CHRYSLER VOYAGERTiming chain or Belt?

The Chrysler Voyager is a minivan (D-segment in Europe) from the American automaker Chrysler.

The first generation Chrysler Voyager model was released in 1988 as a rebadged version of the Dodge Caravan, which was sold in the United States. This would serve as the basis for the various generations of the Voyager. However, its evolution also depended on the Plymouth Voyager and the Chrysler Town & Country. This first version used the Chrysler S platform. It fitted only large displacement in-line 4-cylinder gasoline engines and a Mitsubishi-derived V6. The model arrived in Europe in 1988 as a rebadged Dodge Caravan, only with fewer engines available.

The second generation would arrive in 1991. It used a more advanced platform (Chrysler AS Platform) and included turbo diesel versions developed by VM Motori. The design followed suit as a 3-door “minivan”.

From the third generation onwards, important changes took place due to the fact that Chrysler Corporation became DaimlerChrysler AG. The model was launched in 1996 and Daimler would become a shareholder 2 years later. It was sold as a 3-door minivan as well as a 4-door minivan, with short and long wheelbase models.

At the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth generation, DaimlerChrysler decided to get rid of the Playmouth brand in 2001, dropping the Plymouth Voyager with it. In the U.S., however, the small version of the Chrysler Voyager (SWB or short wheelbase) replaced the Plymouth Voyager, and in 2003 only the Town & Country model (known in Europe as Grand Voyager) and the Dodge variants remained. Despite being a fairly successful model in sales, the large version scored rather poorly in EuroNCAP safety tests. The short version scored better overall. They were produced on Chrysler’s RG and RS platforms.

In 2008, the fifth generation of the Voyager arrived. This model aimed to position itself as a luxury MPV. It was sold as Grand Voyager in the European market only, a version of the American Town & Country. It was produced on the Chrysler RT platform and attracted the attention even of Volkswagen, which wanted to enter the American market with the Volkswagen Routan, a variant of the Grand Voyager with a different bodywork and whose development has nothing to do with the Volkswagen Sharan. The model would also be sold as RAM Cargo Van and Lancia Voyager from 2011, after the first restyling and the entry of FCA.

The sixth and current generation Chrysler Voyager is nothing more than a low-end variant of the Chrysler Pacifica and arrived on the market in late 2020. Already within the Stellantis conglomerate, the group ended production of the Dodge Grand Caravan, making the Voyager the entry-level minivan of what remains of the former FCA group.