Canadians need not head to Florida to get a bit of Orlando sunshine; they can stay at home and enjoy the Orlando crossover sold only in Canada. General Motors introduced the Orlando a few years ago and featured it at the Detroit Auto Show but after further consideration decided that this compact people mover wouldn't be a big seller in the United States, so they limited it to north of the border. Canadians on the other hand are open to smaller vehicles, especially ones that can deliver practical functions, like moving up to seven people. The main competitors for this vehicle are the best selling Dodge Journey, the Mazda5 and Kia Rondo.
The Skin
Families might want an all-around vehicle to fulfill many functions and one of the most practical options is a minivan, but the design and stigma associated with these boxy vehicles has kept some buyers away. Car companies know this, so a more masculine, eye-pleasing crossover can be an alternative. The Orlando is considered a compact crossover, based on the same platform as the award winning Chevrolet Cruze sedan. By grafting a longer, taller wagon design onto this very good product offers an alternative to not just a van but also a sedan. The design is rather simple but well executed. The side windows tapper down the vehicle to provide a sense of motion and the back has a centre reverse light, which looks similar to the Chevrolet Volt's. The hatch is large and the boxy back-end provides a useful opening to load cargo. When the third row of seats are up, the cargo space is limited, the real function comes when this is used as a 5-seater.
Barry 6:54 AM on October 4, 2012 Wow, this vehicle is listed as a turbo charged 2.4 cylinder putting out 174 horsepower. Are you sure? Thats barely more HP than the Criuse's 1.4 litre turbo. I was hoping for at least 230 HP. and 250 tourqe fron a 2.4 direct injected turbo 4. Iguess I will put this Orlando on my List and go hunting down some subarus. (lol) Thanks for the info. Barry
Hannah Nuttall 10:42 AM on August 10, 2012 We are retired and currently drive convertible vehicles one Eclipse and 1 Audi S 5, we love both cars, but after this past weekend when our kids came to visit we had to drive both vehicles everywhere, not enough room in one vehicle. We would like to sell our Eclipse ( even though this breaks my heart as I love this car) and purchase an SUV, we would like something with great gas mileage, as gas keeps going up, seats at least 6 people, has A/C and a few other bells ans whistles and is under $30,000, we would probably drive this to California in winter. What can you suggest. Thank you Hannah
Motormouth.ca says: 1:19 PM on August 11, 2012 The problem is that most compact SUV;s seat 5 people, not six. This means you will have to buy a bigger vehicle and those will be more than $30,000. Have you thought of a van?? If you like a small crossover type vehicle, then the Chevy Orlando is a good choice.
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