Truck Trend's 2012 Best In Class: Passenger Van

Truick Trend StaffWriterMar 13, 2012

Full-size:Nissan NV

Minivan:Ford TransitConnect

This was a tough decision to make. The full-size van voting came down to two top contenders, the NV and the Sprinter. The NV is the better value, but doesn't have a diesel and its V-8 gets poor fuel economy. The Sprinter is expensive and has fewer passenger van options, but has a diesel. The NV wins it for value and choices -- you can get a V-6 or V-8, 1500, 2500, or 3500, and you can tow up to 9500 pounds with it. The "minivan" winner is the Ford Transit Connect, which is more miniature van than minivan. It's built for work and has a payload capacity of 1600 pounds. Things will get interesting when the Nissan NV200 and Ford Transit go on sale.

PASSENGER van
Vehicle	Chevrolet Express/ GMC Savana	Chrysler Town & Country	Dodge Grand Caravan	Ford E-Series
Base price	$29,935/$29,935	$30,930	$21,430	$29,165
Wheelbase	135.0-155.0 in	121.2 in	121.2 in	138.0 in
Engine	5.3L OHV V-8	3.6L DOHC V-6	3.6L DOHC V-6	4.6L SOHC V-8
Opt engines	6.0L V-8 $1890; 6.6L TD V-8 $17,585	None	None	5.4L V-8 $3475; 6.8L V-10 $3895
Power, SAE	280 hp (310, 323, 260)	283 hp	283 hp	225 hp (255,305)
Torque, SAE	296 lb-ft (334, 373, 525)	260 lb-ft	260 lb-ft	286 lb-ft (350,420)
Airbags	Front	Fr, side, f/r curt	Fr, side, f/r curt	Front
Brakes, f/r	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS
Tires	245/70R17	235/60R16	235/60R16	225/75R16
Fuel cap	31.0 gal	20.0 gal	20.0 gal	35.0 gal
Fuel econ, city/hwy	13/17 mpg (11/16,N/A)	17/25 mpg	17/25 mpg	N/A
Seating cap	15	7	7	15
Curb weight	5226 lb	4652 lb	4510 lb	5750 lb
Payload	3461 lb	1400 lb	1540 lb	2825 lb
Cargo cap	216.2-252.9 cu ft	143.8 cu ft	143.8 cu ft	256.5 cu ft
Vehicle	Ford Transit Connect	Honda Odyssey	Kia Sedona	Mercedes-Benz R-Class
Base price	$23,855	$28,580	$25,390	$51,115
Wheelbase	114.6 in	118.1 in	118.9 in	126.6 in
Engine	2.0L DOHC I-4	3.5L SOHC V-6	3.5L DOHC V-6	3.5L DOHC V-6
Opt engines	None	None	None	3.0L TD V-6 $1500
Power, SAE	136 hp	248 hp	271 hp	302 hp (210)
Torque, SAE	128 lb-ft	250 lb-ft	248 lb-ft	273 lb-ft (400)
Airbags	Front	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt
Brakes, f/r	Disc/drum, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS
Tires	205/65R15	235/65R17	225/70R16	255/50R19
Fuel cap	15.4 gal	21.0 gal	21.1 gal	21.1 gal
Fuel econ, city/hwy	22/27 mpg	18-19/27-28 mpg	18/25 mpg	15/19 mpg (18/24)
Seating cap	5	8	7	7
Curb weight	3400 lb	4337 lb	4374 lb	4960 lb
Payload	1600 lb	1500 lb	1532 lb	1635 lb
Cargo cap	129.6 cu ft	148.5 cu ft	141.5 cu ft	87.3 cu ft
Vehicle	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	Nissan NV	Nissan Quest	Toyota Sienna
Base price	$40,800	$25,930	$28,560	$25,370
Wheelbase	144.3, 170.3 in	146.1 in	118.1 in	119.3 in
Engine	3.0L DOHC TD V-6	4.0L DOHC V-6	3.5L DOHC V-6	2.7L DOHC I-4
Opt engines	None	5.6L V-8 $1900	None	3.5L V-6 $1240
Power, SAE	188 hp	261 hp (317)	260 hp	187 hp (265)
Torque, SAE	325 lb-ft	281 lb-ft (385)	240 lb-ft	186 lb-ft (245)
Airbags	Front	Front	Fr, side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt
Brakes, f/r	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS
Tires	245/75R16	245/70R17	225/65R16	235/60R17
Fuel cap	26.4 gal	28.0 gal	20.0 gal	20.0 gal
Fuel econ, city/hwy	N/A	N/A	19/24 mpg	19/24 mpg (17-18/23-25)
Seating cap	12	12	7	8
Curb weight	5700 lb	3049 lb	4371 lb	4275 lb
Payload	2840 lb	3925 lb	1451 lb	1660 lb
Cargo cap	141.3-187.2 cu ft	323.1 cu ft	108.4 cu ft	117.8 cu ft
Vehicle	Volkswagen Routan
Base price	$27,750
Wheelbase	121.2 in
Engine	3.6L DOHC V-6
Opt engines	None
Power, SAE	283 hp
Torque, SAE	260 lb-ft
Airbags	Fr,side,curt,knee
Brakes, f/r	Disc/disc, ABS
Tires	225/65R16
Fuel cap	20.0 gal
Fuel econ, city/hwy	17/25 mpg
Seating cap	7
Curb weight	4494 lb
Payload	1200 lb
Cargo cap	144.4 cu ft

Truck Trend's 2012 Best In Class: Passenger Van

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