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Alphard in top trim feels more luxurios than RX. And I don 't regard either minivans or SUV cool cars or vanity cars, both are just people/load movers that I don't care to drive, but for utility purpose.
Thats what puts you in the minority. People choose crossovers/SUVs over minivans because of style and vanity, perceived lifestyle benefits, etc.
Thats what puts you in the minority. People choose crossovers/SUVs over minivans because of style and vanity, perceived lifestyle benefits, etc.
I would go for something like a E63S 4matic wagon or even just the E43 version if those are the criteria for a car with utility, I guess that makes me the minority too, and I am glad to be .
Look, I do not need to move big loads , anything too big to fit a wagon like the E, I would rather have them delivered anyway.
These popular European (and Asian) MPVs (available but not popular in North American as the Kia Rondo and Mazda 5) are not vans because they do not have a flat floor. In fact, they have a similar architecture to 3-row crossover utility vehicles (CUV) in North America but with smaller-diameter tires and lower suspensions.
I can only guess that the reason that lower-riding 7-passenger MPVs are not as popular as 7-passenger CUVs in North America is because they are not butch enough, with their puny wheels and car-like ride height.
Vans that are the size of North American minivans are very popular in Europe but they are passenger conversions of commercial panel vans (like the Mercedes-Benz V-Class / Metris). Toyota sells such a model in Europe, produced in cooperation with Peugeot and Citroen; it is sold as the Toyota Proace, Peugeot Traveller and Citroen Spacetourer passenger vans, and as Toyota Proace, Peugeot Expert and Citroen Dispatch panel vans.
Toyota Proace, Peugeot Traveller and Citroen Spacetourer:
Vauxhall Vivaro:
They are very popular as commercial vehicles, as minibuses, rather than as family-mobiles. The large family-minivan with a rear underfloor well is a North American vehicle.
The large North American minivan would not be popular in Europe nor Asia not because the size of the average family is getting smaller but because the North American minivan is just TOO LARGE for Europe, and especially Asia. The average North American minivan (and midsize and fullsize 7-passenger CUV), just like the average North American, is wide and getting wider; these vehicles are just too wide, especially for Asia.
Thats what puts you in the minority. People choose crossovers/SUVs over minivans because of style and vanity, perceived lifestyle benefits, etc.
Today, with just 1.8 children per child bearing woman & declining, most of the 7/8 seats are simply empty.
Population is growing more by immigration than by natural birth.
However, with increasing girth sizes, Americans need more interior space provided by crossovers CUV's than ever before.
Crossovers not only provide vertical space, they also bridge the gap to real SUV's like the Landcruiser.
Modern day vertical space being both more efficient & economical than traditional horizontal space provided by the big sedans of the 1970's.
Most people drive just one person per vehicle, and a mid size CUV Highlander is big enough.
One person per mid to full size MPV Sienna, and in particular, one person per full size Chrysler Pacifica is just huge...
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Today, with just 1.8 children per child bearing woman & declining, most of the 7/8 seats are simply empty.
Population is growing more by immigration than by natural birth.
However, with increasing girth sizes, Americans need more interior space provided by crossovers CUV's than ever before.
Crossovers not only provide vertical space, they also bridge the gap to real SUV's like the Landcruiser.
Modern day vertical space being both more efficient & economical than traditional horizontal space provided by the big sedans of the 1970's.
Most people drive just one person per vehicle, and a mid size CUV Highlander is big enough.
One person per mid to full size MPV Sienna, and in particular, one person per full size Chrysler Pacifica is just huge...
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If buyers are looking for space, nothing can beat the North American minivan, for internal elbow room, legroom and headroom. The crossover has less legroom and headroom because of the lower internal cabin height and lower (closer to the floor) seating. The typical crossover also has a very high step-in height, higher than the typical minivan.
The crossover is a vanity purchase bought because of fashion trends, not because of the need for space.
I always love these posts explaining why I chose a crossover over a minivan...lol.
I bought my Highlander because there was no minivan that offered that combination of room, AWD, ground clearance, and gas mileage. Yes, a minivan has more room, but I’ve never filled my Highlander to capacity so that extra space would go unused. I like the looks of it, but would have been fine with a minivan. It wasn’t a vanity purchase.
But it let’s just say it was. So??? People choose one vehicle over another based on looks all of the time and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I always love these posts explaining why I chose a crossover over a minivan...lol.
I bought my Highlander because there was no minivan that offered that combination of room, AWD, ground clearance, and gas mileage. Yes, a minivan has more room, but I’ve never filled my Highlander to capacity so that extra space would go unused. I like the looks of it, but would have been fine with a minivan. It wasn’t a vanity purchase.
But it let’s just say it was. So??? People choose one vehicle over another based on looks all of the time and there’s nothing wrong with that.
When someone jumps over the cliff, there will be others inclined to do the same, and jump over the cliff as well with crossovers/CUV's etc.
However, from a technical viewpoint, IMO MPV's/minivans rarely deliberately use large rolling diameter tires to raise their ground clearance like an SUV Landcruiser or CUV Range Rover.
Though theoretically, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having an MPV minivan with large rolling diameter tires, high ground clearance & AWD.
It just depends on demand for the product, like demand for a midsize Lexus MPV.
Most MPV's/minivans simply have an inverted tub floor with a raised but flat floor from the front, all the way to the trunk.
Thus your personal criteria of room, AWD, ground clearance & gas mileage is best fulfilled by a crossover like your Highlander etc, which has spacious upright seating, with larger rolling diameter tires for raised ground clearance, combined with passive FWD-based AWD for light all terrain use.
SUV 2-piece body-on-frame chassis, and CUV 1-piece monocoque chassis are starting to become less relevant as they can both be used for on-road or off-road use.
Thus, rather than classifying vehicles by their 1/2-piece chassis design as CUV or SUV, nowadays it's probably more important to classify them by their end use or application, for example:
(1) Choose the size.
(2) Determine the Seat Number. Rather than calling it a 4/5/7/8 seater etc, it is actually more accurate to describe it as: 1/2/2+2/4+1/4+1+2/6+2 seater.
A Highlander is actually 4+1+2; 1 being the middle seat of the middle row, while 2 being the 3rd row.
While a Sienna is 6+2; 2 being the middle seat of the 2nd & 3rd rows.
(3) Determine if the vehicle increases in size & seat number horizontally like a limousine with three rows, or vertically like a Sienna or Highlander.
Horizontal stretching is expensive, while vertical enlargement is more economical.
(4) Determine the rear end design as either notch back trunk, or a wagon tailgate with the trunk and rear windscreen combined for a larger opening.
(5) Determine the Road Surface Type:
(a) Track eg Formula 1 or Formula E racing car.
(b) Road eg coupe, sedan, limousine, MPV etc.
(c) All-Terrain [off-road] eg CUV/SUV, which can be further subdivided into:
(i) Light Duty eg C-HR, RAV4, Highlander, Lexus RX350L & RX450hL.
(ii) Medium Duty eg 4Runner, Tacoma, Landcruiser.
(iii) Heavy Duty eg Humvee.
(iv) Super Heavy Duty eg CAT mining vehicle.
Remember that on-road and off-road is a compromize; there is no perfect vehicle design.
The bigger the rolling diameter of the tires, the greater the ground clearance, and the more the vehicle can handle rough terrain.
However, the bigger the rolling diameter of the tires, the heavier the unsprung mass, thus the greater the momentum that is generated when the tires collide with any given bump at any given speed, hence the greater the momentum thrown into the sprung body of the vehicle, resulting in a bumpier ride.
Thus, a Lexus RX350L/450hL would be a 4+1+2 seater tall wagon-tailgate light-duty all-terrain vehicle.
People come first, then the cargo access type, and finally the road surface type - so that vehicles are engineered to fit the human, then cargo, rather than forcing the human & cargo to adapt to the motor vehicle design.
NB. Horizontal vs Vertical full 3rd row.
A Highlander/RX350L/RX450hL does not have a proper full 3rd row.
Below is a Super Heavy Duty Off-Road vehicle.
Thus it is important to note the surface application of the vehicle as to either: track, road, or off-road, and the degree to which it is intended for off-road purposes.
I always love these posts explaining why I chose a crossover over a minivan...lol.
It's your money. You probably don't have to justify it to anyone outside of your own family....though, of course, being a car forum, we usually do talk about why we do (or don't do) certain things on a purchase or lease.
I always love these posts explaining why I chose a crossover over a minivan...lol.
I bought my Highlander because there was no minivan that offered that combination of room, AWD, ground clearance, and gas mileage. Yes, a minivan has more room, but I’ve never filled my Highlander to capacity so that extra space would go unused. I like the looks of it, but would have been fine with a minivan. It wasn’t a vanity purchase.
But it let’s just say it was. So??? People choose one vehicle over another based on looks all of the time and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I forgot that I had this photo in my collection which may have been what you were looking for.
Tall rolling diameter tires, high ground clearance, AWD, and decently good mileage, plus a flat floor from front to trunk with a full 8 seats.
12-07-17, 11:37 AM
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