1997 GMC Safari SLT review from North America

Air conditioning seems to be a weak point on our Safari, it has gone out several times. After the multiple trips to the dealer early in its life, it was fine for several years. It recently broke from a faulty shrader valve, which leaked the refrigerant out.

Transmission was always a trouble spot with this Safari until it was rebuilt at 150,000. It use to shift so hard between 1st and 2nd that it would chirp the tires.

Many odd early on problems early on, wipers, power windows, sticking accelerator pedal that almost put me into the back of a stopped vehicle.

The dealer service was very bad, always claimed they could not duplicate problematic conditions, but as soon as we picked it up, it still had the same problems it was brought in for.

After my scathing review of this vehicle 5 or 6 years ago which has spawned many comments of frustration and hatred toward the Safari, my outlook on the vehicle has changed.

The Safari's performance and longevity has come to surprise me. It has recently surpassed 172,000 miles, the most of any car we have owned. It still holds perfect oil pressure and the engine has never been apart.

The transmission problems have been cured so far after an independent shop rebuilt the transmission at 150,000 miles.

It has hauled car engines, machinery, 1500 lbs of dirt, my small motorcycle, as well as provided an excellent tent on camping trips. Yeah, it's no speed demon, but I have become accustomed to its pokiness. It's big and somewhat clumsy, but its virtues now outweigh its drawbacks.

Yes it has many rattles and a lot of the cheap interior trim is looking pretty cruddy, but I have come to admire the tough Safari, and oddly enough found myself a little upset when I learned that the Astro/Safari vans have been discontinued. We are looking for a new vehicle soon, and I am planning on removing the interior of the old Safari and using it as a work van/parts hauler for my classic automobile restoration job.