Chrysler Grand Voyager   Women's view

June Neary thinks big at the wheel of Chryslers Grand Voyager

We live in an age where makers of large MPVs are trying all kinds of things to make us buy them. Some have outlandish styling. Others have gone all sporty. And some are just sticking to the knitting and concentrating on bringing us a great big dose of what families actually need: space. From the outset, there wasnt any doubt as to which category Chryslers latest generation Grand Voyager fell into when it rolled onto my driveway this week. Its hard to imagine a more generic large MPV shape than this one. Boxy, unpretensious and, in many ways, rather refreshing.

So, having established that this wasnt a car I was going to show off in the school carpark or chase hot hatches in around country lanes, I got out the handbook and settled down to focus on exactly what it could do when it came to the business of transporting a large family and their luggage about. MPVs of course, stand or fall on their practicality. This one is seriously big, seating seven with ease and featuring Chryslers clever Stow n Go seating system which means that the vehicle can be transformed from a seven seater to a two seater in less than 30 seconds. Because all of the seats store in the floor, its not as if youll need to clutter your garage up with them either (take note Renault Espace).

Features that I hadnt seen before on this model included heated first and second row seats, a rear-view conversation mirror that helps you keep an extra eye on the kids, a natty removable torch in the rear quarter panel, electric windows in the power sliding second row doors, moveable LED reading lamps for longer motorway trips and automatic three-zone climate control for all passengers. My test car didnt feature the neat option of a dual-DVD system with two screens available to second row passengers to play games or watch a different movie to those in the third row but if I had some money left in the budget and was buying one of these, Id be sorely tempted by it. The MyGIG infotainment system my car did have featured MP3 compatibility, a 20GB hard drive and touch screen and voice controlled sat nav. The highest levels of passenger safety are something thats a non-negotiable as far as Im concerned for cars of this kind not something that Chrysler has always got right with previous generation versions of this car.

All thats changed now fortunately. Actively, you get traction control and ESP stability control, tyre pressure monitoring, front and all-row curtain airbags as well as seven full-sized seats with inbuilt fixings for three ISOFIX child seats. A Swivel n Go seating system is also available that allows the second row of seats to swivel for conversational seating, the third row seats power-reclining into one of four positions at the touch of a button.

As Ive already suggested, this is a car that makes no bones about being big. And it feels it upon first acquaintance. Remarkably quickly though, you find the car shrinking around you a little bit and within a few days, most new converts should find themselves flicking it around crowded supermarket carparks with ease. Two engines are available.

Theres a 193bhp 3.8-litre V6 (that youd probably need to be crackers to sign up for given its thirst and emissions) and theres the very good 2.8-litre turbo diesel that I tried that will be the choice for sensible consumers. Ive tried the big petrol engine before and you really need to rev the thing to make it go.

The big diesel, in contrast, just wafts along on a surge of engine pulling power, so you dont have tow row the car along with the gear lever when youre driving around town. Overtaking is also safe and unstressed, even when youre carrying a full load of passengers and gear. Visibility out of the Grand Voyager is one of the best in class with big mirrors, short overhangs and a clear commitment to reduce the width of pillars.

From a value point of view, you have to put this car into perspective. Yes, most conventional 7-seat large MPVs cars like Fords Galaxy, Volkswagens Sharan, Citroens C8 and Peugeots 807 are cheaper. But those cars are also smaller than this Chrysler. What you really need to compare it to are much larger 7-seaters cars like Renaults Grand Espace or Mercedes Viano.

In this company, price-wise, it stacks up very well. Three trim levels are available if you plump for the 2.8-litre CRD diesel engine. The range kicks off with the £25,995 LX, moves up to the £27,995 Touring and tops out with the £32,995 Limited, which can also be yours for the same money with the 3.

8-litre petrol V6. Chryslers UK buyers enjoy an enviable after-sales package including a three-year/60,000-mile warranty and three years of roadside assistance as well as six years of rust cover.

If my over-riding priority was carrying seven people and their luggage in as comfortable a form as possible, then this car would be tough to ignore. Thanks to its smart seating system and genuine ability to seat seven adults, the Grand Voyager gets the basics right but adds to this a whole host of comfort and convenience features that make it the consummate vehicle for the big family.