits the way most people drive. Tires — How have the factory tires held up? Not as well as expected, but better than some other vehicles that we have owned. With rotating the tires approximately every 6000 miles (ok, I went 8,000 once), they are starting to wear down and will be in need of changing within the next six months or so. Handling Given that this is a mini-van and not a sports car, the handling is still not as nice as expected. Prior to owning this vehicle, we owned a five year old sport utility vehicle that actually handled the roads better than this one. In wet weather, the Uplander has always seemed to have some handling issues and has quickly wanted to hydroplane. Combine that with the tires starting to wear and it causes us to use extreme caution during adverse weather. Gas mileage The gas mileage on the Uplander has constantly been a source of disappointment. With a V6 engine in it, the window sticker showed an estimated 18 miles city and 24 miles highway. The computer on the vehicle after every tank of gas shows about 18.2 miles as the actual economy. If we travel highway only, it goes up to about 19.5 miles to a gallon. We get city mileage on highway miles and have never seen anything close to 24 miles to a gallon at all. As a comparison, or previous sport utility vehicle had a V8 engine in it and was getting an average of 17 miles to the gallon on these same highway trips. Road Noise When we first bought the Uplander, we were happy with the overall level of road noise that we experienced. However, after only two years and 25,000 miles the road noise has increased significantly. A large part of this can be attributed to the tire wear, but we have also noticed a lot of wind noise from Category:Home › Autos • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 2 • You should never use after-market auto parts when maintaining or fixing your car • Should a new car be rust-proofed? • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 1 • Five safest cars in North America • How to ensure your teen drives safely after getting a license • Pros and cons of using an hydrogen generator for your car • DIY automotive maintenance: How to change the oil
2026
