Somewhere along the line, the SUV superseded the van as the king size family vehicle of choice. It was bound to happen, really; American have an inherently short attention span and SUV’s have 4 wheel drive with its promise of dirty fun. But as you are undoubtedly noticed, the only dirt most SUVs see is the dust that settles on their mammoth hoods as they sit parked in the underground garages of urban America. A van, on the other hand doesn’t make any advances to your wild side. It won’t impress your neighbor or make your children’s friends beg for a ride to school. What it will do, however, is haul a bunch of stuff, a bunch of people, or both, and it can often serve double duty as a mini motorhome when it’s time to take the family camping. No matter what you plan, Chevy has an Express to suit your needs. These are five passenger vans and five engine choices, depending on which van you select. The G1500 (1/2 ton) comes standard with a 4.3 liter V6, or optional 5.0 liter and 5.7 liter V8 engines.
Regular wheelbase and extended wheelbase G2500 (3/4 ton) and G3500 (1 ton) models get the 5.7 liter V8 standard; the carryover 6.5 liter turbo diesel engine (not to be confused with the new 6.6 liter Duramax diesel that is currently available only in trucks) and the mammoth 8.1 liter gas V8 are optional. All models use the tried and true 4L60-E 4 speed automatic transmission, except for the G3500, which receives the heavier duty 4L80-E transmission.
