GMC Safari

The GMC Safari was a truck-based rear-drive "minivan" that was a corporate twin to the Chevrolet Astro introduced in 1985. The Safari had a different grille design than the Astro, but they were otherwise identical. The Safari lasted all the way until the end of 2005 with only minimal changes.

An interesting fact about the Safari is that in 1987, Pontiac dropped the Parisienne name on its full-size, rear drive station wagon model and called it, simply, Safari. So, from 1987 until 1990, GM had 2 different vehicle offerings from 2 different makes (Pontiac and GMC) with the same model name.

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Recent Changes
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Styles and Major Options
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Pricing
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Gas Mileage
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As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Engine
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Performance
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Reliability
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Safety
The IIHS tested the Chevrolet Astro (twin of the Safari) and got an overall rating of "Poor" because the seat buckled on the floor tips froward and while the air bag still manages to cushion the head the footwell area is rammed back as much as 15 inches. Here are some comments from IIHS.

Collapse of the occupant compartment left little survival space for the driver. The dummy's head hit the steering wheel through the deflating airbag because of steering wheel movement and buckling of the floor under the driver seat. The dummy's left knee sustained high forces as it jammed against the knee bolster.

These are the NHTSA results for the Safari (2005)

SLT AWD Passenger, SLE AWD Passenger and Base AWD passenger got 3 stars driver and 4 stars passenger. The Side impact ratings for SLT AWD Passenger, SLE AWD Passenger and Base AWD passenger got 5 stars on both front and rear seats.

Photos
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Colors
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Main Competitors
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Hybrid Models
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Unique Attributes
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Interior
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Resale Values
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Criticisms
Most criticisms go to the IIHS vehicle frontal offset test that was tested on 1996 because it recieved a poor. This slowed down sales.

Generations
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First Generation/Origins (1985–1994)
This is the first GM vehicle to enter the minivan market. It's an all new vehicle with apperently "modern instrumentation" for the '80s and could seat up to 8 passengers not 7 like main competitors including the '86 Aerostar. This vehicle was available in both cargo and passengers versions. It started out as a RWD (rear wheel drive) which was useful for Heavy Duty work but didn't have the feeling as a normal car. This car was first powered with a 2.5L Tech IV 98 hp (73 kW) I4 ngine and then upgraded to a 4.3L 4300 165 hp (123 kW) V6 engine. then an optional engine was added to the Astro and Safaris. This was the 4.3L 4300 200 hp (150 kW) V6 engine with the most horsepower than any in the minivan market. The van came in both normal and extended versions. It was a 5 door van. In 1994 the Chevy/GMC Astro/Safari came to the last year of first gen. and the first year to introduce an air bag.

Worldwide
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Design quirks and oddities
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Awards
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