Two of our favorite things about the Montana that you won't find in the nearly identical Chevy Venture and Oldsmobile Silhouette are 1) tires that don't squeal in corners until you're driving at sports sedan speeds, and 2) a steering wheel that's thick and meaty. These two things are directly related to a better driving experience.
In addition, the Montana now comes with the slick integrated video entertainment system that first appeared in the Oldsmobile Silhouette two years ago. If you like what electronics can offer your kids in entertainment and education, this system can change the way you travel.
The Montana is available in two lengths, one with a 112-inch wheelbase, another with a 120-inch wheelbase. All versions are just called Montana, with no suffixes of letters such as SE, LE, and so forth, so expect some confusion when used versions hit the auto shopper ads several years from now. Montana Regular Length retails for $23,805; Montana Extended Length goes for $24,915.
You'll want to spend some time figuring out the best seating arrangement. Seven-passenger seating is standard with two front buckets and two split-folding benches for the middle and rear seating rows. Another seven-passenger version comes with four captains chairs. Eight-passenger seating is available with modular bucket seats in the middle row and a split bench seat in the rear row. There's also a six-passenger version for the short-wheelbase model.
The long-wheelbase model is the only one available with the Montana Vision video entertainment system, which is a $2595 option. This is the model we tested. This minivan offers the same dimensions as the extended-length Chevrolet Venture and Oldsmobile Silhouette.
All models get two sliding passenger doors as standard equipment; all offer an optional curbside power-operated door.
Like the Chevy Venture and Oldsmobile Silhouette, the Montana is powered by a 185-horsepower 3.4-liter V6 engine attached to a four-speed automatic transmission that drives the front wheels. This type of layout is common to all the best-selling minivans. The engine sits in the usual sideways position, which allows maximum use of interior space. The suspension is independent, and the only chassis differences between this minivan and its Olds and Chevy siblings are the tires.
The instrument panel was revised for 2000. The speedometer needle at 75 mph blocks the right turn signal indicator; a gentle chime indicates you've left the indicator on, but you'll miss it if you've got the stereo up. The steering wheel has seek, set, and am/fm radio controls within reach of your left thumb, and volume, mute, and play (for cassettes and CDs) near your right thumb.
Our long-wheelbase model came with two buckets in the front, two in the middle row, and a split bench in the third row that will hold three adults. Head room and elbow room are generous in all seats, yet tall folks' knees tend to ride high in the middle row, the same as they do in the Silhouette and Venture.
The standard bucket seats fold and remove easily. Handy diagrams on the frames underneath the seats instruct you how to unlatch them from the floor. They are among the lightest seats in the minivan market, so removing them won't kill your back. However, they are heavy enough you'll want to convince your teenager to move them across the minivan's floor and into your garage.
Inside you'll notice the seat has a height-adjustment lever, which really aids comfort on long trips. You can completely change your driving position without getting too close or too far from the steering wheel. The fore and aft range of the driver's seat is one of the longest we've sampled, and will probably make room for plus-six-and-a-half-footers. That also means you can make yourself some room in the driver's seat if you have to wait there for the soccer game to end.
