By Jim Kenzie, Toronto Star - Ever since General Motors got out of the minivan game a couple of years ago, it has been looking for a way back in.
It may not be the dominant segment it once was, but there are still lots of (typically young) families and some empty-nesters looking for maximum cubic metres of cargo carrying and seating capacity per dollar.
GM Canada scanned the company's international portfolio of vehicles and looked into something that would be called an MPV (multi people mover) in Europe, a class of vehicle typically with a two-box (minivan-like) configuration, two and often three rows of seats, on a compact-passenger-car-based platform to provide a family friendly ride and fuel economy.
There was some hesitation over the past couple of years as the company hovered in and out of bankruptcy. But Oshawa finally decided to go ahead with what is now known as the Orlando. It goes on sale in October, starting at $19,995.
GM has identified the Mazda5 as the Orlando's primary competition, with the Kia Rondo and Toyota's ScionXb also on the radar screen. They don't specifically mention the Dodge Journey, but if I were in this market, that would surely be on the shopping list.
Ford's upcoming C-MAX would be there too, except that Ford's bizarre decision to only offer it as a hybrid in North America puts a stake right through its heart before it is even born. The seven-seat version of the C-MAX also will not be sold here.
You might wonder (as I did) how different the Orlando really is from Chevy's Equinox crossover. If you're talking about a front-drive Equinox, the two aren't that far apart in size and even share the same engine.
Inside the Orlando, the ride is quiet and very good indeed.
Paul Hewitt, GM Canada's product manager for the Orlando, doesn't argue this too strenuously and thinks the Orlando might well steal some sales from its sibling.
"Still," he said, "Equinox is more of a rugged SUV-type vehicle, and does offer four-wheel drive. We think there's room for both vehicles."
GM in the United States doesn't agree -- it isn't taking the Orlando. "The U.S. has always been stronger in SUVs, and less so in minivans," explained Hewitt. "Also, in many regions of the U.S., the front-wheel drive Equinox is popular; not so much in Canada."
It wouldn't be quite fair to call the Orlando a Cruze with a van-nish body on top. But it wouldn't be that far off the mark either, sharing as it does much of the Canadian Car of the Year's underpinnings, that 2.4-litre, four-cylinder engine and many interior components.
Like the Cruze, the Orlando was also developed by an international team, with design and engineering input from GM's European, North American and Asian facilities. It was launched in Europe earlier this year and will eventually be sold in dozens of markets worldwide.
The sole production facility is the former Daewoo operation in South Korea.
Styling-wise, there's only so much you can do with a box-on-wheels. Three rows of seating -- two-three-two -- will be standard on all trim levels. The middle row split-folds with a one-hand release of a seat-top-mounted latch. The seat back falls onto the cushion and the entire mechanism rocks up against the front seats to ease access to the rear.
Pivoting the folded seat onto the floor again creates a flat luggage floor. The pair of seats in the third row also flip-fold individually into the floor, the headrests automatically folding themselves out of the way.
It's all so simple, you wonder why everybody doesn't do it this way.
Given the family orientation of the Orlando, it figures the occupants of the second and third row will most often be kiddies. I could sit in the second row fine, and in the third with minimal "Cirque du Soleiling," and there are headrests in all seven seating positions. But I did feel my head would be uncomfortably close to the tailgate glass in the event of a rear-end collision.
There isn't all that much luggage space if all seats are upright, but you do have several cargo/people combinations available. The front seats in the Orlando are just about exactly butt-cheek-high for average adults. So, no climbing up into this car, no having to winch yourself out.
The interior decor will be familiar to the Cruze-knowledgeable -- mostly grey plastic with some bright metal accents. Not ground-breaking, but not bad.
Two characteristics of the Orlando seemed commonly held by the journalists on this media drive -- how quiet the car is, and how good the ride is. Noise insulation begins with a very stiff underbody -- 34 hertz -- and continues with extensive sound deadening.
The six-speed transmission (either manual or automatic) helps keep revs down too, although the engine is remarkably quiet for a relatively large-displacement four, even when revved hard.
This also means you have to be aware of your highway speed, as the car tends to creep up on you.
Performance is more than adequate when accelerating from rest; passing at highway speeds requires a bit more advance planning.
Chevrolet also claims class-leading highway fuel economy for the Orlando, although that's with the manual gearbox, which will have a vanishingly small "take rate."
I spent most of my time in a mid-level LT, which is expected to account for about 85 per cent of Orlando sales. Ride quality was exemplary for a vehicle of this capacity.
Driving home from Muskoka in the LTZ with its 18-inch alloy wheels (versus 16s) and concomitant lower-profile tires revealed a slightly more pebbly ride on coarse pavement, and more jitteriness on small road irregularities. The electric power steering is light and precise, and the handling just above everything you could expect from a little minivan.
Previous attempts at vehicles like the Orlando -- the Nissan Multi and Axxess, Eagle (née Mitsubishi) Vista, a decade or more ago -- didn't really succeed. They were much smaller than contemporary regular minivans but didn't cost much (if any) less. To a considerable degree, that is still the case, although with rising fuel prices, these smaller vehicles may start to gain some traction.
Mazda and Kia don't put a lot of marketing effort against their current entries, so market acceptance today hasn't really been tested. Dodge doesn't either, although the Journey has quietly become a very strong seller.
Given the near absence of the most efficient vehicle type of all, the compact station wagon (thank you, Volkswagen Golf Wagon) an MPV is our best bet.
The Orlando offers a well-balanced combination of functional virtues in an attractive and attractively priced package. With GM's sales and marketing people making the case (and all candidates probably benefiting from the "rising tide lifts all boats" theory), the Orlando should be able to make an impression on Canadian customers.
If it can't, maybe we're just not smart enough to get it.
The interior decor will be familiar to the Cruze-knowledgeable -- mostly grey plastic with some bright metal accents. Not ground-breaking, but not bad.
Two characteristics of the Orlando seemed commonly held by the journalists on this media drive -- how quiet the car is, and how good the ride is. Noise insulation begins with a very stiff underbody -- 34 hertz -- and continues with extensive sound deadening.
The six-speed transmission (either manual or automatic) helps keep revs down too, although the engine is remarkably quiet for a relatively large-displacement four, even when revved hard.
This also means you have to be aware of your highway speed, as the car tends to creep up on you.
Performance is more than adequate when accelerating from rest; passing at highway speeds requires a bit more advance planning.
Chevrolet also claims class-leading highway fuel economy for the Orlando, although that's with the manual gearbox, which will have a vanishingly small "take rate."
I spent most of my time in a mid-level LT, which is expected to account for about 85 per cent of Orlando sales. Ride quality was exemplary for a vehicle of this capacity.
Driving home from Muskoka in the LTZ with its 18-inch alloy wheels (versus 16s) and concomitant lower-profile tires revealed a slightly more pebbly ride on coarse pavement, and more jitteriness on small road irregularities. The electric power steering is light and precise, and the handling just above everything you could expect from a little minivan.
Previous attempts at vehicles like the Orlando -- the Nissan Multi and Axxess, Eagle (née Mitsubishi) Vista, a decade or more ago -- didn't really succeed. They were much smaller than contemporary regular minivans but didn't cost much (if any) less. To a considerable degree, that is still the case, although with rising fuel prices, these smaller vehicles may start to gain some traction.
Mazda and Kia don't put a lot of marketing effort against their current entries, so market acceptance today hasn't really been tested. Dodge doesn't either, although the Journey has quietly become a very strong seller.
Given the near absence of the most efficient vehicle type of all, the compact station wagon (thank you, Volkswagen Golf Wagon) an MPV is our best bet.
The Orlando offers a well-balanced combination of functional virtues in an attractive and attractively priced package. With GM's sales and marketing people making the case (and all candidates probably benefiting from the "rising tide lifts all boats" theory), the Orlando should be able to make an impression on Canadian customers.
If it can't, maybe we're just not smart enough to get it.
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