The Villager's standard equipment includes an AM/FM/cassette sound system,
tilt steering wheel, flip-out side rear windows, rear defogger, tinted
windows, and courtesy dome lamps.
And you've got to say this for Villager designers: When it comes to
seating options, they're definitely pro-choice: they allow passengers to
choose from 13 different seating-and-cargo configurations.
Behind the driver's and front-passenger captain's chairs are two more
captain's chairs. In the rear is a third row bench seat with room enough
for three. The backs of the second row captain's chairs and third row bench
can all be folded down. Or, after tilting the rear bench seat cushion upward,
the bench can slide forward as much as 50 inches.
Folding down any of these seats requires a mere flip of a lever, and
in the case of the removeable second-row captain's chairs, it's a one-handed
process.
After the second-row seats are removed and the rear-bench seat is folded
upward, the Villager offers 126 cubic feet of cargo space. In the minivan
universe, everything is relative: 126 cubic feet is modest compared to
the Dodge Grand Caravan or Ford Windstar, but it's roomy compared to the
Honda Odyssey's 102 cubic feet.
Moving from the front seat back to the rear is fairly painless, although
the fold-down armrests on the second-row captain's chairs limit the pass-through
space to about eight inches. The front and second-row captain's chairs
are quite comfortable, but passengers on the rightmost or leftmost seats
on the third-row bench will feel themselves listing toward the center.
Driver's seat headroom was sufficient for our 5-foot-11 test driver,
but taller passengers in the second or third rows may feel a bit scrunched.
Rear legroom is also a bit limited--unless, of course, you're a typical
minivan buyer and your rear passengers are children.
Our test model was equipped with the power front seats--eight-way for
the driver (including a power lumbar support feature) and four-way for
the passsenger. But when reaching for the power switch, your forearm gets
pinched between the seat and the armrest.
A flat cupholder pulls out and snaps down from the console side of the
front passenger's seat, and there are integrated cupholders on the backs
of each of the rear seats.
One feature we really liked was the separate rear-seat climate control
and stereo control switches--complete with two headphone jacks--built into
the modular armrest to the left of the second-row captain's chair. Ditto
the info center on the smart-looking, digitized instrument panel of our
test van. A push of a button yields such data as fuel economy--both average
and instant--and the number of miles before the fuel tank is empty. And
for the globally-minded, the info center can convert everything to metric.
While its cargo capacity is modest compared to the big boys, the Villager
makes up for it with its serene ride comfort and good handling.
The Villager's 3.0-liter V6 engine is paired with a four-speed automatic
transmission. On the freeway, that powertrain is more than sufficient to
confidently scoot the 3800-pound Villager in and out of traffic, and provides
enough boost for emergency passing situations. And even at speeds of 70
mph and up, the Villager is suprisingly and impressively quiet.
Meanwhile, the precision-plus, rack-and-pinion power steering--in tandem
with the McPherson strut front suspension, leaf-spring rear suspension
and twin-tube gas charged shock absorbers--enables the Villager to firmly
plant itself while negotiating hard corners. That's no small feat for a
tall vehicle.
Sporty isn't a word that wraps itself around minivans very convincingly,
but it comes close here.