This relates to the 99 models of both vans. I accompanied my boss and two other colleagues to Chicago and the surrounding area, on a marketing trip and to visit some steelworks. The first leg, I can't recall the airport, we rented a Windstar, I did most of the driving because the others weren't very good at long distance work. I already had an Aero so I was quite interested in the Windstar. I drove the Windy about 800 miles around the Ohio Valley, fortunately for me the sales guy had brought along a pocket radar detector and it saved me from being nailed. The area is infested by speed cops. I quite liked driving the Windstar, I preferred it to my Aero because it was much quieter, and the pickup of the 3.8 was quite adequate even with 5 and a load of luggage on board. At O'Hare, we picked up a Transsport, also a 3.8 as I recall. This time I did all the driving. By now I was running a detailed review of these things, with a view to replacing the Aero. I liked the looks of the Transsport more than the Windstar. The Transsport went like a rocket compared to the Windstar. Much better acceleration, cruised more easily at 75 with a full load, had better visibility, seemed roomier and more comfortable all around. I was surprised by auto-on headlights and suchlike gimmicks. All in all, I really enjoyed driving it.

Sounds nice. The one big gotcha with the GM FWD minivans is crash survivability. The Windstars stand up much better to collisions and are supposed to do a better job of occupant protection. The GM jobs fold up like tin cans. Rad