Let's face it; there are times when you simply need to move a lot of people. Whether you're the captain of the corporate carpool, a youth-league soccer coach or the host of an unruly mob of guests from out of town, there's something to be said for the ability to carry a large group of people in just one vehicle.
Enter the Chevrolet Express. This glorified people mover comes standard with 11-passenger seating. And if that's not enough, Chevrolet also offers an extended-wheelbase version, capable of transporting 15 passengers in a single trip.
We recently had the opportunity to test the extended-wheelbase version for one week. As luck would have it, our test week overlapped an April wedding, for which Midwestern relatives arrived by twos, threes and sixes during the week preceding the nuptials.
On Monday night, we made an unscheduled airport run to pick up two guests who found themselves waiting in a lengthy line at the rental car counter as it approached midnight. After receiving their desperate phone call, we hopped into the Chevrolet Express to collect the weary travelers. Despite its hefty 6,330-pound curb weight, the Express van hit the freeway running thanks to its 300-horsepower, 6.0-liter V8 engine. As we pulled into the car rental lot, a quick glance around confirmed that not only was our Express a contender in the people-moving business, but also that more than one shuttle vehicle sat in its massive shadow.
We loaded up the woman and eight-year-old child easily enough, but when it came to stowing their four bags in the rear, we found that our 15-passenger Express offered extremely limited cargo space behind its four rows of seats. We were able to cram in the bags, however, and quickly slammed the barnlike rear doors before they could tumble to the pavement.
Tuesday night's airport run was a different story. A group of five (including one small beauty in a toddler seat) headed up the freeway to pick up a group of six (five adults and a second toddler). We were at first hesitant to take the Express into the confines of the Los Angeles International Airport, certain that a large unmarked van coupled with a generic manufacturer license plate would be fair game for an anti-terrorism security search. But as luck would have it, airport security let us pass.
While some of our party went into the airport terminal to meet the new arrivals, the Express van was forced to cruise the airport traffic circle. Numerous incoming air travelers attempted to hail our pseudo-shuttle van. We declined all requests to take on additional passengers, but hindsight leaves us certain we could have made a few extra bucks during the evening's airport festivities. Hindsight also reminds us that the cash would have come in handy during our first visit to the local gas station, as the Express quickly swallowed up $54 of regular fuel.
The rest of our week continued much the same with almost daily trips to the airport to collect incoming family and friends. During the day, we put the Express through additional passenger-carrying paces. While en route to Disneyland, we immediately noticed that it wasn't a good idea to place the navigator in the rearmost seat. Shouting directions up to the driver was nearly impossible, and we found ourselves playing the "telephone" game, passing instructions from the fourth rear bench row by row up to the driver. With three rows of translators between the navigator and driver (including two Canadians), it's a wonder the Express arrived at Disneyland before the evening fireworks display.
In retrospect, only a vehicle with the Express 3500 Extended van's 237.3 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the driver seat could have handled the crowd we transported around Greater Los Angeles. When you compare its passenger volume to the 176.6 cubic feet of the eight-passenger Toyota Sienna minivan, the Express seems like a possible alternative for family transportation — especially when more than a half-dozen adults are involved.
But the Express has a dirty little secret: It's a truck. This is a body-on-frame vehicle built with much of the same hardware familiar from the full-size Chevy Silverado pickup. Just like a pickup, there are three different Express models in the regular 135-inch wheelbase: eight-passenger 1500; 12-passenger 2500; 12-passenger 3500. And there's the 155-inch-wheelbase extended 3500 we tested. There's a full range of engine choices as well: a 200-hp, 4.3-liter V6; a 275-hp, 4.8-liter V8; a 285-hp, 5.3-liter V8; and the aforementioned 300-hp, 6.0-liter V8. All Express models come standard with rear-wheel drive, though all-wheel drive is available on the eight-passenger models.
With its rugged underpinnings, it's no surprise that the Express drives like a truck. You might think twice about hauling a family in such a vehicle, but GM has put a notable amount of effort into improving driving safety. Naturally, there are the federally mandated dual-stage front airbags. Four-wheel antilock brakes are standard equipment, and a proportioning valve alters the brake pressure of the rear binders according to the weight of your load. For 2004, the Express also received GM's very effective StabiliTrak stability control system that can take corrective action (via the brakes and throttle) to help the driver avoid skids, spins and rollovers. But unlike the latest generation of front-drive minivans, there's no sign of side- or head curtain airbags, which would enhance passenger protection in the event of an unavoidable side-impact collision or rollover incident.
As you might expect, the Express is pretty clumsy to drive around town. It's very tall, and the step-in height requires some athletic skill from both the very young and the very old. You can't park it just anywhere, as we discovered while cruising our beach town for a bus-size spot at the curb. Sometimes there are so many people inside that someone gets left behind, as our author's sister discovered in a little Home Alone moment of her own. The interior appointments are industrial-rated and it's always noisy. In short, the Express van is just like the last airport shuttle van you were in.
Of course, a 15-passenger Express isn't a vehicle most families would be likely to drive on a daily basis. The majority of today's families do not contain more than eight members, which is the maximum capacity of most minivans. While a large van like the Express can come in handy when several friends or relatives are along for the ride, a minivan is a much more livable vehicle when your passenger count is eight or below.
For example, most minivans drive like cars and are therefore easy to maneuver on crowded expressways and in the parking lot — environments in which the Express never feels at home. A minivan is also more fuel-efficient: Most get about 18 mpg in city driving and well over 20 mpg on the highway. Meanwhile, our Express swilled gasoline to the tune of 11 miles per gallon in mixed city and highway driving. And although Chevy's full-size van offers a spacious interior, it's surprisingly difficult to get into, as its doors are heavy, the step-in height is high and the access to the rearmost seats is difficult. In contrast, minivans offer lightweight dual-sliding doors, a low step-in height and fold-and-flip seats that make it easy to access the rear bench.
We even have reservations about the Express' space-efficiency. Although it has sheer volume on its side, it isn't packaged with occupant comfort in mind. The Toyota Sienna, for example, offers 39.5 inches of rear-seat legroom, while the Express has just 34.5 inches. The Chevy is perfect if your object is to provide passengers lots of headroom while their feet are flat on the floor, but this big box isn't always a comfortable fit for the human body.
Back in the 1960s, people drove large vans like the Express and thought nothing of it. Then, the 1970s came along, and we drove vans based on compact pickup trucks and liked them much better. Then came the 1980s and the car-based minivan. The Express worked fine for our week of people-hauling, but it reminded us that it's really a throwback to another era and just isn't suited for the wide variety of tasks modern-day minivans can perform.
If the airport is your destination, the Express might be right for you, especially since you can make time in the high-occupancy carpool lanes. But unless you're planning to transport the whole team to softball tournaments, or paint it blue and hire it out for airport shuttle duty to the neighbors, a minivan is still a better answer for moving people around on an everyday basis.
Enter the Chevrolet Express. This glorified people mover comes standard with 11-passenger seating. And if that's not enough, Chevrolet also offers an extended-wheelbase version, capable of transporting 15 passengers in a single trip.
We recently had the opportunity to test the extended-wheelbase version for one week. As luck would have it, our test week overlapped an April wedding, for which Midwestern relatives arrived by twos, threes and sixes during the week preceding the nuptials.
On Monday night, we made an unscheduled airport run to pick up two guests who found themselves waiting in a lengthy line at the rental car counter as it approached midnight. After receiving their desperate phone call, we hopped into the Chevrolet Express to collect the weary travelers. Despite its hefty 6,330-pound curb weight, the Express van hit the freeway running thanks to its 300-horsepower, 6.0-liter V8 engine. As we pulled into the car rental lot, a quick glance around confirmed that not only was our Express a contender in the people-moving business, but also that more than one shuttle vehicle sat in its massive shadow.
We loaded up the woman and eight-year-old child easily enough, but when it came to stowing their four bags in the rear, we found that our 15-passenger Express offered extremely limited cargo space behind its four rows of seats. We were able to cram in the bags, however, and quickly slammed the barnlike rear doors before they could tumble to the pavement.
Tuesday night's airport run was a different story. A group of five (including one small beauty in a toddler seat) headed up the freeway to pick up a group of six (five adults and a second toddler). We were at first hesitant to take the Express into the confines of the Los Angeles International Airport, certain that a large unmarked van coupled with a generic manufacturer license plate would be fair game for an anti-terrorism security search. But as luck would have it, airport security let us pass.
While some of our party went into the airport terminal to meet the new arrivals, the Express van was forced to cruise the airport traffic circle. Numerous incoming air travelers attempted to hail our pseudo-shuttle van. We declined all requests to take on additional passengers, but hindsight leaves us certain we could have made a few extra bucks during the evening's airport festivities. Hindsight also reminds us that the cash would have come in handy during our first visit to the local gas station, as the Express quickly swallowed up $54 of regular fuel.
The rest of our week continued much the same with almost daily trips to the airport to collect incoming family and friends. During the day, we put the Express through additional passenger-carrying paces. While en route to Disneyland, we immediately noticed that it wasn't a good idea to place the navigator in the rearmost seat. Shouting directions up to the driver was nearly impossible, and we found ourselves playing the "telephone" game, passing instructions from the fourth rear bench row by row up to the driver. With three rows of translators between the navigator and driver (including two Canadians), it's a wonder the Express arrived at Disneyland before the evening fireworks display.
In retrospect, only a vehicle with the Express 3500 Extended van's 237.3 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the driver seat could have handled the crowd we transported around Greater Los Angeles. When you compare its passenger volume to the 176.6 cubic feet of the eight-passenger Toyota Sienna minivan, the Express seems like a possible alternative for family transportation — especially when more than a half-dozen adults are involved.
But the Express has a dirty little secret: It's a truck. This is a body-on-frame vehicle built with much of the same hardware familiar from the full-size Chevy Silverado pickup. Just like a pickup, there are three different Express models in the regular 135-inch wheelbase: eight-passenger 1500; 12-passenger 2500; 12-passenger 3500. And there's the 155-inch-wheelbase extended 3500 we tested. There's a full range of engine choices as well: a 200-hp, 4.3-liter V6; a 275-hp, 4.8-liter V8; a 285-hp, 5.3-liter V8; and the aforementioned 300-hp, 6.0-liter V8. All Express models come standard with rear-wheel drive, though all-wheel drive is available on the eight-passenger models.
With its rugged underpinnings, it's no surprise that the Express drives like a truck. You might think twice about hauling a family in such a vehicle, but GM has put a notable amount of effort into improving driving safety. Naturally, there are the federally mandated dual-stage front airbags. Four-wheel antilock brakes are standard equipment, and a proportioning valve alters the brake pressure of the rear binders according to the weight of your load. For 2004, the Express also received GM's very effective StabiliTrak stability control system that can take corrective action (via the brakes and throttle) to help the driver avoid skids, spins and rollovers. But unlike the latest generation of front-drive minivans, there's no sign of side- or head curtain airbags, which would enhance passenger protection in the event of an unavoidable side-impact collision or rollover incident.
As you might expect, the Express is pretty clumsy to drive around town. It's very tall, and the step-in height requires some athletic skill from both the very young and the very old. You can't park it just anywhere, as we discovered while cruising our beach town for a bus-size spot at the curb. Sometimes there are so many people inside that someone gets left behind, as our author's sister discovered in a little Home Alone moment of her own. The interior appointments are industrial-rated and it's always noisy. In short, the Express van is just like the last airport shuttle van you were in.
Of course, a 15-passenger Express isn't a vehicle most families would be likely to drive on a daily basis. The majority of today's families do not contain more than eight members, which is the maximum capacity of most minivans. While a large van like the Express can come in handy when several friends or relatives are along for the ride, a minivan is a much more livable vehicle when your passenger count is eight or below.
For example, most minivans drive like cars and are therefore easy to maneuver on crowded expressways and in the parking lot — environments in which the Express never feels at home. A minivan is also more fuel-efficient: Most get about 18 mpg in city driving and well over 20 mpg on the highway. Meanwhile, our Express swilled gasoline to the tune of 11 miles per gallon in mixed city and highway driving. And although Chevy's full-size van offers a spacious interior, it's surprisingly difficult to get into, as its doors are heavy, the step-in height is high and the access to the rearmost seats is difficult. In contrast, minivans offer lightweight dual-sliding doors, a low step-in height and fold-and-flip seats that make it easy to access the rear bench.
We even have reservations about the Express' space-efficiency. Although it has sheer volume on its side, it isn't packaged with occupant comfort in mind. The Toyota Sienna, for example, offers 39.5 inches of rear-seat legroom, while the Express has just 34.5 inches. The Chevy is perfect if your object is to provide passengers lots of headroom while their feet are flat on the floor, but this big box isn't always a comfortable fit for the human body.
Back in the 1960s, people drove large vans like the Express and thought nothing of it. Then, the 1970s came along, and we drove vans based on compact pickup trucks and liked them much better. Then came the 1980s and the car-based minivan. The Express worked fine for our week of people-hauling, but it reminded us that it's really a throwback to another era and just isn't suited for the wide variety of tasks modern-day minivans can perform.
If the airport is your destination, the Express might be right for you, especially since you can make time in the high-occupancy carpool lanes. But unless you're planning to transport the whole team to softball tournaments, or paint it blue and hire it out for airport shuttle duty to the neighbors, a minivan is still a better answer for moving people around on an everyday basis.
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