Mini Vans -- hate 'em..

[Polygon]

Mini-vans are a good thing IMO. The current ones have descent power, th problem is the loose nut behind the wheel. I think they are good alternative to SUVs for people that aren't going to go off road. I mean, honestly, it pisses me off when I see one person driving around in an Excursion. They need to get a damn mini-van. Will I ever have a mini-van? I doubt it, only if it was a Chysler with a turbo, slim chance besides. I don't really care for them.

[Ssom]

I think that there are some good mini-vans (or MPV's) on sale

-Honda Oddysey V6 (Jap model, not American)
-Toyota Previa Grande
-SEAT Alhambra/Ford Galaxy/VW Sharan 4-Motion
-Renault Espace RXT 3.0
-The upcoming Citroen C7/Peugeot 8O7/Lancia Z/FIAT Ullyse
-Mazda MPV 3.0 V6

They are a far better than any piss-ass 'SUV'

[snoopafellajv]

My mom owns a 1996 dodge grand caravan.. now i wanna blow up every 1 i see cuz there are so many but we gotta put them in tha cave osama is in all of them then blow em up thats what he deserves!

[lifeiscars]

my mom owns a 99 pontiac, i hate the piece of shit, i have to drive on long trips and everytime the fucking thing downshifts like mad, and it pissed me off, i just floor the shit and get on peoples asses and hope one of them brake so i can ram the shit into the back of em. now she wants a suv. jeez

[lifeiscars]

oh yah and one more thing. what kind of dumbass like gm, would take the aztech and put it on the van base venture/montana/silhoutte and then make it have 4wheel drive that isnt really 4wd...that is really a dumb move on there behalf. i thinkinstead or designin it they should just trash it

[Nitrous]

LMAO.......Yea, lets not forget about the azteks.:alien:

[boingo82]

Originally posted by Polygon
Mini-vans are a good thing IMO. The current ones have descent power, th problem is the loose nut behind the wheel. I think they are good alternative to SUVs for people that aren't going to go off road. I mean, honestly, it pisses me off when I see one person driving around in an Excursion. They need to get a damn mini-van. Will I ever have a mini-van? I doubt it, only if it was a Chysler with a turbo, slim chance besides. I don't really care for them.

That's what I was going to say..at least the minivans' headlights aren't so damned high, and they cause fewer distracting rollovers. Plus, minivans kick ass on road trips when you're hauling tons of people and stuff.

Oh, and to the people who complain that minivans aren't powerful and exotic enough..well duh! I hate to break it to you, but some cars have a purpose beyond racing. In fact, most cars serve a much higher purpose: comfortable transportation.

[txcougar]

I got a 01 Astro and I happen to think it looks pretty good. I know it's not the coolest or fastest car but its our family car. I have 3 young kids and its great for hauling all of them around and then some.

[boingo82]

Originally Posted by txcougar

I got a 01 Astro and I happen to think it looks pretty good. I know it's not the coolest or fastest car but its our family car. I have 3 young kids and its great for hauling all of them around and then some.

I am OK w/ minivans, but too bad you got the Astro and not something safer.

[zackiedawg]

If you have a large family, or need to get around town with 6 or 7 people, or go on a trip with 5 people and all their crap, no small or midsize SUV or wagon could do it better than a minivan. That's a fact. People buying a huge SUV for a family car are wasting an enormous amount of space to get less cargo room than your average van...look at a Suburban or Expedition...compare the length, width, and height to a Caravan or Odyssey. Then look at interior volume. The minivan will seat as many people comfortably, carry MORE cargo (due to low load floors and more space between the wheelwells), get better mileage, and handle better.

I happen to find a wagon fits my needs perfectly. I don't have a family, and never carry more than 3 people in my car. I wanted to still have high performance, high speed cruising, great handling, etc. while having cargo flexibility of a wagon. But if I had a large family, I wouldn't hesitate to get a minivan long before I'd ever consider an SUV.

BTW - SPEAKING OF PERFORMANCE MINIVANS: I saw people list the Bertone and Renault Espace F1...both of which were concepts not sold or marketed to the public. You can't go out and buy one. However, you CAN buy one of these twin turbo beasts:






This is a Volkswagen T4 Eurovan, with a Porsche 993 twin turbo engine and all-wheel drive system transplanted, and a Porsche 996 tranny, suspension, and GT3 brakes.

Check out the Porsche dash:



And the engine is in the rear, where it should be for a Porsche engine!:



Now THAT's a real performance minivan you can actually buy and drive on the streets every day. This one has tricked out carbon fiber seats...but I'd probably leave the more functional VW interior in the van (If you are going to have a minivan, you might as well have the flexibility to use it like one!).

If any of you have high speed connections, there is a very cool video of the van (narration in German) ripping through some turns with the rear end drifting out, and hitting a high speed track at triple digits...very cool (about 40MB...so beware if you have 56K connection!):

http://www.magicfingers.de/Bonus/claert4.mpeg