1995 GMC Savana 4.3

Vehicle Overview

GMC built this utility-van-based vehicle for many friends, big families, or shuttle used since the mid-’90s to replace the Vandura.

The Savana was built on the backbone of a truck, with a welded ladder-chassis underneath. It was available in different lengths, shapes, or cutaway versions for conversion vans. Its long wheelbase and the heavy-duty underpinnings made it ideal for anyone, from a contractor team to a church bus.

Its front fascia resembled the face of a GMC pickup-truck, with its dual rectangular headlights at the front and the squared black grille in the middle. The wrapped-around bumpers were made out of metal with some rubber on top. It was available with sliding or double-hinged doors on the sides and twin doors in the rear.

The driver should have clime aboard behind the big wheel and the flat, truck-looking dashboard to get inside. The carmaker tried to make it look like a regular vehicle, but it still looked like a truck with an instrument cluster filled with five dials and an LCD at the bottom of the centrally mounted speedometer. Its steering-column mounted shifter made room for a free passage from left to right. There was no center console, just a center stack to avoid where the designers installed the HVAC controls, a pair of cupholders, and a bin at the bottom.

Under the hood, GMC installed a 4.3-liter V6 engine paired to a standard 4-speed automatic transmission.