Last year, someone at General Motors figured out that the new Chevrolet Orlando seven-passenger multi-purpose vehicle isn't the right product for the United States. So the compact Mazda5 competitor was scrubbed from 2012 model year plans here, despite the hotbed of activity in that segment.
Come to think of it, Ford came to the same conclusion for its Focus-based C-Max and has decided to sell its Mazda5 competitor here only as low-volume-by-popular-demand hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. In the U.S., the C-Max will be as distinctively green as the Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt. Goodbye hotbed.
As for that Chevrolet Orlando, the South Korean-built MPV is just right for Asia, Europe and Canada. After all, our friendly neighbors to the north still put the Queen's picture on its paper money, use coins called "loonies" and "twoonies" for anything less than $5 and officially speak two languages. See "South Park" for other cultural differences. See Trey Parker & Matt Stone's "The Book of Mormons" for a unique take on the name, "Orlando."
Canada is the place that embraced the 1962 Chevy II, which was no more than a bottom-scraping compact car in the United States, as the split-grilled Acadian Beaumont family car sold in Pontiac dealerships.
"Here is a car excitingly new and refreshingly different, created by General Motors to satisfy, and satisfy completely, those Canadians who want moderate, yet family-sized transportation with ample room for six adults," the '62 Acadian brochure [its emphasis] crows, courtesy oldcarbrochures.com
So even in a country that's bigger than the United States and has much, much more space with one-tenth of our population level, families don't feel compelled to carry everything and everyone with them, the way Americans do. If they think "moderate," we think BIG.
Canada's gas prices are significantly higher, and cars generally cost more, though the relatively healthy economy and rise in the Canadian dollar's value has tempered that. Still, where we buy Ford F-150s and Toyota Camrys, Canadians tend to buy Dodge Grand Caravans and Honda Civics. Mazda elected to import its Mazda2 to the U.S. only because it had already planned to import the subcompact to Canada.
This civics lesson is a way to explain why GM wisely chose to sell the Chevy Orlando north, and not south, of the 49th Parallel. Chevrolet offered short, very controlled drives of its Orlando as part of its three-day press extravaganza to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The conclusion is, if you think the biggest difference is Canada's obsession with hockey, think again. It's like a whole different country up there.
The MPV is light, at 3550 pounds, and its 174 horsepower 2.4-liter gas direct-injection four provides adequate power for freeway traffic-like merging. Steering is a bit on the light side, and it's pretty numb, though the MPV feels like it can get around corners pretty well and it's comfortable on smooth proving grounds roads. It's not Buick Verano-quiet, but about average for this size of a tall MPV or crossover. Refinement isn't among the best of Chevrolet's considerably improved lineup, though it's better than most Chevys were a few short years ago.
Price range is CDN$21,490 to CDN$31,230, which on October 11 was the equivalent of $20,895 to $30,365, including delivery, covering LS, LT and LTZ trim levels. I tried the popular LT.
At 183.7 inches long on a 108.7-inch wheelbase, the Orlando is 0.7 inches longer, on a 1.3-inch shorter wheelbase than the Acadia Beaumont and Invader of 50 years ago, though at 72.2 inches, it's about 17 inches taller than either the Beaumont sedan or wagon. The Acadias carry only six passengers to the Orlando's seven.
It was planned as a replacement for the five-passenger Chevy HHR when it was still considered for the U.S. market. With its squared-off rear-shoulders, the Chevy Orlando looks like a taller, more space-efficient, de-flavorized HHR.
Controls are logically arranged and the center stack is useful without feeling busy, though the plastics and gloss also aren't quite up to the standards that Cruze, Malibu and Equinox have set in the past four years.
The third row of seats is for teenagers and younger kids, with odd combo grabhandles/cupholders encroaching in from the door panels. There's enough legroom though, with low, thin-cushioned seats that force one's knees up toward one's chin. The narrowed two-position third-row seat probably will have you rubbing elbows with a fellow third-row passenger, and if you're a few inches south of six feet tall, headroom is barely adequate.
That's with a cramped second row, which has a "theater"-style three-passenger seat high up off the floor. This is a package designed for space conserving, size-conscious Asians, Europeans, and - who knew? -- Canadians. Chevrolet of Canada sells the Orlando alongside the Equinox and Traverse crossovers, whereas we get only the much more nicely finished Equinox and the much larger Traverse.
Need a third row? Spread out in a Traverse. No need to fold up your family into the Orlando. The Equinox is for singles and couples with bikes, kayaks and skis, and for small families unconcerned with the idea of becoming the neighborhood carpool kings and queens.
The 2011 Chervrolet Orlando, when equipped with the optional six-speed automatic, gets the equivalent of 22.5-mpg U.S. city/34.1-mpg U.S. highway on Canada's answer to the EPA cycle. Add one mile per imperial gallon city and highway if you opt for the six-speed manual transmission.
Canada has its own fuel mileage testing cycle, of course. While the Orlando's numbers look good, they're short of the 25.8-mpg city/38.3-mpg highway (Canada) estimates for a front-drive Equinox with the same 2.4-liter engine and six-speed automatic. The much larger Traverse is rated the equivalent of 18.3-mpg/28.3-mpg in the Great White North.
So credit Chevrolet (and Ford) for figuring out that Americans aren't interested in folding their families into the Orlando (and C-Max). Mazda sells about 15,000-20,000 of its more minivan-like Mazda5 annually and that should be enough to fulfill U.S. demand all year long. The Chevy Equinox and Ford Escape are to us what four-door compact hatchbacks are to the Western European market; versatile do-all vehicles for young families on budgets. Parents who feel compelled to become suburban bus drivers at the first sign of pregnancy can look to the Chevy Traverse, Mazda CX-9, and their ilk, and minivans. Yes, many young couples have asked me which minivan they should buy while expecting their first children. That's because we are Americans, and one way or another, we think big.
