I recently bought a used 2016 Metris Passenger loaded with most options except power doors and rear hatch. I thought I’d share some first impressions as someone considering Metris.
First I’ll cover my needs and reasons why I went with this van. My wife and I do a fair amount of travelling to events with 3 dogs. I needed something with room for 3 medium sized kennels minimum, with the ability to add at least one more preferred. We also need room for all the assorted travel items: dog equipement, food, pop-up shelter, folding chairs and more. I also have a small part-time business selling dog food, so I need to be able to pick up close to a ton at a time from my supplier and also for transporting smaller amounts to deliver to customers. Additionally, we have a small toy-hauler camper/cargo trailer that we take anytime we need to stay overnight. I wanted something that could tow a larger camper if we decide to upgrade in the future. I also really wanted the van to fit in a standard size garage if possible.
I looked at mini-vans, such as the Odyssey, and small commercial vans such as the Transit or Connect. But it quickly became apparent that for my needs, the Metris was really the best combination of overall footprint vs cargo and towing capacity. It’s really in a unique class. Since I have a older dog, a lower entry height was a factor as well. The fold-down seats of mini-vans are handy, but they raise the floor height and sacrifice cargo room.
I settled on the passenger version so that the kennel area would have heating and cooling. The bench seats would see occasional use but would be stored most of the time. The tow package and rear-view camera were must-haves. The cold weather package was high on my list as well as blind spot monitoring and the comfort package. Other safety features would be a plus, and I figured the Parktronic would be helpful but not required.
It turned out finding a Metris with a factory installed hitch was a bigger challenge than I thought it would be. I considered ordering exactly what I wanted, but after reading about other buyer’s experiences, I decided that would be a last-ditch option. This was mainly due to people reporting that the vans they received were frequently not exactly what they ordered, which makes that option of limited use. Why wait for months only to find out the van you get might be missing a key feature you want? Another problem was the way dealers list these vans online. They list off all of the standard features, but often have poor descriptions of options or inaccurate listings. They tend to cut and paste a lot. Even the pictures were often not of the actual vehicle. I found the most reliable way to see what was on each van was to look up the VIN on a decoder site. A pain in the rear end to be sure, but the only way to be sure what options each van had. Again, the trailer hitch was most often the deal killer.
I ended up buying a used 2016 with 11K miles and a lot of options I didn’t really need. I had to drive 4 hours to pick it up. I’ve had it for a bit over a month as of this writing and driven it around 1500 miles. Overall I really like the van so far. The cargo space is indeed huge. I’ve got 3 kennels on the floor with lots of space left over for cargo. The roof is plenty tall enough that I can stack the kennels two high if I need more floor space. The tie-downs are in good locations and I can use the seat tracks as additional tie down points. Removing the seats wasn’t as bad as I’d feared it would be. They’re heavy, so two people are needed. This van has the optional flip forward 7th passenger seat which I didn’t need, but you can install the 2nd row bench without it if you want to.
The Metris handles better than I expected. It turns tight for a vehicle its size so maneuvering has been easy. I’ve barely used the Park Assist feature. I don’t do a lot of parallel parking and the 90-degree parking is really only helpful in very crowded lots. With the tight turning and the reverse camera it’s pretty easy to back into spots anyway. Many of the parking lots here have angled places so Park Assist can’t be used. I know others have wished that rearview camera was a wider angle, but it works for me. Once you learn (and trust) the guide markers it makes backing up pretty painless. I do wish that the camera on the 180-degree doors had a flap like the lift hatch version, as the camera gets dirty pretty frequently.
The 7 speed transmission has been smooth and responsive. The acceleration has been more than good enough for me. It gets up to highway speeds quicker than I expected. I almost never have to “gun it” to merge into traffic. But we also rarely have bumper to bumper traffic here. The gas mileage has also been on par with what others have reported, between 22-24 MPG for me so far.
Here’s my thoughts on some of the options and how useful they’ve been for me. I already mentioned Parktronic/Park Assist. One thing I didn’t mention is that the sensors are easily confused by snow or ice on the bumpers. Mine tends to go nuts when parking in these conditions. The audible alarm and indicator lights go off when there’s no obstacle nearby, and it gets annoying fast. I don’t feel it’s worth the cost unless you do a lot of city parking, and even then the van is not hard to park without it. The Lane Assist has been more of an annoyance than useful. The blind spot monitoring works well. The detection/warning zone matches up nicely with my actual blind spot. I’ve driven other vehicles where they are lighting the indicator when cars are 50 yards or more behind. I think you’d start ignoring those after time which defeats the purpose.
As others have pointed out, the radio and electronics are pretty antiquated. They work OK, but lacking in convenience. The Becker mapping is a waste of money in my opinion. My 2016 came with maps last updated in 2013. I looked into updating it, but they want $100. For the cost of this system they should give at least annual updates for free and it should have been up to date when shipped. I have a Garmin GPS with lifetime updates that cost around $250 five plus years ago. These days I find Google Maps on my phone much easier to use than the dedicated unit, and the maps and points of interest are continuously updated automatically. The radio controls in particular are a PITA. I can barely reach the number pad for channel presets, and I have to take my eyes off the road far longer I’d like to do anything with the controls. Having some controls on the steering wheel is helpful, but that’s common on modern cars without having to pay for another upgrade package.
One thing really missing from this van is some sort of console or storage option between the front seats. I have too many assorted small items I need to keep handy and not enough space in front tray for much of it. This is compounded by the tiny glove compartment. It’s barely big enough to contain the manuals much less anything else! Also as others have pointed out repeatedly, the side mirrors are on the small side for a bigger vehicle. For me it hasn’t been a big headache yet, but I imagine that when I need to back up the trailer I’m not going to be happy. It’s pretty small and hard enough to see with good mirrors. But my other car, a RAV4, also has small mirrors so I’m probably more used to it than others are.
That's it for now. I'll add to this if I feel the need to.
First I’ll cover my needs and reasons why I went with this van. My wife and I do a fair amount of travelling to events with 3 dogs. I needed something with room for 3 medium sized kennels minimum, with the ability to add at least one more preferred. We also need room for all the assorted travel items: dog equipement, food, pop-up shelter, folding chairs and more. I also have a small part-time business selling dog food, so I need to be able to pick up close to a ton at a time from my supplier and also for transporting smaller amounts to deliver to customers. Additionally, we have a small toy-hauler camper/cargo trailer that we take anytime we need to stay overnight. I wanted something that could tow a larger camper if we decide to upgrade in the future. I also really wanted the van to fit in a standard size garage if possible.
I looked at mini-vans, such as the Odyssey, and small commercial vans such as the Transit or Connect. But it quickly became apparent that for my needs, the Metris was really the best combination of overall footprint vs cargo and towing capacity. It’s really in a unique class. Since I have a older dog, a lower entry height was a factor as well. The fold-down seats of mini-vans are handy, but they raise the floor height and sacrifice cargo room.
I settled on the passenger version so that the kennel area would have heating and cooling. The bench seats would see occasional use but would be stored most of the time. The tow package and rear-view camera were must-haves. The cold weather package was high on my list as well as blind spot monitoring and the comfort package. Other safety features would be a plus, and I figured the Parktronic would be helpful but not required.
It turned out finding a Metris with a factory installed hitch was a bigger challenge than I thought it would be. I considered ordering exactly what I wanted, but after reading about other buyer’s experiences, I decided that would be a last-ditch option. This was mainly due to people reporting that the vans they received were frequently not exactly what they ordered, which makes that option of limited use. Why wait for months only to find out the van you get might be missing a key feature you want? Another problem was the way dealers list these vans online. They list off all of the standard features, but often have poor descriptions of options or inaccurate listings. They tend to cut and paste a lot. Even the pictures were often not of the actual vehicle. I found the most reliable way to see what was on each van was to look up the VIN on a decoder site. A pain in the rear end to be sure, but the only way to be sure what options each van had. Again, the trailer hitch was most often the deal killer.
I ended up buying a used 2016 with 11K miles and a lot of options I didn’t really need. I had to drive 4 hours to pick it up. I’ve had it for a bit over a month as of this writing and driven it around 1500 miles. Overall I really like the van so far. The cargo space is indeed huge. I’ve got 3 kennels on the floor with lots of space left over for cargo. The roof is plenty tall enough that I can stack the kennels two high if I need more floor space. The tie-downs are in good locations and I can use the seat tracks as additional tie down points. Removing the seats wasn’t as bad as I’d feared it would be. They’re heavy, so two people are needed. This van has the optional flip forward 7th passenger seat which I didn’t need, but you can install the 2nd row bench without it if you want to.
The Metris handles better than I expected. It turns tight for a vehicle its size so maneuvering has been easy. I’ve barely used the Park Assist feature. I don’t do a lot of parallel parking and the 90-degree parking is really only helpful in very crowded lots. With the tight turning and the reverse camera it’s pretty easy to back into spots anyway. Many of the parking lots here have angled places so Park Assist can’t be used. I know others have wished that rearview camera was a wider angle, but it works for me. Once you learn (and trust) the guide markers it makes backing up pretty painless. I do wish that the camera on the 180-degree doors had a flap like the lift hatch version, as the camera gets dirty pretty frequently.
The 7 speed transmission has been smooth and responsive. The acceleration has been more than good enough for me. It gets up to highway speeds quicker than I expected. I almost never have to “gun it” to merge into traffic. But we also rarely have bumper to bumper traffic here. The gas mileage has also been on par with what others have reported, between 22-24 MPG for me so far.
Here’s my thoughts on some of the options and how useful they’ve been for me. I already mentioned Parktronic/Park Assist. One thing I didn’t mention is that the sensors are easily confused by snow or ice on the bumpers. Mine tends to go nuts when parking in these conditions. The audible alarm and indicator lights go off when there’s no obstacle nearby, and it gets annoying fast. I don’t feel it’s worth the cost unless you do a lot of city parking, and even then the van is not hard to park without it. The Lane Assist has been more of an annoyance than useful. The blind spot monitoring works well. The detection/warning zone matches up nicely with my actual blind spot. I’ve driven other vehicles where they are lighting the indicator when cars are 50 yards or more behind. I think you’d start ignoring those after time which defeats the purpose.
As others have pointed out, the radio and electronics are pretty antiquated. They work OK, but lacking in convenience. The Becker mapping is a waste of money in my opinion. My 2016 came with maps last updated in 2013. I looked into updating it, but they want $100. For the cost of this system they should give at least annual updates for free and it should have been up to date when shipped. I have a Garmin GPS with lifetime updates that cost around $250 five plus years ago. These days I find Google Maps on my phone much easier to use than the dedicated unit, and the maps and points of interest are continuously updated automatically. The radio controls in particular are a PITA. I can barely reach the number pad for channel presets, and I have to take my eyes off the road far longer I’d like to do anything with the controls. Having some controls on the steering wheel is helpful, but that’s common on modern cars without having to pay for another upgrade package.
One thing really missing from this van is some sort of console or storage option between the front seats. I have too many assorted small items I need to keep handy and not enough space in front tray for much of it. This is compounded by the tiny glove compartment. It’s barely big enough to contain the manuals much less anything else! Also as others have pointed out repeatedly, the side mirrors are on the small side for a bigger vehicle. For me it hasn’t been a big headache yet, but I imagine that when I need to back up the trailer I’m not going to be happy. It’s pretty small and hard enough to see with good mirrors. But my other car, a RAV4, also has small mirrors so I’m probably more used to it than others are.
That's it for now. I'll add to this if I feel the need to.
