cherokee can't tow an is a horrible race support vehicle. The Astro was chosen because it can do both of those things for cheap.
Agreed. The cherokee is great for many things but towing and hauling is not one of them. Ive owned 3 cherokees and I can EASILY say i felt better towing with my dodge dynasty than with a cherokee. Also, they dont have all that much room inside for anything. They really are compact suvs and dont have any more room than a small hatchback car.
I had a '92 Cherokee Sport, 4.0 2wd. Towing a 12x6 enclosed trailer with 3 dirt bikes and our gear and three guys in the Jeep taxed the brakes to the point of terror. I can't imagine towing a car with one.
I still have the itch to build a V8 powered smaller van for towing. Big power to weight = towing win. 
If I ever get a chance to do it, it keeps coming down to a V8 Astro or a V8 early Econoline.
I prefer my vans full size. Why tow the bikes on a trailer where they can be all thefted, when you can put them in the van where no-one knows they are there? Plus you don't have to swap engines for a V-8.
I've had 5 astro/safaris, and drive my fwb's caravan a couple times a week. Only thing it beats my astros in is in the legroom area. Having cruise control in my last Astro helped a bit. Just can't beat being able to haul three engines and still pull a 16ft trailer with an S-10 on it with ease. A lowered Astro with a sbc is simply badass.
Zombie thread revival? Did a canoe bring this back? 9 years ago me was a dipE36 M3 for having 3 astros and a caravan. 2019 me is was berkeleying cooler with a way better fleet
Kinda eerie when a zombie thread brings back old posts from forum members no longer with us. 
Having driven an Astro for work in a past life more than I care to remember, I would never want to own one.
I had 2. Thought they were great at the time (some 15 years ago). Used it for work, took me to college, road trips, camping, hauled motorcycles, cars, friends. It was a great vanlette. This thought makes me I miss mine, but maybe in todays world it would be less great.
In reply to Patrick :
And you thought an Astro was fun. Yeesh. Your fleet now is definitely much cooler.
My sister had one for a while. She's in the bay area, so it was like $5k, but rust-free and everything worked. I really like the honesty of that thing, at 200,000 some miles she finally traded it in on a Cayenne.
The Astro and GMC Safari Vans were do all - durable. I worked at a GM Dealer from 97-01, and people that had these either kept them or bought another one.
The AWD models were fantastic in the winter.
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