USED Chrysler Voyager MPV (97 - 01)

Most MPVs have seven seats arranged in a two-three-two formation, but Chrysler took a different approach with the Voyager, laying the seats out two-two-three.

Shoulder room is tight in its rearmost row and the removable rear seats are extremely heavy to lift out when you want to swap passenger space for load capacity. However, the larger Grand model does still give you a reasonable boot with all the seats in place. Even on this standard model, there's more than enough leg- and headroom to keep gangly teenagers happy, and the sliding rear doors are big help when getting in and out.

The driving position is less impressive. The steering wheel is fixed on SE models, but the tilt mechanism fitted to pricier LE and LX cars makes things little better.

True to American tradition, the Voyager doesn't like corners, and the soft, bouncy ride may upset passengers prone to travel sickness. At the same time, it's fidgety over more battered British roads and the steering is vague and overly light.

The best engine in the Voyager is the entry 2.0-litre petrol. Alternatively, you can choose from a 2.5-litre diesel linked to a five-speed manual gearbox or a 3.3-litre V6 petrol that comes with a four-speed auto.

Performance is pedestrian whichever you go for, because of the long gearing and the Voyager's hefty weight. The sensible choice is to opt for the superior economy of the diesel, even though it's rather crude and noisy.

Even entry SE cars are well-equipped with luxuries such as air-con, remote central locking and heated door mirrors, while LE adds cruise control and alloy wheels. Range-topping LX trim is only available with the V6 engine and includes metallic paint, electric seats and leather upholstery.

Unfortunately, safety and security provisions are poor. The Voyager only scored one star out of a possible four in Euro NCAP crash tests and its locks kept our attack testers at bay for just six seconds.

Despite some iffy dashboard plastics that are more worthy of a washing-up bowl than a car interior, the Grand Voyager has always had a classy image. As a result, used examples are pricier than many rivals of the same age - although they're not ridiculously expensive because this version of the Voyager has been out of production for some years.

Fuel bills could be prohibitive, with even the diesel engine returning a disappointing 33.6mpg on the combined cycle and the petrol a wallet-emptying 23.2mpg.

Any maintenance that needs doing will also hit hard if you go to a franchised dealer. Their average labour rates are actually higher than those for prestige brands like Audi and Lexus. Fortunately, independent Chrysler specialists are much more reasonable, typically charging half as much per hour.

To add insult to injury, all Voyagers also have a fairly high insurance rating.

Chrysler's record in our reliability surveys isn't exactly encouraging and feedback from owners in the annual JD Power Customer Satisfaction survey suggests that suspension, brake and gearbox problems are all too common on the Voyager.

The car has also been subject to a lot of recalls over the years, with early models needing their seatbelts and parking brakes looked at. Also, cars built between January and December 1999 were brought in to prevent a possible fuel leak and Voyagers built after 1999 were susceptible to power steering problems that could cause a fire in the worst cases.

It's obviously important to check that the necessary modifications have been made if the car you're interested in was affected, and you should make sure that the screen demisting system works. If it doesn't, you're looking at a bill for around £2000.