TODAY'S Chrysler Grand Voyager is the direct des-cendant of the world's first recognisable MPV, referred to then as a minivan, and that was in the early 80s.

It was the birth of a legend and July last year saw production of the nine millionth Voyager MPV, it was one of the new 2.5 CRDs, and it was built at Daimler -Chrysler's Eurostar plant in Graz, Austria.

In my view, and in the context of Europe and the various tax and emission regulations, the Grand Voyager CRD, entry price £23,715, is the best thing since sliced bread in its sector.

The vehicle I tested was the seven-seat LTD version with quite a few extras and ran out at £27,695.

This is a machine that really does the business and at a reasonable cost.

High-speed motorway driving well loaded up when a booze run in France recently was no problem, with hand-ling remaining excellent.

A sudden stop and large load of bottled goods pressing forward might have changed all that.

But no, smooth and power-ful braking made sure that all the alcohol stayed intact for my son's wedding later this month.

The trip, via the Channel Tunnel, was an excellent test of this vehicle, providing every sort of road surface and differing traffic conditions.

All this was done in just a few hours, therefore comfort was essential.

And the Grand Voyager has that by the bucketful.

It has a three person seat at the back which can be folded or removed, although the latter is definitely a two-person job.

The second row, two Captain's Chairs, are more easily removed and, needless to say, there are a wide variety of seating combina-tions.

With all the seats out, there is a massive amount of space.

The 2.5 common-rail turbo diesel is exceptionally responsive right through the range and one never feels it has not got enough go to get you out of trouble.

Compared with the previous Voyager, the new version offers more interior space, more refined handling, a stronger body structure with increased safety features and class-leading diesel engine performance.

Voyager's interior inno-vations continue with in-car entertainment equipment options which include: an MPV-first, in-dash, four disc CD player (Limited only).

Standard equipment on the entry level SE includes four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, power door locking, electrically operated front windows and rear quarter vents, power steering, power heated folding door mirrors, dual front airbags and side impact airbags for the front seats.

Options on the SE version include sunscreen glass, CD player, dual zone temperature control and remote central locking.

Standard equipment on top-of-the-range Limited versions includes doors, powered and heated retractable door mirrors, leather seats with eight-way front seat power adjustment, steering wheel audio controls, traction control on automatic transmission versions, headlamp washers, 10 Infinity speakers, load levelling suspension with height control.

Summary: They don't come any better than this.