Chex
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Couldn't get pics to show up in the thread, so here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26817610@N02/sets/72157629887617549/
The guy from the dealership called DH to let him know that the NV that his neighbor ordered was in and we could come take a quick peek if we wanted. We were in a hurry because he was about to call the owner to let him know it was there and he was sure they'd come right away to pick it up. So I didn't get a ton of pics, but we got to take it for a short test-drive around a couple of blocks. DH and I both drove it. He thought it was a WAY better drive than our Chevy Express. I thought it was great, but I'm not nearly as picky as DH is in that regard. (He says it is "tighter," has a smoother ride, and is much quieter than our van. He said it still feels big, but that's because it is.
) The turning radius is absolutely amazing for a van that size. I thought our Chevy had a great turning radius, but I couldn't believe the small circle I was able to make in the NV!
Because we were in a hurry, we just took DS2 and a Radian to try out in it. With the angle adjuster, we have the Radian RF behind the driver in our current set-up, and I was hoping we'd be able to do the same in the NV. And we were! I was worried because of that post in the other thread talking about the part that sticks out into that position. And it's true. It's the column there that's between the driver seat and the seat behind it. And it is a LARGE column. I'm not sure if you could get a much wider seat in there RF.
I also tried the RN RF in the 3rd row to see if there was enough space between the benches. It felt like a good install, but I didn't remove the headrest in the seat in front of it to see if it was a TRULY good install. The angle adjuster was most definitely needed. (So glad they came out with those!)
The seats are comfortable! Way more comfy than the bench seats in our van (obviously). But even the 2 captain's chairs up front were way more comfy.
LATCH: There are 3 full sets of LATCH. They are all in the same position in each row. For the 2 3-person benches, it's the middle seat. For the back row, it's the 2nd from the driver's side. There are also 2 more TAs on each of the 1-person seats on the 3-person benches. (So the passenger side seats on the first 2 benches.)
DH and I each got in one of the back rows and had a good amount of legroom (again, more than our Chevy). I'm 5'10" and there's a pic of me in the 3rd row. I also got a pic of me on the side of the van by the engine so that you can see how long the engine portion is. It's definitely longer than the Chevy, but I was worried it'd be similar to an Expedition or Suburban, but I don't think it was. There's also a pic of the back all the way open. (The back doors fold nearly all the way back.) There's less cargo room than in our Chevy. That was honestly one of the only "negatives." But it probably has a similar amount of space in the back, if not more, than the 15-passenger vans.
I'm attaching 4 pics. That's all we got. And they're not great because they were just taken on DH's iPhone.
BUT!!! The dealership is getting another NV in in the next few days and the salesman said he'd call us to let us come see it as well. DH told him he wanted to take it on the freeway and have one of us sit in the back to see how the ride is back there. So let me know if you have any other questions or if there are any other pics you want me to take. I'll take our good camera (not that I know how to use it well) and try to get shots of whatever you want to see. I also got a detailed brochure about them with all of the specs and features and the breakdown of each package. So I can answer some of those questions as well.
Sooooooooo......DH was so impressed that we actually ordered one! I thought DH would be a totally tough sell! But he was very happy with what he saw! And he's quite happy that it will tow our trailer much easier than our Chevy, lol. I was kind of leaning toward the brown (java), but DH and the kids all voted red, so I guess we're going with red. (It was my 2nd pick anyway...I was having a hard time deciding which I liked best.) The van coming into the dealership later this week will be red, so I'm excited to see the color in person.
The salesman can't actually order ours until the first week of May and then it won't come in until the beginning of July! Ack! I don't know how I'll stand waiting that long!
The guy from the dealership called DH to let him know that the NV that his neighbor ordered was in and we could come take a quick peek if we wanted. We were in a hurry because he was about to call the owner to let him know it was there and he was sure they'd come right away to pick it up. So I didn't get a ton of pics, but we got to take it for a short test-drive around a couple of blocks. DH and I both drove it. He thought it was a WAY better drive than our Chevy Express. I thought it was great, but I'm not nearly as picky as DH is in that regard. (He says it is "tighter," has a smoother ride, and is much quieter than our van. He said it still feels big, but that's because it is.
) The turning radius is absolutely amazing for a van that size. I thought our Chevy had a great turning radius, but I couldn't believe the small circle I was able to make in the NV!Because we were in a hurry, we just took DS2 and a Radian to try out in it. With the angle adjuster, we have the Radian RF behind the driver in our current set-up, and I was hoping we'd be able to do the same in the NV. And we were! I was worried because of that post in the other thread talking about the part that sticks out into that position. And it's true. It's the column there that's between the driver seat and the seat behind it. And it is a LARGE column. I'm not sure if you could get a much wider seat in there RF.
I also tried the RN RF in the 3rd row to see if there was enough space between the benches. It felt like a good install, but I didn't remove the headrest in the seat in front of it to see if it was a TRULY good install. The angle adjuster was most definitely needed. (So glad they came out with those!)
The seats are comfortable! Way more comfy than the bench seats in our van (obviously). But even the 2 captain's chairs up front were way more comfy.
LATCH: There are 3 full sets of LATCH. They are all in the same position in each row. For the 2 3-person benches, it's the middle seat. For the back row, it's the 2nd from the driver's side. There are also 2 more TAs on each of the 1-person seats on the 3-person benches. (So the passenger side seats on the first 2 benches.)
DH and I each got in one of the back rows and had a good amount of legroom (again, more than our Chevy). I'm 5'10" and there's a pic of me in the 3rd row. I also got a pic of me on the side of the van by the engine so that you can see how long the engine portion is. It's definitely longer than the Chevy, but I was worried it'd be similar to an Expedition or Suburban, but I don't think it was. There's also a pic of the back all the way open. (The back doors fold nearly all the way back.) There's less cargo room than in our Chevy. That was honestly one of the only "negatives." But it probably has a similar amount of space in the back, if not more, than the 15-passenger vans.
I'm attaching 4 pics. That's all we got. And they're not great because they were just taken on DH's iPhone.
BUT!!! The dealership is getting another NV in in the next few days and the salesman said he'd call us to let us come see it as well. DH told him he wanted to take it on the freeway and have one of us sit in the back to see how the ride is back there. So let me know if you have any other questions or if there are any other pics you want me to take. I'll take our good camera (not that I know how to use it well
) and try to get shots of whatever you want to see. I also got a detailed brochure about them with all of the specs and features and the breakdown of each package. So I can answer some of those questions as well.Sooooooooo......DH was so impressed that we actually ordered one!
I thought DH would be a totally tough sell! But he was very happy with what he saw! And he's quite happy that it will tow our trailer much easier than our Chevy, lol. I was kind of leaning toward the brown (java), but DH and the kids all voted red, so I guess we're going with red. (It was my 2nd pick anyway...I was having a hard time deciding which I liked best.) The van coming into the dealership later this week will be red, so I'm excited to see the color in person.The salesman can't actually order ours until the first week of May and then it won't come in until the beginning of July! Ack! I don't know how I'll stand waiting that long!
