Aerostar Van vs Astro/Safari

[Cameron]

I'm in the market for a mini-van and can't decide between the Ford or a
Gm/Chev Safari/Astro.

My father has a '93 Aerostar, 4wd, with the bigger (4 litre?) engine and has
had no problems with it. He still has the original tires on it!

Any commments on either make are welcome. I've driven both and prefer rear
wheel drive.

Thanks, Cameron

[Lmo5466]

Cameron, I am driving an Astro Van right now. I have allmost 200K on it.
(Limousine Service)

I think the biggest difference between the vans are luggage space, and
suspension. I can load my van to the gills and still have loads of power from
my 4.3 V-6. Go with the Chevy!

Paul

[Jay Riggs]

The company where I work has had the following vehicles:

'87 Aerostar RWD 120000mi: 3 trannys in 2 years, could not carry heavy loads
well.
'95 Aerostar 4WD 80000mi: warped heads after 1 year.
'91 AstroRWD 145000mi: some vibration at highway speeds, good power, good load
capacity. Lower MPG than expected.
92 SafariRWD 240000mi: Could and would carry and tow anything. Finally lost
transmission.
92 SafariRWD 190000mi: Getting a little tired, still runs well

Based on our company's overall experiences, I ended up purchasing a '93
AstroAWD for our family's use. This vehicle has incredible traction on snow &
ice, has great power and room. I get about 19MPG or so on the highway. It had
a bad vibration around 40MPH or so, new idler arms took care of that. It has
126000mi, and I expect to get a lot more out of it.

Given a choice between the two, I would not hesitate to choose the Astro/Safari
over the Aerostar...
Regards to all, J

[Jim Johnson]

Jay Riggs wrote:

> The company where I work has had the following vehicles:
>
> '87 Aerostar RWD 120000mi: 3 trannys in 2 years, could not carry heavy loads
> well.
> '95 Aerostar 4WD 80000mi: warped heads after 1 year.

Then there was my '86 Aerostar: 3.0-L V-6, automatic, A/C. I put almost 100,000
miles on it in four years. It made four round trips NJ-Florida at extralegal
speeds, carried several heavy loads with no problems. It averaged 23 MPG and
remained trouble-free the entire time. The only reason I got rid of it when I did
was because in June & July, 1990, Ford was offering financing at 0.8% interest on
new Probes, and I just HAD to have a Probe GT. I still have the Probe. :-)
--
Jim J.