Welcome to GM’s newest MPV. It’s called the Orlando, it’s badged as a Chevrolet, and while you may be wondering how border control ever let this thing in, I urge you to bite on your bottom lip and sit down hard on your hands for just a second. Because while it might look like the most facile car in the world. One that’s as deep and sincere as a ‘Teasers’ hostess, one that’s all out of ideas two seconds after you wonder past it on a showroom floor and one that if left to its own devices would watch ‘WWE Wrestling’ reruns well into the midday hours. What you need to realise is that there is a lot of Opel genealogy in this car. It is, in many ways, GM’s follow up to the Opel Zafira.
The Orlando is a seven seater MPV and while I couldn’t get much clarity on the arrival date of a future Opel Zafira (two or three years maybe), why bother, because this Chevy is available now and is wider, taller and a bit longer than the Opel Zafira. But the most impressive thing about it is all the Opel-ness on the inside. Genuine…, if you arrived, blindfolded, inside this vehicle; which we don’t see as the worst way of approaching it, you’d easily be forgiven for saying it was the interior of an Opel Astra that had been stretched, elongated and given the overall, Michael Bay ‘Transformer’ treatment. The interior is the best part of the car.
There are many sensible family estate’s, cross-over’s and MPV’s these days that try to inject a bit of youthfulness and coolness into their design. No amount of anime inspired design has lifted the overall dreariness of a Mazda 5 or Honda Accord Tourer for instance. You can just imagine the boardroom meetings for such things. ‘Right guys, how do we make MPV’s cool…?’ I have to say, not that one thinks about it all that often, perhaps going the Chevy Orlando route is the way to do it after all.
It is a massive car, and its size isn’t exactly concealed by its van like profile and SUV-like front and rear deliberateness. But it does have presence and is the least mommy-fied MPV I’ve come across. The enormous Chevy bowtie, emblazoned over the double grille, looks like it’s spent a lot of time at the McDonalds drive through. There’s certainly no mistaking it for anything other than a Chevy. The wheel arches are square and the fat alloy wheels within them are overt and actually kind of cool to look at. The rear tailgate has this offset bit of trim around the rear window that when you’re following it makes it look like someone hasn’t closed the boot properly. It’s all a bit bizarre but it holds your attention for much longer than a seven seat MPV should.
As mentioned, the interior provides a venue of welcome respite from the exterior madness. The front seats are chunky and comfortable with an armrest on the driver’s seat, and the second row can be ‘tumbled’ (that’s MPV jargon I found out for the first time) forward to reveal two full sized seats in the third row. The action to do such a thing is really slick and easy, as is lifting the two rear seats up out of the floor from the open boot. Genuine…, an arthritic grandmother could do it with some shopping tucked under one arm. And the extra width, height and length over the old Opel Zafira means it’s not poky in the back at all. There is even a little bit of boot space left over with the third row of seats in place. The Chevy Orlando is a great car when it comes to practicality, fact.
There are two levels of specification. The LS with cloth seats and the LT with leather seats and some chrome dressing splashed across the interior and exterior. We don’t quite compute the resultant jump up in price however, from LS to LT.
Our only other misgiving with the Orlando comes when you take a look under the bonnet. A car the size of East London airport needs quite a lot of poke to keep it moving, and frankly, the 104 kW and 176 Nm, normally aspirated 1.8-litre doesn’t quite stack up. Even with just one passenger on board, never mind five more and all the accouterments that come with a multi purpose lifestyle, the field mouse under the bonnet feels like it has its work cut out for it. Our fuel consumption averaged well into double digits as a result. The five speed manual gearbox needs to be shifted hard and worked overtime if you want to keep your momentum up. GM only offer their Chevy Orlando with this 1.8-litre motor and a manual gearbox. No automatic gearbox or diesel option is available.
By way of constructive feedback we certainly recommend GM consider a turbo charged petrol motor in future. We feel it wouldn’t be at all outlandish considering the aggressive Chevy Orlando concept. The rear end could then be festooned with some chunky tail pipes and the fuel consumption would probably be improved with the addition of a sixth gear. And what felt like the Orlando’s competent ride and handling could be even further utilised and realised with the extra power and torque boost.
| Pricing (incl. VAT & CO2 Tax) | |
| Chevrolet Orlando LS | R254 400 |
| Chevrolet Orlando LT | R295 000 |
Price includes a 5-year/120 000km warranty and Roadside Assistance, as well as 3-year/60 000km service plan.
Ray Leathern has been test driving and critiquing cars for four years now. You’ll find his work at autocirca.com, the Mail & Guardian and of course, right here on SACarFan.
