2001 Chevrolet Astro LS review from North America

The Astro has performed flawlessly for the first 20,000 miles.

We looked at a lot of Mini-Vans before deciding on the Astro. What sold us was the fact that it's built on a truck frame making the interior extremely spacious. Between car-pooling our kids and their friends to and from school and sports, our Astro gets quite a workout around town, which unfortunately doesn't yield the best gas mileage, but it's what you'd expect for a vehicle this size.

Where the Astro really excels is on the freeway. We recently drove it from San Diego to Albany, Oregon on a 12 day trip. Fully loaded, with luggage and our two kids, the Astro was a real pleasure on the road. The 4.3L V6 handled even the steepest grades with realtive ease, all the while delivering an exceptionally smooth, comfortable ride. The gas mileage on the open road was also a pleasant surprise, sometimes exceeding 23 MPG.

Another area where the Astro gets an A+ is in the amount of cargo space. Weather it be camping, vacation travel, or just handling my wife's business items, we have never been pressed for space, nor did we find ourselves "jamming and cramming" to get the doors shut. We chose the two vertical door model for ease of loading & unloading. I'd highly recommend this model if you find yourself in and out of the cargo area a lot.

There aren't a lot of options available with the Astro. The ones on the lot come with pretty much everything you'd ever need. I highly recommend getting the rear air-conditioning as an option. In the Astro, the side windows in the very back do not open like some vans, so it can tend to get a bit stuffy back there. The rear air conditioner really keeps the back of the cabin ventilated.