Note: Epinions has just moved this to the incorrect category. Ours is a 95 Safari, and not the 2000 model.


Before we got the Safari, we looked at dozens of models of vans. Many people think a van is a van and they all look alike. Wrong! The Safari is the best I've seen it this category.

I'm not an expert on vans. My husband can claim that. I was just along to make sure we got something we both liked. But I can tell in layman's terms what I love about our van.

So safe, we bought another!

This is our second Safari. The first one survived a head on collision with a very large old Cadillac. The only thing that happened was the front got crunched a bit. The safety is a tremendous plus. Some vans have windshields which angle towards the driver and that's not good in a crash. Those types also have a pointed front end which would have caused us serious injury if we were hit in one. These bumpers are not plastic. That would not have been a good situation in our accident. What makes it so safe is that it has two metal struts which extend from the front bumper to the rear which absorb much impact in head on collisions. The insurance company did total it, although the only problem was the dented front end. So we got another Safari almost exactly the same.

Lots of Storage

The thing I loved about the old Safari was the middle bucket seats. It gave so much room and access to the rear. Middle bucket seats are not features that are found in very many models. That's one good thing about these vans. This one has a bench seat in the middle. The good thing about it is it give the option of removing either that seat or the rear seat when we go on long trips. It leaves a tremendous amount of floor space for luggage and for relaxing in the back when we stop to rest. There is plenty of room for our family of four to stretch out and sit back there. The van comfortably seats 8.

This van has lots of storage compartments along the walls and even has a console on the ceiling. But the best feature is the lift up hatch door. There are two regular closing doors in back with a lift up hatch above them. If you are just loading groceries or something, all you have to do is pop up the hatch. Opening the doors and the hatch gives a very large opening for items such as furniture if you need it. There is space for hauling loads up to 8 feet long.

Other great features

The other features include automatic steering, power windows and mirrors, power locks, driver side airbag, rear wheel drive, 4.3L V6 engine,cruise control, and of course, air conditioning.

Low manintenance

As for maintenance, my husband is a mechanic and he has not had to fix anything on this van in the time we have had it. For convenience, he did put on an automatic remote starter, though. Of course the gas mileage is not what you would get with a car, but for a van, it's average.

Those are just a few of the things I love about this van. And believe me, I've looked at a lot of vans!