Slightly refreshing

"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78) 02/15/2018 at 09:45 • Filed to: None

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If you wake up in cold sweats at night, fearing the Crossover Takeover, just be aware that the minivan is still alive and well. Yesterday while picking my daughter up, I caught a very rare sight: 5 minivans in a row, no other vehicles around (except my wagon). Had I borrowed the wife’s van, I think this would have been an official C&C.

First four are Siennas, then one Odyssey at the end (front). Weird ratio. It’s usually more 1:1 with at least one Chrysler in there. Actually it’s normall a bunch of GL-class Mercedes and Tahoes drowing out the vans.

Nibby > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 09:57

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just get an aerostar

HammerheadFistpunch > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 09:58

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For a while they were all the hotness in Utah with moms trading in large suvs for more comfy vans. I think the trend is back to suvs though. It’s hard to argue with the way vans handle kids... But they are sure no fun to drive, even compared to suvs

Ash78, voting early and often > HammerheadFistpunch 02/15/2018 at 10:00

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I like the truck-like cargo space and great visibility, but they could do so much more with the handling. I blame narrow focus groups, but also that manufacturers want to differentiate the ither, higher-margin vehicles by making them more fun to drive than vans. Vans get sandbagged.

I’m honestly looking at coilovers as soon as the aftermarket catches up. It usually takes about a decade for performance parts to make their way to the van world. I don’t want drop, I want stiffness and confidence.

CalzoneGolem > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 10:05

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Where does the Forester sit on the wagon / cuv scale?

Ash78, voting early and often > CalzoneGolem 02/15/2018 at 10:07

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I’d call the first two gens a wagon, then a crossover. I can’t tell you exactly why, but the greenhouse has a lot to do with it. The marketing, too.

HammerheadFistpunch > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 10:12

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“I want stiffness and confidence.”

I can’t wait to see what the Google ad algorithm-mo-Tron does with these key words.

functionoverfashion > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 10:13

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The parents at my kids’ school have almost entirely SUVs and trucks. ‘Cause this is NEW HAMPSHIRE gall-durnit! Oh, and there’s one Legacy sedan, and then me in my manual 3-er wagon.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 11:08

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You know what would be really fun? A V6 van with adjustable suspension that goes between your average squishy and wallowy ride type for hauling kids and less-adventurous friends around, and a harder, more responsive type so that you and your more adventurous friends can have fun on the twisties in a slightly-too-top-heavy van.

Ash78, voting early and often > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 02/15/2018 at 11:12

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Some of the older Odyssey owners on OdyClub have coilovers and a few have airbags. As you might imagine, there’s not much performance market for them...

But a lot of parts from Pilot, Ridgeline, and MDX are interchangeable.

His Stigness > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 11:32

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More people need to look at the Mercedes Metris. It sears 8 ADULTS and starts at around 30k. I was telling this to the girl that cuts my hair and her eyes got huge. She has three teenage girls that all play sports, so she wants something affordable and that can fit them.

Ash78, voting early and often > His Stigness 02/15/2018 at 11:35

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Yeah, Merc has been very weak marketing that thing, but I also think it suffers from the same thing as the Transit — work van converted to passenger van with a lot left out. Still, it’s intriguing, even if the features list is pretty short, especially for a Mercedes.

His Stigness > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 12:02

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When I was looking at it for my sister, in vain I might add*, it had plenty of features one might actually need. Yes, a vacuum would be nice, so would in car entertainment, but I don’t think either of those things are standard in a Sienna or Honda, which START at something like 40k. And I would never in a million years recommend a new Odyssey to someone who wants to keep it past the power train warranty due to the new transmissions.

But I don’t think the Metris is the same in the Transit in that it’s just a panel van with seats in it. I think Mercedes put some effort into making it a nice passenger van, and then they just strip that stuff out for people who only carry things that don’t talk back.

*She bought a used Pacifica from CarMax!!!! She lost money on her trade and in and most likely overpaid for a CHRYSLER!!!!

Ash78, voting early and often > His Stigness 02/15/2018 at 12:15

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There’s no reasoning with some people...

For what it’s worth, Odyssey and Sienna start at about $30k, but typical features take it to $35k or so. They can top $45k, but a vacuum is just silly. My wife bought a 12v dustbuster for $20 and it’s great. At home we just use the Shopvac.

The entertainment system is invaluable, but it’s also stupid because it builds (fast) obsolescence into the car. Our 2015 has standard definition, no Blu Ray, and not even a single HDMI input. How did Honda get away with that?

But we do use it almost every day, supplied by free DVDs from the library. It keeps the peace when you’re just sick of distracting conversations with the kids.

Long story short, the fact that Metris missed offering something like that took them out of contention pretty quickly. Headrest screens should be pretty normal in a Mercedes van, but the whole vehicle is sort of a conundrum for the brand.

His Stigness > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 12:38

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Yeah, I know in car entertainment was important for my sister. They rented a Town and Country and liked that. They hated the rest of the car, but chose to yet a Chrysler anyways. That makes loads of sense...

Long-Voyager > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 12:41

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When I pick my kids up from school I am literally one of 3 parents who have minivans.

I happen to be the only one whose van is modified though (and sometimes covered in mud from going out fishing the night before):

Long-Voyager > His Stigness 02/15/2018 at 12:43

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The Pacifica is a really great van for the price. I would buy one over the Toyota/Honda anyday.

Long-Voyager > HammerheadFistpunch 02/15/2018 at 12:44

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Since when?:

Guarantee I have more fun in this than 99% of SUV/CUV owners.

Long-Voyager > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 12:45

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The biggest reason I stay away from modern vans, they all handle horribly.

His Stigness > Long-Voyager 02/15/2018 at 13:00

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Chrysler has no track record for making reliable cars. My sister says she plans on keeping it for a long time, so it would have been a better idea to get a car that actually has a track record of lasting.

Ash78, voting early and often > Long-Voyager 02/15/2018 at 13:03

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That’s part of the shock for me, we vanners are about 15-20% of the parents, but on this particular day it was 100%.

Well, until I showed up in my wagon.

Nice van, btw! My first 2 years of driving were in an ‘88 SWB Caravan V6.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Ash78, voting early and often 02/15/2018 at 15:30

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Maybe I’m just cheap, but when I looked at the Odyssey a few years ago I couldn’t find any features on the non-base models that I was willing to pay for. Given how many of these are loaded with all sorts of toys and gadgets I probably wouldn’t have had much luck finding a bottom-of-the-line one if I tried. However, given that my DD is a Mazda5 6MT I do know a little something about finding minivan unicorns...

Long-Voyager > His Stigness 02/15/2018 at 16:11

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Honestly, if she maintains it properly, it will take good care of her.

Majority of Chrysler’s “reliability” issues stem from people who buy them then never maintain them .