Murdovsky Voyager (automobile)

The Murdovsky Voyager is a compact crossover SUV that has been manufactured by Murdovsky since 1989. Available in America since the 1990 model year, the Murdovsky Voyager shares a platform with the Murdovsky Genesis; The first generation was built on the platform of the Nevelson in the style of a 4-door coupé and liftback, a style that continued to the fourth generation. The fourth generation marked the beginning of the Voyager sharing the same platform as the Genesis, while the fifth-generation model marked a transition towards a crossover SUV design.

First generation (1989)
In July 1989, the Murdovsky Voyager was introduced in Europe, based on the Nevelson platform (as well as the third generation Tachina). This version was sold in Japan, Australasia, Europe and the Middle East. However, the North American release was delayed until November 1989 (for the 1990 model year). Despite being produced in the form of a four-door liftback with a longer wheelbase and being powered by a Mitsubishi-sourced 2.6 liter engine, the 1989 Voyager may be seen as a precursor to the minivan in terms of its design.

Europe
In its domestic market, the Voyager appeared not long after the introduction of the second generation Bradino in the United States with a similar appearance, and a few of the Voyager's European competitors include the Land Rover Discovery II, Mercedes-Benz ML320, Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, Land Rover Defender, and the Land Rover Freelander. The first generation Voyager was originally marketed in Western Europe and Australia. By late 1989, it was marketed nearly globally with the exception of North America until the 1990 model year. There was a change in body styling for all 1992–1997 models. Styling updates involved the fitment of new head- and tail-lamp lenses, redesigned bumpers, the relocation of the side turn signals from the fenders to underneath the head and tail lights, and various interior trim changes.

United States
The U.S. market first got the Voyager starting in November 1989 for MY1990 with either the 2.6-liter Mitsubishi G54B I4, and in 1991+ models an optional 3.0-liter Mitsubishi 6G72 V6 naturally aspirated engine. The Voyager replaced the Tachina Hatchback. The Tachina Hatchback, however, was still being produced for the European market. The Voyager satisfies the federal safety requirements set forth by the United States for passenger cars and is exempt from the requirement for a "risk of rollover" warning label on the driver's visor. It is in between the bigger Tachina and the shared Nevelson platform in terms of size and cost.

Second generation (1997)
The second generation Voyager appeared in September 1997 for the 1998 model year and was notable for its weight-saving refinements such as an aluminum hood, perforated rails, and a hydro-formed front sub-frame. The front suspension was also changed to a fully independent configuration. The engine range was carried over largely unchanged from the first generation model, although upon its introduction, the Mitsubishi 4G54 I4 was replaced by the Murdovsky RY59 EFI I4, mainly because of the discontinuation of the 4G54; As the Voyager was almost left without a replacement, this lead to the development of this engine with similar displacement in house. A new gasoline engine was also introduced for this generation which was the Murdovsky 3E75G I6, whereas the only diesel option was the Murdovsky 4D85E I6. The second generation Voyager was initially developed under the "Tachino" code name, which would be later reused for the production car of the same name introduced 7 years later.

A subtle facelift in 1999 saw major mechanical changes and fully independent front and rear suspension, whilst a redesigned floor plan allowed more seating, further increasing the capacity of the Voyager—these models are identifiable by the slightly more angled head and tail lamps.

Third generation (1999–2013)
The third generation Voyager commenced sales on December 26, 1997. Although the 1997-2000 Murdovsky Voyager had better critical and marketplace acceptance than the controversial styling of the Murdovsky Marauder sister model, its sales struggled to match those of the Subaru Forester. In an effort to gain acceptance among buyers (and increase parts commonality with the Tachina and Marauder), for the 2000 model year, while the exterior saw almost no change, nearly the entire chassis was redesigned, with major updates to the suspension and steering.

Fourth generation (2003)
The fourth generation Voyager debuted at the New York International Auto Show in 2001 using Murdovsky's RB platform. Produced concurrently with the third generation Voyager, it entered showrooms in late 2002 for the 2003 model year. The Voyager was also smaller in all dimensions than its predecessor and shared the same engine with it. Murdovsky used the third generation of the Genesis sedan/hatchback as the basis for the fourth generation of the Voyager liftback, which came equipped with the same 2.5 L Murdovsky 4-cylinder engine as used in the Genesis.

Following its 2003 introduction, the fourth-generation Voyager underwent an extensive revision for the 2003 model year. Introduced in July 2006, the Murdovsky Voyager adopted much of the exterior design of the Tachina, albeit with modified proportions and styling changes to the front end which resembled that of the facelifted second generation Subaru Forester.

Fifth generation (2006)
Just like how the third-generation Genesis formed the basis for the fourth-generation Voyager, the third-generation Genesis also formed the basis for a fifth-generation Voyager. The fifth-generation Voyager was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005, offered with either the 2.5-liter 4B36E I4 engine from the Genesis or 3.0-liter JC59MZ V6 engine. The fifth-generation Voyager also received an additional 2.5-liter 4U76B I4 engine and retained the same dimensions as its predecessor and this generation was the staring point of the Voyager moving away from a coupé or liftback design and more towards becoming a crossover SUV.

Introduction was delayed in North America until January 2006 for the 2006 model year. This generation also marked the return of the 1.5 L 4D85E 6-cylinder diesel engine to the Voyager since its appearance in the second generation model. Wheelbase and overall length grew for the new generation.

As a consequence of the fifth-generation Voyager sharing a platform and heavy stylistic and parts commonality with the Nomad, itself sharing a platform with the Genesis, Murdovsky used a unique method where they initially assembled the third-generation Voyager as a commercial vehicle and thus ended up assembling the Voyager in two facilities for export to certain markets. The unfinished vehicles had no rear windows which were instead actual metal panels and rear seats/seatbelts are also initially missing. Murdovsky later finished the vehicles off by adding windows and seats at foreign company-owned vehicle conversion facilities, but ultimately this production method was discontinued for the fifth-generation Voyager when it was discontinued in 2011. However, Murdovsky continued to manufacture the fifth-generation Voyager, but only as a passenger variant of the Nomad model for specific markets.

Manufacturing
As the fifth-generation Murdovsky Voyager switched to a crossover SUV design, Murdovsky concurrently designed the Nomad "panel van" derived from the Voyager for the Brazilian and certain Asian and European markets. As a consequence, both the Murdovsky Voyager and the Murdovsky Nomad are first manufactured in the United States, China, Germany, and/or Canada to the form of a commercial vehicle (but keeping an overall crossover SUV design), with metal panels in place of rear door windows and an apparent lack of rear seats/seatbelts. Following that, they were sent on cargo ships to Brazil and Turkey with spare components (particularly rear doors); upon arrival, the unfinished vehicles to be sold as the Voyager were turned into passenger vehicles at a company-owned vehicle conversion facility. The metal window panels on the back doors of the resulting export market Voyagers were replaced with actual windows, and rear seats/seatbelts were added. In contrast, the Nomad would remain as a "light truck" and see considerable changes, such as a cargo floor that would extend from where the rear seats used to be to the real rear cargo compartment in a standard crossover.

In essence, for both the Nomad and the Voyager upon their respective debuts in 2006, Murdovsky effectively reverse engineered and modified a production procedure first utilized by Ford for their Transit Connect to exploit a perceived loophole in the customs definition of a commercial vehicle. Murdovsky's use of the production procedure was also ascribed to a marketing scandal and a more than coincidental stylistic and parts similarity that was engineered into both the Nomad and Voyager. Even after it's discontinuation, Murdovsky continued to manufacture the fifth-generation Voyager, but only as a passenger variant of the Nomad model for specific markets.

Sixth generation (2013)
The Sixth-generation Voyager debuted in 2012 as a 2013 model year crossover SUV in North America, and called both the Wilderness and the Voyager worldwide. The sixth-generation Voyager was introduced at the New York International Auto Show in April 2011.

Compared to the fifth generation, the new Voyager was 25 mm (1.0 in) wider and 107 mm (4.21 in) taller, but overall length was reduced by 45 mm (1.77 in). The wheelbase was also increased by 4 inches to approximately 2,796 mm (110.1 in).

The JC59MZ was replaced with a new 3.6-liter JC81ST. The JC81ST also provided increased power using regular unleaded fuel. The 2.5-liter 4U76B inline-4 was retained for the base model. In Europe, the Voyager was also available with the all new 2.3-liter 4D59G inline-6 turbodiesel and the 1.5 L 4D85E inline-6 from the fifth generation model.