Load carrying aside, the Uplander offers great interior comfort from all seating positions. I took the opportunity to sit
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| The Uplander offers great interior comfort from all seating positions. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
in both second and third row seats and found them quite comfortable. Of course, there's less legroom in behind but not so little as to relegate them to child use only, unlike most SUV third rows. The middle seats are expansive, as is the norm in this class. Front seat room is also more than adequate, with plenty of space around the shoulder and hip areas. But it wasn't the size of the vans that initially caught my attention when stepping inside, but the superb execution with regards to fit and finish, plus material quality. Not all surfaces are perfect mind you, and I'll get to the shortcuts GM chose to make in order to price the van as well as it does in a minute, but the dash, console and door plastics are some of the best in this class. The unique "protein vinyl" covering the tops of the door panels is especially good, more leather-like than the leather seating surfaces in a fully-optioned example I was testing. It is well padded, making it one of the nicest places to rest an arm in autodom. I am also impressed with the quality of switchgear, with dials for the air vents, audio controls, on the head unit and steering wheel when featured, as well as those used for adjusting the climate control system being way above average in tactile quality and more precise in movement than those on
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| The unique "protein vinyl" covering the tops of the door panels makes it one of the nicest places to rest an arm in autodom. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
most rival vans. This is a monumental move upward for Chevrolet, or any of GM's van brands, something the automaker can confidently brag about. And what about the shortcuts GM chose to make in order to price the van as well as it does? Really I have issue with only one blatant irritant, and to most it won't be a problem. Where most vans hide the rear sliding door mechanisms under the roof liner, the Uplander, and related GM vans, leave them exposed with only a cheap plastic shield overtop. Who will spend their time looking up to the ceiling perplexed about this issue? Not your kids if you make sure and opt for the DVD system, nor will they care anyway. No, it probably will only be a problem with anal-retentive auto journalists who take issue with such minor details as part of their job, so I wouldn't worry about it. After all, this is a Chevy minivan, not a Cadillac.
