1997 Chevrolet Astro Base review from North America

The fuel gauge stopped working within the first few months, but, was fixed under warranty.

We have had an axle seal and pinion seal replaced twice, one time under warranty.

The transmission needs to be warmed up for a couple of minutes, when the van has been sitting for more than a couple of hours in minus 25 below weather, before it will engage reverse.

I wonder if any other poster has experienced this difficulty? Any ideas?

We factory ordered as a base, passenger van in 1997. The options we chose included heavy duty suspension, 3:42 axle ratio with the G80 locking axle, upgraded cloth seating and am/fm / cassette with 4 speakers.

The tires that came with the heavy duty suspension were Goodyear GA 235/65-15. The Goodyear tire rep. I dealt with, could not figure out why a truck based van had luxury/touring car tires mounted from the factory. As it turns out neither could we, the tires lasted until 74,000 kilometers and we replaced them with p series 225/70- 15 Michelin LTX M/S light truck tires.

Even though the Michelins are one size down from the Goodyears we have noticed a big improvement in handling, durability and wet/snow traction. Goodyear, apparently are the only manufacturer that make 235/65-15, so we had to either put on 225/70 or 235/70. I was concerned that if we installed 235/70 tires the 70 aspect may cause tire clearance problems in the wheel wells.

The van has been great! It is a real workhorse, capable of towing heavy trailers and has a useful, vehicle payload that approaches if not exceeds a number of full size trucks.

I think that the fact that the Astro is based on a rear wheel drive truck chassis and also designed and sold as a commercial van is an undoubted advantage over it's front wheel drive competition. For the customer who wants more size, towing and payload capacity, the mid sized Astro is the only game in town for this niche customer base.

The van seats 8 passengers. I have looked at a couple of other vans, namely the Venture and Toyota Sienna which are also advertised as having capacity of 8 passengers and I have come away less than impressed with the comparative passenger room offered by these FWD vans.

Highway driving for family vacations has been great. We have cruised comfortably and effortlessly at speeds up to 75-80 mph with a full load.

Our van has the rear panel doors, which I prefer, having had the unfortunate experience of hatch backs bouncing off my head, once the struts wear out.

I guess you can say I'm a dyed in the wool fan of the Astro.