Shitty idea time!

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 04/22/2019 at 09:14 • Filed to: None

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A minvan/MPV with a sliding door on one side and conventional door on the other. 

facw > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 09:20

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This is weird enough I’m surprised no one has done it, but I can’t find it. What I did find is that the Ford Windstar was apparently available with an extended length driver’s side front door so kids could get in and out of the middle row from behind the driver’s seat.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 09:23

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And one of those weird little half doors on the conventional door for easier access  to the 3rd row.

Boxer_4 > facw 04/22/2019 at 09:27

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As pictured:

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 09:31

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Why? 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 10:08

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If you have a proper offset bench in the middle row, there’s no need for a door on the driver’s side.......

ToyotaFamily > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 10:18

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Has been done. 3rd gen Suzuki Alto, 2 normal doors on one side, 1 normal and sliding door on  the other.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 13:28

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I would rather see sliding doors on SUVs since everyone is using them like minivans anyway. 

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/22/2019 at 13:44

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Sliding doors make big holes in the structure, which is harder to compensate for in crash testing . Since the passenger slider gets used more heavily, you need to keep it but the driver side can be made a normal door. You still have the option to load from that side without a huge hole in the crash structure

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 14:46

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Spoken like someone who hasn’t owned and used a minivan on a daily basis 

TBH , I rarely use the right side sliding door on my Mazda5, storing and accessing stuff right behind the drivers seat on a daily basis . My old Windstar only had the right-side sliding door and that meant that the middle of the vehicle hardly ever got used, with the back hatch being the most commonly used door, besides the drivers door, of course. But back hatches are heavy and it’s easier to toss open the slider for quick and easy access to one’s stuph . But I realize that most minivans are used by families, whereas I’m just a single guy driving one on a daily basis, and my usage may or may not represent the average minivan driver (but I think most would agree with me). Having a slider also means kids won't slam a door into the next car.

If I was to build up my dream non-Westfalia Vanagon it would have sliders on both sides, something that should be possible with parts from a RHD vehicle. D ual sliders just make any van so much easier to use that I’d hate to go back to a van without them. I just wish all of the doors (except the rear hatch) could be sliders.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/22/2019 at 15:29

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I have spent about 30k miles behind the wheels of minivans, with different seat configurations and with/without children involved and my experience is that the driver side slider gets used half as much as the passenger.

So, might as well replace it with regular door. Le ss com plicated/prone to breaking , and a s maller hole in the crash structure means less bulky and heavy reinforcing beams.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/22/2019 at 16:05

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I realize my minivan usage is atypical, but I would not want to go back to one without a left slider. The advantages, IMHO, outweigh any potential downsides.

pip bip - choose Corrour > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/23/2019 at 05:17

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Toyota Porte. for people in a wheelchair