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Chrysler has spent decades perfecting their minivans, a market that they helped to create in the 80’s with the Caravan and Voyager.
While these vehicles have remained practical stalwarts of the people-moving scene for a very long time, there isn’t much that can be done with a minivan in order to make it particularly sexy.
With the 2008 ecoVoyager, Chrysler is hoping to change that and prove that nothing is quite as attractive as ecological responsibility.
The ecoVoyager resembles a standard minivan shape, only somewhat smushed at either end and with the sliding rear doors removed.
Positioned as a mid-size vehicle, the ecoVoyager is powered by an electric motor drawing from a lithium-ion battery. The ecoVoyager seats four, and makes excellent use of the space vacated by the traditional engine and transmission, providing an open passenger area thanks to the battery and engine being located underneath the floor.
The electric engine itself is no slouch, generating 268 horsepower and reaching sixty miles per hour from a standstill in 8.8 seconds. The top speed of the ecoVoyager is 110 miles per hour, although this level of performance comes at a price, with the total range being only 40 miles from a full battery charge.
However, energy from the regenerative braking system and an optional hydrogen fuel cell can increase the range to 300 miles.
The interior of the ecoVoyager hints at its futuristic overtones, with a full-width flat screen situated directly below the windshield.
This screen is divided into 3 sections, with the left and rightmost providing camera images analogous to side mirrors and the middle camera image serving as the rear view mirror.
The driver information center hides any unneeded data until it is required by the driver, and the passenger entertainment system is designed to be equally undistracting, with all screens hidden from driver view and all sound capable of being routed through individual headphone jacks.
From it’s presentation at the Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler seems to have high hopes for the future of its electric car division.
Sharing many of the same electric engine packages, Chrysler and Dodge have covered a full gamut of environmentally conscious offerings, from sporty to sedate.
The ecoVoyager, with it’s 191 inch length is decidedly in the second category, but someone has to build the bread and butter electric cars if they are ever going to achieve any kind of foothold in the marketplace.