'97ventureowner

to the Uplander that is. We just purchased a 2006 Uplander EXT LS used with 8,647 miles. It is Bordeaux Red with a grey interior. Took my Venture in last week for the yearly state inspection, and there were too many issues with it to the point my friend the mechanic said to look for another vehicle. We hadn't planned on getting one this soon. I wanted to wait until at least 2008 or 2009 to get a used one in Amethyst, my wife's favorite color and a new color for 2007. We tried to locate new one in Amethyst but the dealer wouldn't work with the price. They wanted $27,500 and would not come down at all. Oh well their loss. I bought this one at a local used car "supercenter" and paid $16,995. Funny thing is we purchased our Venture in June of 1998 with 16,125 miles on it for $19,995. This new van has almost half the miles and cost $3000 less! I've got to say I was very impressed with this Uplander. Having driven the Venture for the last 8 1/2 years you become accustomed to certain things. While test driving the Uplander I was surprised at the many upgrades on a vechile that was meant to replace the Venture. My first biggest surprise was the radio. Yeah it's just a plain AM/FM/CD radio, but it also is Mp3 compatible AND the radio actually lists the station you are listening to, their slogan, and the song title and artist currently playing.I also like how the two seats behind the front seats are separated now. This is good if you have kids who like to fight sometimes I also noticed how much higher this van seems than my Venture, those 17" tires make the difference. I also like the dvd player on the track system. The 3.5 engine was very responsive, hopefully it will be much BETTER than the 3.4s in the Ventures. The engine compatment also looked roomier and much easier to work on. I was hoping for a 3.9 engine but really didn't come across many in my search. I know it's standard on the '07s now. I also lie the driver's information center you can access with the push of the button. I was surprised to see they relocated the 4 way hazard switch to a button on the dash,(found that by accident. I also noticed they moved the cruise control lever to the other side of the steering column. I originally thought the van didn't have it upon first looking at it, but found it on the test drive. I'm so used to the GM corporate cruise control lever that was on the turn signal stalk dating back to the '70s. And I'll also have to get used to the new way to activate the high beams. ( I first read about that issue here in this forum awhile back.) All in all I'm so far pleased with all the improvements GM has made to these vans over the years, and I hope this van will give us many problem-free miles in the future.

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spike88

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'97ventureowner,

Like you, I too replaced my previous "too many repairs" vehicle (which was a 2001 Safari van) with a Montana van. Got the 2009 Berry Red Montana EWB 1SB with many included options from 1SC. NO Towing and NO DVD player. And being a 2009, it has the more powerful 3.9L VVT engine. Been driving my new van for a couple of weeks.

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Here's my quick review (of driving a new Montana for almost 2 weeks).

- The Cruise Control is in the wrong place. GM should have left its control on the signal arm (where most GM Cruise Control controls are located). Being on the new steering wheel arm (on right side of steering wheel) its a pain to use.

- The rear window wiper control is in the wrong place. GM should have left its rear wiper control on the dash area. Being on the tip of turn signal arm is a pain to operate.

- The Emergency 4-way button is in the wrong place as well. It should be a RED button and put back ontop of the steering wheel column - like many other vehicles.

- To me, its seat height needs to be 2" lower. Yes, 2 inches lower. Especially the front seats. If the seat height bugs me too much, I'll probably remove the seat, remove their steel brackets and ask my local welder guy to "trim down" 1-2 inches. Nice simple cut and re-weld and re-enforce weld job (for my local welder guy). Why lower 2"? To gain more head height - for my long torso and shorter then average legs body shape. Perhaps my van has an Front Bucket Seat's up/down postion control I haven't found yet? Hopefully, the solution is that simple. If not, I can vision myself lowering my own seats 1-2 inches. Especially when its factory warranty is over. Nice and easy task (for my local welder guy).

- My van's steering is tight and responsive. Its 2 sliding doors allow easy passenger loading and unloading. Its 50/50 split rear seat is great as well.

- For 3rd row seats, I like their head rests for passengers as well. Wish the head rests collapsed more into rear seat - before folding the rear seat down.

- While under my van installing my own Trailering items, I noticed many of its underside factory bolts were loose. They weren't "torqued down" to reasonable specs. A few bolts, my 10 year old could easly turn them with a simple wrench. (no kidding). With `thread lock` juice (steel bolt glue) in hand and with my torque wrench, I re-secured its fender support bracket bolts, its muffler hanger bracket and its lower shock bolts. To me, GM need to "double check" the lbs settings on their assembly line torque wrenches. And, every nut/bolt (especially on its underside area) should have `thread lock juice` on its bolt threads. Thus, keeping its nuts/bolts tight. And, remain tight for many future years.

- Van's "under dash" factory wiring should include a "standard" Brake Controller outlet - for an optional brake controller harness. If someone wants to install a Brake Controller (for towing trailers with electric brakes), they simply "plug in" a vehicle specific harness. One doesn't have to "tap into" the van's factory wiring - as seen in my other post.

- IMO, my van should be 2" higher off the ground (including its front suspension & rear axle ground clearance "lowest points"). Due to deep snow, salt/ice splashing and stones from gravel roads in my area, this van needs to be higher off the ground. Especially since its "plastic" gas tank isn't protected very well. Also, higher off the ground means "less" hung up on snow and less salt splashing / less rust as well. A little higher off the ground means win/win conditions in the long run.

- To me, the van's underside gas tank should have a steel plate covering its entire tank as well. Just like plastic gas tanks bolted under Astro/Safari vans. One fast traveling stone off its front tires (especially its fast spinning FWD wheels) and even a little pea stone could be like a bullet flying through its unproteced `plastic` gas tank. Sad to vision but true...

- For its high / low beam controls, one has to push the signal lever forward. To switch to Low Beam, one has to pull the lever towards the back. On my other GM vehicle, one pulls the signal lever back one time. To change to low beam, one pulls the same lever toward them (again). Very different switch motion on both GM vehicles. Wish GM would make their Low Beam / High Beam Switch Control "ergonomics" the same in all their vehicles.

- For its power window controls, one has to press the back of the power window button. For my other GM vehicle, one has to press the "front" of the power window button. Both GM vehicles but their Power Window button controls are "opposite from one another". Wish GM would make their Power Window button "ergonomics" the same in all their vehicles.


So far, I love my new Montana van. Compared to my previous "slug" Safari van, this little Montana van has "take off" power, its got "brakes", it "nice hugs the sharp corners" with ease and its "very fun to drive". Yes. I'd buy this specific Montana van again. Just wish GM would apply many of the above design improvements on their future vehicles.


Hope this helps others as well...

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