I know it's not sexy or whatever, but the fact of the matter is, anybody with a family, a minivan is invaluable and form/function trumps image when you need a practical people/cargo carrier.
Minivan's FAR exceed large SUV's in ease of entry, loading in cargo and gas mileage as it is.
I've wondered for several years who would not only make the first HYBRID gas/electric minivan (not sure why that hasn't happened already, it's a no brainer) but who will make the first DIESEL powered minivan.
The gas/electric hybrid would surely get a bit better gas mileage (at least in the city), but at the cost of the space you have in a minivan where the rear seats fold into the floor, as the battery pack would take up that room.
However, a diesel minivan would still have all the space a current minivan has but probably get 22-25 city and 32-34 mpg highway gas mileage from a 3.0 liter turbo diesel engine.
Most minivans now with 3.5+ liter V6's have 245-265 hp and 240-280 lbs feet of torque.
So with a 3.0 liter V6 TDI you'd have similar hp in the 240-250 hp range, but would have well over 400 lbs-ft of torque.
Moving a 4300-4600 lbs minivan would mean plenty of power and get up and go.
So who do you think will be the first smart company to do so and when??
Minivan's FAR exceed large SUV's in ease of entry, loading in cargo and gas mileage as it is.
I've wondered for several years who would not only make the first HYBRID gas/electric minivan (not sure why that hasn't happened already, it's a no brainer) but who will make the first DIESEL powered minivan.
The gas/electric hybrid would surely get a bit better gas mileage (at least in the city), but at the cost of the space you have in a minivan where the rear seats fold into the floor, as the battery pack would take up that room.
However, a diesel minivan would still have all the space a current minivan has but probably get 22-25 city and 32-34 mpg highway gas mileage from a 3.0 liter turbo diesel engine.
Most minivans now with 3.5+ liter V6's have 245-265 hp and 240-280 lbs feet of torque.
So with a 3.0 liter V6 TDI you'd have similar hp in the 240-250 hp range, but would have well over 400 lbs-ft of torque.
Moving a 4300-4600 lbs minivan would mean plenty of power and get up and go.
So who do you think will be the first smart company to do so and when??