Discussion Minivans, why all the hate?

[ibex333]

Really cannot understand all the hate and drop in popularity vans started getting after the 90's. What's up with all this? I heard it has something to do with vans not being "cool"?
Not sure why that is as I always thought vans were cool. Even when I was twelve. The spaciousness, the cargo capacity, the allure or adventure and travel, the utility and comfort... The list goes on and on.

The only drawbacks I see are the sheer size, which is a huge problem in New York City because of lack of parking space, and the high gas usage (less of an issue with hybrids and electrics). Thats pretty much it!
I am in love with the newest Toyota Sienna, but sadly I cannot afford even half of the MSRP, not to mention the dealer markups and taxes. The design is awesome, the features are out of this world, and the power and speed are more than adequate.

Truly sad to see that pretty much all surfer van and "rapist" van designs are gone. Look, I get it, they must have gotten a bad rep or whatever, but just because of some psychos out there, we cannot abandon a very utilitarian design. I like all the crazy stuff people done with their vans over the years. All the cool paint jobs, custom mods, etc. It's a world of its own. One of my faves of all time is the egg shape Toyota Previa, it was just too modern for its time and people just didn't "get it".

It seems like the new cool "van" is basically the Chevy Suburban, Tahoe, Escalade, and the like. But that's just not the same. And those ridiculous prices..

If I was a multi-millionaire, I would not get a Lambo.. No! I'd pay someone to make me a custom van with all the creature comforts and features of a Mercedes Benz, and the awesomeness of a Dodge Caravan or a Chevy Van.

How do you feel about vans? Do you miss the 80-90's vans? Do you wish they were back?

Because why the shit not?

 

[lxskllr]

Full size vans eat shit. They get stuck in a patch of wet grass. Put them on a 4x4 truck platform, and they start to get interesting. I'd be happy to have a real 4x4 minivan. Something you can pound offroad, but has a sliding door. My needs have gravitated towards pickup bodies, but I could work with a van.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Why the sliding door? Just make a van with a door for every seat, no matter how small the door has to be. I never feel good going inside a van through the sliding door. It feels like a cramped mini bus with too little space to move around and breathe easily.

 

[lxskllr]

A sliding door gives you lots of room to fit big stuff in. A little finagling with a tarp, you have a nice covered porch for your camper, and it's easy to get in and out.

 

[Brainonska511]

It's a shame that smaller vans, like the Mazda5 didn't really catch on. The utility of a minivan without the length of a typical American minivan

 

[Captante]

I drove a relatives 2018 Toyota Sienna on multiple trips to Maine moving my daughter back and forth to college and aside from eating gas like a 1970's Coupe DeVille at anything over 75 mph it was a VERY nice ride... luxurious and high-tech enough to be kinda fun. (plus the big 6 cylinder gave it some actual "balls" off the line)

Also it's REALLY easy to get used to standing up and WALKING into the back seat of your car!




Having said that, I would never want one for my "daily driver" unless I had a big family due to size and gas milage... I can cram PLENTY of stuff in my Honda Fit for my day-to-day life. (it gets 40 mpg plus is easy to park!)

Unmatched as a "vacation-mobile" though!

 

[biostud]

Citroen C4 grand spacetourer owner here

 

[Captante]

Citroen C4 grand spacetourer owner here
View attachment 73675

Nice looking (although admittedly pretty typical) mini-van .... how's Citroen for reliability these days?

Have to say I'd be FAR more more inclined to go with a nice boring Honda or Toyota. (or even a Ford lol)

Sorry but France is where I look for my wine, perfume and cheese not anything mechanical/technical! (exceptions made for anything related to deep-sea diving!)

 

[snoopy7548]

IMO minivans are the fanny packs of cars.

 

[biostud]

Nice looking (although admittedly pretty typical) mini-van .... how's Citroen for reliability these days?

Have to say I'd be FAR more more inclined to go with Honda or Toyota.

Well, we have to change the timing belt two years prematurely, since there's a good chance it will throw bits of rubber inside the engine, which I'm told is not a good thing.

We bought it used for one year which saved us a lot, because of the high car taxes in Denmark. It's only my 2nd car, and I've only been a car owner for about three years.

My guess is that it is a relatively cheap car to buy, but service will add up over time. But which affordable cars doesn't have a lot service...

 

[sdifox]

Why the sliding door? Just make a van with a door for every seat, no matter how small the door has to be. I never feel good going inside a van through the sliding door. It feels like a cramped mini bus with too little space to move around and breathe easily.

Eh? Normal people drive with their doors closed. Liked driving my Odyssey til it got t-boned.

 

[KMFJD]

I'd really like to own a Mitsubishi Delica 4x4 Van one day


Or a Toyota Hiace 4x4

 

[biostud]

IMO minivans are the fanny packs of cars.

Yup, but nice when you have three kids in auto chairs, you need that fanny pack.

 

[Captante]

I'd really like to own a Mitsubishi Delica 4x4 Van one day

View attachment 73676View attachment 73677
Or a Toyota Hiace 4x4
View attachment 73679

I knew a guy that bought a RWD version of that first/older Mitsubishi van to use for NYC courier work and it didn't go well at all. That POS handled just the way it looks like it would.

The engine was buried FAR away from any even remote pretense of cooling air-flow, required TEENY-TINY little hands to work on any part AND it rode like a goddamn buckboard. (and the very similar Toyota version wasn't a whole lot better although it was a lot more reliable!)

Also I could never get comfortable with my legs being like 9 inches from the front bumper!

Other then the above they were terrific!

 

[lxskllr]

Also I could never get comfortable with my legs being like 9 inches from the front bumper!

Maybe driving would improve if everyone had that feature. I've had a couple VW busses. Sitting on the front wheels, and nothing but sheetmetal in front. Doesn't bother me. Don't run into shit, and you won't have a problem.

 

[KMFJD]

I knew a guy that bought a RWD version of that Mitsubishi van to use for NYC courier work and it didn't go well at all. That POS handled just the way it looks like it would.

The engine was buried FAR away from any even remote pretense of cooling air-flow, required TEENY-TINY little hands to work on any part AND it rode like a goddamn buckboard. (and the very similar Toyota version wasn't a whole lot better although it was a lot more reliable!)

Also I could never get comfortable with my legs being like 9 inches from the front bumper!

Other then the above they were terrific!

Drove a Hiace all around Australia, fantastic van except it was a bit cramped upfront, if your over 5'10 your in for a rough time. It was fairly decent on gas from what i can remember.

 

[Tsinni Dave]

I still have a 1979 Dodge campervan for holidays or excursions into the mountains. Not my daily driver of course, but I love that thing for its simplicity, reliability and the weird 1970's turquoise colour lol. I don't know how many minivans other people have gone through during that thing's lifespan, probably 3 or 4, maybe even 5. I also like being able to stand up inside it, make coffee or a hot lunch and get a bunch of people in out of the rain or snow. I actually like working remotely once or twice a year so I have an excuse to use it, and it makes a handy shed when I'm not using it. One of my older brothers had an older (2005ish I think)Toyota Sienna and since he had a heart attack last spring I had to do some work on it for him - brake lines, brakes and electrical issues and I wanted to crush that thing after working on it. Complete pita to work on, and it was rusting like crazy underneath so every second bolt broke off, and I worried his dog was going to fall through the floor one of these days. Even jacking it up was a problem because the "frame" on it is just folded sheet metal and that was rusted and wanted to collapse around my floor jack Minivans are great if you get another one before it starts getting mechanical/electrical/body rust issues because they certainly aren't built with repairs in mind. The motor and transmission in it did still run great, but everything else was failing around them. He has since fully recovered and since the price of a newer one has increased so much, he bought an old Dodge full size van to replace it. He just drives it a little less often so his fuel costs haven't really changed much.

 

[biostud]

Nice looking (although admittedly pretty typical) mini-van .... how's Citroen for reliability these days?

Have to say I'd be FAR more more inclined to go with a nice boring Honda or Toyota. (or even a Ford lol)

Sorry but France is where I look for my wine, perfume and cheese not anything mechanical/technical! (exceptions made for anything related to deep-sea diving!)

Not that many 7 seaters to choose from in Denmark: VW, Citroën, Ford and Dacia (in our price range)

 

[Captante]

Drove a Hiace all around Australia, fantastic van except it was a bit cramped upfront, if your over 5'10 your in for a rough time. It was fairly decent on gas from what i can remember.

That's a Toyota if i'm not mistaken (not a Mitsubishi) and although they had yet to actually perfect the science in the 1980's, like MOST Toyota's it's still made from the same "indestructium" element only they seem to have access to!

For a relatively low speed ride those vans (and the late 1950's-1960's American vans they copied lol) were okay and their easy visibility from the driver's seat made for a pretty decent 4x4 experience in the heavy-duty/off-road AWD/4WD models.

However sitting directly on top of the front suspension resulted in a "pogo-stick" ride punctuated by bottoming out in dips and potholes. Plus with it's relatively short wheelbase and awkward weight distribution emergency-handling was really bad with long braking distances tossed in.

Driving one on American highways at 70 mph + isn't fun.

 

[Tsinni Dave]

That's a Toyota if i'm not mistaken (not a Mitsubishi) and although they had yet to actually perfect the science in the 1980's, like MOST Toyota's it's still made from the same "indestructium" element only they seem to have access to!

For a relatively low speed ride those vans (and the late 1950's-1960's American vans they copied lol) were okay and their easy visibility from the driver's seat made for a pretty decent 4x4 experience in the heavy-duty/off-road AWD/4WD models.

However sitting directly on top of the front suspension resulted in a "pogo-stick" ride punctuated by bottoming out in dips and potholes. Plus with it's relatively short wheelbase and awkward weight distribution emergency-handling was really bad with long braking distances tossed in.

Driving one on American highways at 70 mph + isn't fun.

Somehow watching that review of minivans made me want an old Oldsmobile VistaCruiser.

 

[NutBucket]

2004 Toyota Sienna XLE Limited AWD - V6 Power, AWD, Lift Kit, Oversized All-Terrain Tires, California-Owned

This 2004 Toyota Sienna XLE Limited AWD is for sale on Cars & Bids! Auction ends December 28 2022.

carsandbids.com

 

[ElFenix]

Really cannot understand all the hate and drop in popularity vans started getting after the 90's. What's up with all this? I heard it has something to do with vans not being "cool"?

minvan ads showed you with a bunch of kids (inherently uncool) doing uncool things like taking them to soccer practice. SUV ads showed you doing manly outdoor things. it doesn't matter that you, the buyer, are an accountant and only drive from your cookie cutter suburban house to your cookie cutter office building and don't do any of the cool manly outdoor things. so people started buying SUVs. but those actually drive like shit (seriously, 4runners drive like ass), so people started buying mass quantities of CUVs, which are basically minivans without the useful sliding doors and nearly-useful 3rd row seats, and less useful cargo area. all to tell yourself that you are not a lame accountant.

It's a shame that smaller vans, like the Mazda5 didn't really catch on. The utility of a minivan without the length of a typical American minivan

iirc the mazda5 was within an inch of the original dodge caravan in every dimension. i think the driver's seat might be a bit further back in relation to the rest of the vehicle so maybe there wasn't quite as much cargo capacity (and only 6 seats though i think you'd have been hard pressed to cram anything but a small child into the middle of the 3rd row in an OG caravan). but once dodge came out with the grand caravan, sales of the OG size plummeted. so, smaller vans did catch on, and then, as everything in america tends to go, they got fat.

 

[brianmanahan]

momvans

 

[KMFJD]

I just want a nice campervan that doesn't cost an arm and a leg

 

[sdifox]

I just want a nice campervan that doesn't cost an arm and a leg

Buy US Military surplus vehicle and convert it yourself.

Example