Monday, January 4, 2021

Chrysler Voyager Details, Photos and Videos

January 04, 2021 Posted By Daniel Johnson

The Chrysler Voyager or Chrysler Grand Voyager (since 2011 re-badged as Lancia Voyager in most of Europe) is a minivan manufactured by Chrysler. For most of its existence, vehicles bearing the "Chrysler Voyager" nameplate have been sold exclusively outside the United States, primarily in Europe, Asia and Oceania.

The Voyager was introduced in Europe in 1988 as a rebadged version of the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager sold in the United States, and has evolved with the Caravan, Plymouth Voyager, and Chrysler Town and Country since. Vehicles bearing the Chrysler Voyager nameplate were marketed in the United States from 2001 to 2003 as a rebadged version of the short-wheelbase (SWB) variant of the Plymouth Voyager following the 2001 folding of the Plymouth division of DaimlerChrysler AG.

Together with its nameplate variants, the Chrysler minivans have ranked as the 13th bestselling automotive nameplate worldwide, with over 12 million sold.

The European Chrysler Voyager was first released in 1988, nearly identical to its American counterpart, the Plymouth Voyager; the only visual differences between the two were the head/taillights and grille. Besides the slightly different appearance, the European Voyagers were sold with different engines, including diesel engines, which are popular in Europe; and the trim was different. They were also available with manual transmission and a foot operated emergency brake.

The last European Chrysler Grand Voyagers are very similar to the 2008 and later Chrysler Town and Country cars, and were sold only in the long-wheelbase version (as in North America).

Although now produced solely in Ontario, Canada, the Grand Voyagers were still available with diesel engines as standard. These diesel engines are based on a modern double overhead cam common rail design from VM Motori of Italy.

Following the fifth generation, the Grand Voyager nameplate was discontinued in all markets. However, in 2019, FCA announced that the Voyager nameplate will return for the 2020 model year as a separate nameplate for low-end Pacifica models.

1988–1990 models sold in Europe were Dodge Caravans rebranded as Chryslers. In America, the Caravan was sold alongside a similar Plymouth Voyager counterpart. Europe's Chrysler Voyager was nearly identical to the American Dodge Caravan except that a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and the 3.3 L Chrysler EGA V6 were never made available.

Introduced for the 1991 model year, the Chrysler Voyager in Europe continued to be identical to the Dodge Caravan in the United States except that the 3.8 L V6 was not available for the Chrysler Voyager. This would be the final generation available with a manual transmission. A 2.5 L turbo diesel four-cylinder engine produced by VM Motori was made available beginning in 1994. There were also military modifications available for the Voyager in South Africa, which included large fuel tanks available in 240 and 360 liter capacities.

The 1996–1999 models in Mexico are rebadged Dodge Caravans, although the Caravan was sold alongside the Voyager. For 2000, the Chrysler Voyager was identical to the Plymouth Voyager except that the 3.8 L V6 was not available. Base models of the Voyager were offered in most states with either a 2.4 L four-cylinder or a 3.0 L Mitsubishi V6 engine, except in California and several northeastern states, where the Mitsubishi V6 didn't meet emissions standards. In those locales, the 3.3 L engine was offered instead.For the European market, Voyagers continued to be rebadged Caravans. Unique to this market were 2.0 L Straight-4 SOHC and DOHC engines and 2.5 L turbo diesel produced by VM Motori. European market vans also came with manual transmissions and in a six-passenger model with six captains chairs, not available elsewhere.

According to EuroNCAP crash test results, the 1999 model Chrysler Voyager did so badly in the frontal impact that it earned no points, making it the worst of the group. The body structure became unstable and the steering column was driven back into the driver's chest and head'. The 2007 model Chrysler Voyager fared little better, achieving just 19% in the frontal impact test, with an overall score of 2 stars out of a possible 5. However, chest compression measurements on the test dummy 'indicated an unacceptably high risk of serious or fatal injury. As a result, the final star in the adult occupant rating is struck-through'.

Despite the bad results in the Euro NCAP crash tests, statistics from the real world indicate that this is not the whole picture. Folksam is a Swedish insurance company that in May 2009 published a report on injuries and survivability of 172 car models. The 88–96 generation got a real world rating of "Average", and the 96-00 generation got a rating called "Safest" (at least 30% safer than the average car.)

From 2001 to 2003, the Voyager was offered in the SWB model only, replacing the SWB Plymouth Voyager. It resembled the Town and Country more than the previous generation, the only major cosmetic difference besides the trim (where the Town and Country's is fancier) was the placement of the Chrysler emblem on the grille. After the 2003 model year, the Voyager was discontinued (United States market) and replaced by the Chrysler Town and Country, SWB model. The SWB Town and Country continued under the Voyager name in the Mexican market.

In Europe Chrysler began offering the Voyager with the first generation, followed by the second generation model in 2001, with a new engine range – including larger, more economical diesel engines (2.5 L and for 2005 – the 2.8 L 4 cylinder from VM Motori) and more fuel-efficient petrol engines (I4 and V6).

The fourth generation Grand Voyager continued production for the Chinese market alongside the Dodge Grand Caravan until late 2010. Both models were built by Soueast in China, using a Town and Country production line relocated from Taiwan, and were powered by Mitsubishi 6G72 engines.

Chrysler introduced the new Grand Voyager for 2008 and successfully positioned it in the automotive market as a luxury MPV suited for large families. The Grand Voyager is visually identical to the Chrysler Town and Country which is sold in the North American and South American markets. In similar fashion to the other large multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) on the market the Grand Voyager is sold with a standard diesel engine in Europe.

However, the seating is arranged in the 2–2–3 (front to rear) layout common in North America, rather than the 2–3–2 layout often seen in SUVs and MPVs in Europe. On right hand drive (RHD) models the gear shift lever is placed on a floor-mounted console between the seats, in contrast to the instrument panel positioning found on LHD models.