Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant-53
I ran a comparison of new minivans on the market. They all seem to be 3.5L V6 with auto trans and are rated at 25-27 mpg highway. Does anyone have a 4 cyl. 5 spd van for comparison? The latest Challenger 3.6L with 7 spd automatic is rated at 30 mpg hwy. One could hope for a diesel van with a low Cd to get 40 mpg. A current model getting 25 mpg given our other successes should be capable of double that; half from aero reduction and half from driving technique.
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The Challenger actually has an 8 speed (compared to the vans 6), more efficient RWD and exhaust, better CD and less frontal area then the van although the motors are the same. So 30 isn't that great compared to 27 especially considering the room in the Challenger you give up.
Mazda was making a bit smaller van with a manual and a 4 cylinder but it wasn't a big gain either. They do make lots of diesel minivans overseas, I think even the Dodge but they called it a Lancia. I have also seen some VW TDI conversions as well.