ORLANDO DESTINED FOR FAMILY

By Glen Woodcock, Autonet - Long before the first brush strokes for the 2012 Chevrolet Orlando were committed to paper, I wonder if General Motors already had chosen a name. Did they pick Orlando because that's the Florida home of Walt Disney World and, possibly, a word that triggers happy family memories?

Kids love Disney, especially iconic cartoon characters such as Mickey, Minnie and Roger Rabbit. And although the term is often used to indicate something small time, amateurish or of poor quality, there's nothing "Mickey Mouse" about Orlando.

Like the theme park, this is something that might contribute to happy family memories for a long time to come.

But where does Orlando fit in the general automotive scheme of things? It's not a hatchback or a minivan, nor is it a CUV or an SUV. GM calls it "a new approach to the multi-purpose vehicle" and stress that it's "a seven-seater".

So what is Orlando? I'm going to use those two dreaded words: station wagon. Even if GM avoids using the term, it can't deny what it is. And for families wanting to avoid the equally dreaded minivan label, a wagon -- especially one that seats seven -- is a perfect alternative.

Everything old is new again.

The big bowtie on the massive front grille certainly announces that this is a Chevrolet -- albeit one built by GM Korea. Originally, it was to be made in America, but Detroit reversed that decision in 2010 and now Orlando isn't even sold in the U.S.

So although available elsewhere in the world, on this continent it is unique to Canada.

Orlando scores high marks for a lot of reasons, but even though the drivetrain is smooth, especially with our tester's optional automatic, the 2.4-litre Ecotec "four" is a little underpowered in a vehicle weighing 1,596 kg.

In testing by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada for the 2012 Canadian Car of the Year competition, Orlando's average acceleration numbers were just average. Zero to 100 km/h was reached in 10.4 seconds, slowest of six entries in the category Best New Family Car Under $30,000. In the 80-120 km/h passing test, Orlando took 7.0 seconds -- again, about middle of the pack.

I can't help but wonder what the acceleration numbers would be when there are bums in all seven seats.

For its overall length of 4,665 mm, Orlando has a relatively long wheelbase -- 2,760 mm, or about equal to that of the much longer Toyota Camry -- which helps contribute to a solid, yet comfortable ride.

Base MSRP is 19,995 for Orlando LS with five-speed manual transmission, but as tested, our more upscale 2LT is $27,725. The extra money gets you items such as air conditioning, automatic, cruise, tilt/telescopic steering, 16-inch aluminum wheels, sound system display and Bluetooth connectivity to go with standard features such as power doors/windows/mirrors, six-speaker sound system and remote keyless entry.

In addition, all Orlandos are designed to keep your family safe with anti-lock vented disc brakes, six airbags, traction control, stability control and OnStar with turn-by-turn navigation.

The third row of seating is standard, but when upright, it keeps available luggage space to just 101 litres -- barely enough for a few bags of groceries. Fold those seats forward, however, and cargo space expands to 739 litres. Flip down the centre row seats as well and you get 1,594 litres, about 20% less than the much longer Dodge Journey.

Right now, other than Mazda5, there's not a lot to compete with Orlando when it comes to seating this many people in a compact package. It's both useful and different, two things that always have appealed to me in any automobile -- however you want to label it.