2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Silhouette loses the shorter of its two body lengths for 2000 and now carries a maximum of seven passengers, not eight. This is an upscale version of the Chevrolet Venture and Pontiac Montana, which continue to offer regular- and extended-length bodies.
Olds offers GL, GLS, and top-line Premiere trim levels, all with dual sliding side doors. Optional on GL and standard on the others are a power right-side sliding door, rear air conditioning, leather upholstery, and traction control. All have two front-row and two second-row bucket seats and a 3-passenger rear bench seat. The second- and third-row seats fold and remove. Dropped from the options list are integrated second-row child safety seats.
The sole powertrain is a 3.4-liter V6 and automatic transmission. Antilock brakes and front side airbags are standard. Included on Premiere and optional on other models is a touring suspension with automatic load leveling. Exclusive to Premiere is a rear audio/video package with VCR and ceiling-mounted TV screen. Added at midyear to Premiere's standard equipment is GM's OnStar navigation and assistance system
Changes for 2000 to all models include a revised gauge cluster with a dot-matrix data display, new-design audio units with Radio Data System (RDS) capability, and standard second-row reading lamps. Heated front seats are newly optional for GLS and Premier. Silhouette's performance and accommodations are similar to those of like-equipped Ventures.

COMPETITION

Chrysler started the minivan trend back in 1984, and they remain one of our Best Buys today. Though the competition has heated up, we still feel that the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Voyager are two of the best you can buy. They offer all of the creature comforts in a pleasing package at a fair price. Our other Best Buy is the Honda Odyssey. It's a little bit smaller than the Chryslers, but more sporty to drive, and it has a super-convenient flip-and-fold-away rear seat.
Trailing at a close second are the Recommended Chevy Venture and Ford Windstar. Though these vans are comparably priced and offer loads of neat features, we feel they can't match the road manners of our Best Buys.