Go! Stop! Go!
www.oocities.org/windstarguy

BC's geography offers a lot of variety, with high mountain passes, gentle rolling hills, and urban jungles. The weather, too, can range from desert heat to freezing rain and snow. It's the kind of place that can really tax a vehicle.

Power
The Windstar's ride is very smooth. We had a chance to drive up the Crows Nest Highway from the coast to the Okanagan valley, and the Windstar performed very well indeed. The 3.0L was fine for cruising up the mountains at the posted 90 to 100 km per hour with two adults, bikes, golf clubs, and assorted luggage.

Passing power is adequate, but the motor really gets noisy if you have to push it extra hard. Under normal conditions, though, it's quiet. It seems that it takes some effort to get the vehicle rolling; the 3.0L engine revs high accelerating off the line, but once you settle into your cruising speed, the engine purrs eagerly.

Merging onto freeways has taken some getting used to; the high end acceleration is a little on the slow side and the motor really winds (and whines) up. Plan ahead and pick your spot carefully. If you have a full load of passengers and stuff, give yourself lots of room merging onto a highway from a standing start. It's slow! Presumably the 3.8l engine takes care of that.

The transmission really is guilty of dithering around town. You really notice this around 20km when you punch it. The engine whines while the tranny hunts around for a gear. Approaching an intersection as the light goes yellow? With the 3.0L, you can probably rely more on the brakes than the transmission, so plan on stopping, not gunning.

Gas Consumption
We found that our gas mileage improved a lot on the highway; around town we we've been getting about 14l/100km and this improved to about 10l/100km on the highway. That's about 20 miles to the Imperial gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway (if I've done the math correctly!). The hwy mileage was a pleasant surprise.

Brakes
We haven't had any emergency stops yet, so all we can say about the brakes is that they seem fine. Handling is predictable and the steering is reasonably responsive. Critics have said that the minivan tends to plow when pushed into corners, and it's true. Push a Windstar into a fast turn and you'll quickly be reminded that this is not a sports sedan! Drive politely like you have a family on board at all times, and the Windstar will perform just fine. The turning circle is wide and we're still getting used to sliding into parking slots (but hey, our last car was a Volvo, and they've got a wonderfully tight turning radius).