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2007 Hyundai Entourage
All-new minivan is a charmer. edited by Christopher Jensen
Walk Around
In overall length the Entourage is similar to its major competitors. There's nothing mini about today's minivans. Unlike competitors such as the Nissan Quest, Hyundai hasn't gone for a startling design for the Entourage. The visual approach is mild and calmly appealing, much like the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna.
Interior
2007 Hyundai Entourage
It is clear that before designing the Entourage, Hyundai officials spent some time checking out the Honda Odyssey. Or, the coincidences are amazing.
Like the Odyssey, the Entourage has a tray between the front seats that folds down. Even the inside door handles for the second row seem the same. The Entourage's third row folds flat into the floor, too, a feature first introduced with the Odyssey.
The Entourage's basic controls are pleasingly simple and easy to operate. The leather upholstery on the Limited model contributes to the feeling that the Entourage is aimed at some pampering and not just day-to-day transportation.
The Entourage's second row uses individual captain's chairs, each of which can be moved forward or rearward seven inches. That is a helpful feature that allows some flexibility with legroom and cargo capacity.
Flexibility is a good thing for anybody planning to sit in the third row. Like most third rows it is designed for small to mid-size children.
But it is worth noting that Hyundai measures what appears to be a generous 34 inches of third-row legroom with the second-row captain's chairs in their forward-most position. The reality is 27 inches of third-row legroom if the people in the captain's chairs insist on their maximum legroom.
The third row can easily be folded into the floor and a spring-loaded mechanism makes it easier to pull up than the third row on the Honda Odyssey.
Hyundai rates the cargo capacity behind the third row at 32 cubic feet. That's about twice the size of the trunk of a mid-size sedan but such calculations typically involve stacking stuff to the roof. With the third row folded flat, the cargo capacity increases to 80 cubic feet, according to Hyundai.
