40 years of Chrysler ‘Minivans’: inventor and perseverer

Is Chrysler the inventor of the MPV? That just depends on your definition. After all, Volkswagen’s T1 also has quite a few space car features, just like the Fiat 600 Multipla and the Honda Civic Shuttle, Nissan Prairie and Mitsubishi Space Wagon. Yet it is widely accepted that Chrysler’s ‘minivans’ and the Renault Espace were a turning point in this field, cars that were unlike any other. And the very first in that category was the Chrysler, the first of which rolled off the production line on October 2, 1983 at Windsor Assembly, across the water and just southeast (!) of Chrysler’s ‘hometown’ Detroit.

Renault and AMC

The space cars from Chrysler and Renault are often mentioned in the same breath, because they are always the ultimate competitors. Yet there is another link between the two, namely a kind of distant family bond. In the early 1980s, Renault was still the owner of AMC (American Motors Corporation), the brand that brought us, among other things, the AMC Pacer. That brand was taken over in 1987 by … Chrysler, which, as part of that deal, also exported the Renault 21 to the US, where it was marketed as the Eagle Medallion.

However, this story becomes even more salient. The first Renault Espace was developed by Matra, which would remain responsible for building Espaces for decades. Matra was part of a huge series of French and British brands that were merged into a European division of Chrysler from 1967 onwards. This Chrysler Europe was sold to PSA Peugeot Citroën in 1978, but Matra did not like that and sold it, including the designs and plans for what would later become the Espace, to Renault.

Lee Iacocca

A similar scenario was unfolding across the ocean. The first sketches for what would later become the Voyager were not put on paper at Chrysler, but at Ford. Legendary CEO Lee Iacocca switched from Ford to Chrysler in 1978 and, you guessed it, took with him the plans for the new family vehicle.

What exactly was that vehicle supposed to look like? The idea was that this car would combine the best qualities of a passenger car and a real van. So it had to offer the height, space and practicality of a van, but combined with the silence, comfort and luxury of a sedan or station wagon. Moreover, the Minivan – the name says it all – had to be slightly smaller than a regular ‘van’, so that it could fit in a normal garage, unlike such a van. That was important, because the minivan had to and would replace the station wagon as the ‘vehicle of choice’ for American families.

Generation 1: angular, comfortable and spacious. Here as Plymouth Voyager.

Minivan vs. MPV

The name ‘minivan’ is important, because they don’t have ‘MPV’ in the US. That is not the only major difference between both continents when it comes to these ‘passenger vans’. In Europe we know Chrysler’s space car as the Chrysler Voyager, but it was never called that in the US until 2001. Chrysler’s first minivan was a Plymouth Voyager, which was sold alongside sister model Dodge Caravan. Only in the last year of this first, square generation was there a version from Chrysler itself, the Chrysler Town & Country. This Town & Country was more luxurious than the rest and always ‘long’, while Dodge and Plymouth offered the choice between regular versions and longer ‘Grand’ variations from 1987 onwards.

Generation 2 (1991-1995), as Chrysler Town & Country.

Name shifting would always remain a theme with this model series, and we wouldn’t dare expect anything else from the Americans. Generation two (1991) was in many ways very similar to the original model, but everything changed from 1995 onwards. More complete, especially with a carriage that was completely ready for the turn of the century due to its woolly shapes. Generation four arrived immediately afterwards, and only this model would be known for the first time in the US as the ‘Chrysler Voyager’. After the disappearance of the Plymouth brand in 2001, the Plymouth Voyager was briefly resold as the Chrysler Voyager, as a short and relatively bare alternative to the more expensive, more luxurious and longer Town&Country. This generation of the Chrysler/Dodge introduced the ‘Stow&Go’ seating system that Chrysler has become famous for. This means that all seats, usually in a 2-2-3 seven-seater configuration, can be folded seamlessly into the floor. The result: a huge open cargo hold, without having to drag heavy chairs (as in most European alternatives).

The first five generations: from angular (1 & 2) to rounded (3 & 4) and back to angular (5, far right).

Volkswagen and Lancia

Can you no longer see the forest because of the names? Then sit back and enjoy it, because generation five made it more colorful than ever. With this edition, Chrysler returned to the square design of the original generations, albeit of course in a new, modern form. The original, ‘short’ body variant was abandoned and the car was only available in one, 5.14 meter long version. Make no mistake: there was still more than enough variety. In addition to Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country and Chrysler Grand Voyager (Europe), variants with less obvious names also appeared this time. How about the Lancia Voyager, which replaced the Chrysler Grand Voyager in Europe from 2011 when that brand decided to call it a day? Perhaps even stranger the Volkswagen Routan. Yes: a Chrysler-based Volkswagen! The Routan was a Grand Caravan with a clearly different front and rear, but could still barely disguise its American base. Anyone who does not believe that the European and American views on the MPV/minivan have grown somewhat apart over the years should take a closer look at this car. Really, this is a lot different than a Sharan! The Routan was never used in Europe and was discontinued in North America after one generation.

The Chrysler Pacifica in its most current, facelifted form.

Overtaken by the SUV

During the life of the fifth generation, it had long been clear to Chrysler that not the minivan, but the SUV had now become the ‘preferred supplier’ of transportation for American families. Anyone who has ever visited the US knows that the role of the luxury passenger bus is far from over. ‘Old’ Grand Caravans and Town & Country’s are still on every street corner, just like the latest generation of this series. That model appeared in 2016 and does everything differently than before. For example, it was never available as a Dodge, because that ‘budget division’ stuck with the well-known Grand Caravan. Furthermore, the sixth generation was never called Town & Country, but was the Chrysler Pacifica from the start. Yet this car, which is also available as a plug-in hybrid, is a genuine Chrysler minivan in every way. Very large, very spacious, very luxurious and of course with ‘Stow & Go’ and many other features that make this the ultimate family car. Since 2019, the same car has also been available again as the Chrysler Voyager, as a successor to the Dodge Grand Caravan, which ceased operations in 2020. The market for these vehicles is no longer what it used to be, but Chrysler’s space giants have become an indispensable part of the American automotive landscape.