Consumer Guide's Impressions of the 2011 Chevy Orlando

Call it a mini-minivan, a tall compact wagon, or a small crossover SUV, but Chevy is cooking up a seven-seat people mover that could help many families cope with rising gas prices and not cramp their lifestyle.

What We Know About the 2011 Chevy Orlando

Minivans aren't as "mini" as they used to be--nor as popular either. Yet smaller models have been a virtual no-sale in these United States. Remember the Nissan Axxess, Mitsubishi Expo and Mazda MPV? We thought not

Things are different in Europe, where consumers love the compact people movers generally termed monocabs, multi-purpose vehicles, or MPVs (sorry, Mazda). Among the most popular of these popular mini-minivans is General Motors' seven-seat Opel/Vauxhall Zafira, which is also sold in Brazil under the Chevy banner.

The Zafira was introduced back in 2001 and heavily updated in '05. A face-lifted version with additional powertrain choices hit European dealers in February 2008. But here's the kicker. As part of GM's recently signed contract with the United Auto Workers, a variant of an upcoming redesigned Zafira may be built in the U.S. and will sold here starting in 2011 as an addition to the Chevy lineup. Dubbed Orlando, the new Chevy version will have bolder styling than its Opel cousin, but the basic layout will closely mirror the Zafira. The 2011 Chevy Orlando will likely be marketed as a thrifty compact crossover SUV, not a small minivan. It's the same approach used for the only other such vehicles on the American scene, the Mazda 5 and KiaRondo.

Reports say the new Chevy people mover, codenamed MPV-7, will be based on GM's new front-wheel drive Global Compact Vehicle Architecture that is also known as "Delta 2." This is the same platform that underpins the upcoming 2011 Chevy Cruze and 2011 Chevy Volt. The next-generation Opel/Vauxhall Astra is also expected to be built on the Delta 2 platform. The 2011 Chevy Orlando made its debut at the 2008 Paris Auto Show in early October, the same show where the Chevy Cruze debuted.

In America, the 2011 Chevy Orlando will slot beneath Chevy's Traverse, a midsize crossover sharing GM's Lambda platform with the BuickEnclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, and the Chevy Equinox. Where the current Chevy HHR fits into this picture is unknown. Elsewhere, the new Chevy Orlando will likely replace the current Daewoo-based Chevy Tacuma.