2000 Pontiac Montana Interior Review at Automotive.com
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2000 Pontiac Montana Review: Interior

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2000 Pontiac Montana Review

Styling distinguishes this minivan from the look-a-likes.
Interior
The instrument panel was revised for 2000. The speedometer needle at 75 mph blocks the right turn signal indicator; a gentle chime indicates you've left the indicator on, but you'll miss it if you've got the stereo up. The steering wheel has seek, set, and am/fm radio controls within reach of your left thumb, and volume, mute, and play (for cassettes and CDs) near your right thumb.

Our long-wheelbase model came with two buckets in the front, two in the middle row, and a split bench in the third row that will hold three adults. Head room and elbow room are generous in all seats, yet tall folks' knees tend to ride high in the middle row, the same as they do in the Silhouette and Venture.

The standard bucket seats fold and remove easily. Handy diagrams on the frames underneath the seats instruct you how to unlatch them from the floor. They are among the lightest seats in the minivan market, so removing them won't kill your back. However, they are heavy enough you'll want to convince your teenager to move them across the minivan's floor and into your garage.

Inside you'll notice the seat has a height-adjustment lever, which really aids comfort on long trips. You can completely change your driving position without getting too close or too far from the steering wheel. The fore and aft range of the driver's seat is one of the longest we've sampled, and will probably make room for plus-six-and-a-half-footers. That also means you can make yourself some room in the driver's seat if you have to wait there for the soccer game to end.

The front seats themselves hold you securely, but they don't feel like the buckets in a sedan. There are large side bolsters on the backs of the seats, but the seating surface is relatively flat. This makes the van easy to get into, but encourages you to move around on long trips.

The dashboard is neatly arranged, and the gauges are easy to read. The videotape and CD players are down near the floor and require a long reach to change media, however. The MontanaVision system has a 5.6-inch flat-panel color monitor screen that folds down from the ceiling. The front-seat occupants can't see it, a legal requirement. Behind this screen is a ceiling console that houses panels with volume knobs and jacks for headphones. On the left side of the rear ceiling are two knobs for additional rear seat heating and cooling. All of this equipment will keep rear-seaters busy and entertained. What we like best about this system is its integration. Aftermarket systems we've tried tend to be more difficult to use and not as durable. Next Page



2000 Pontiac Montana