Minivan
Minivan, commonly called simply a van, is a car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row, with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe is MPV, people carrier, or M-segment.
Compared with a full-size van, most minivans are based on a passenger car platform and have a lower body. Early models, such as the Ford Aerostar and Chevrolet Astro, utilized a compact pickup truck platform.
Minivans often feature a 'one-box' or 'two-box' body configuration, a higher roof, a flat floor, sliding doors for rear passengers, and high 'H-point' seating. The largest size of minivans is also referred to as 'Large MPV' and became popular following the introduction of the 1984 Dodge Caravan and Renault Espace. Typically, these have platforms derived from D-segment passenger cars or compact pickups. Since the 1990s, the smaller compact MPV and mini MPV sizes of minivans have also become popular.
Although predecessors to the minivan date back to the 1930s, the contemporary minivan body style was developed concurrently by several companies in the early 1980s, most notably by Chrysler and Renault, both of which were first sold in model year 1984. Minivans cut into and eventually overshadowed the traditional station wagon market, growing in global popularity and diversity throughout the 1990s. Since the 2000s, their reception has varied in different parts of the world. In North America, for example, they have been largely eclipsed by crossovers and SUVs, while in Asia, they are often marketed as luxury cars.
Etymology
The term minivan originated in North America and the United Kingdom in 1959. In the UK, the Mini Van was a small van manufactured by Austin Motor Company based on the newly introduced Mini car. In the US, the term was used to differentiate the smaller passenger vehicles from full-size vans, which were then called 'vans'.The first known use of the term was in 1959, but not until the 1980s was it commonly used.
Characteristics
Chassis
In contrast to larger vans, most modern minivans/MPVs use a front-engine, front-wheel drive layout, while some model lines offer all-wheel drive as an option. Alongside adopting the form factor introduced by Chrysler minivans, the configuration allows for less engine intrusion and a lower floor in the passenger compartment. In line with larger full-size vans, unibody construction has been commonly used.Minivans/MPVs are produced on distinct chassis architecture or share platforms with other vehicles such as sedans and crossover SUVs. Minivans do not have as much ground clearance, towing capacity, or off-road capability compared to SUVs. Minivans provide more space for passengers and cargo than sedans and SUVs.
Body style
Minivans/MPVs use either a two-box or a one-box body design with A, B, C, and D pillars. The cabin may be fitted with two, three, or four rows of seats, with the most common configurations being 2+3+2 or 2+3+3. Compared to other types of passenger vehicles, the body shape of minivans is designed to maximize interior space for both passengers and cargo. It is achieved by lengthening the wheelbase, creating a flatter floor, taller roof, and more upright side profile, but not as prominent as commercial-oriented vans that are boxier in profile. Practicality and comfort for passengers are also enhanced with a larger rear cargo space opening and larger windows.Some minivans/MPVs may use sliding doors, while others offer conventional forward-hinged doors. Initially, a feature of the 1982 Nissan Prairie, the 1996 Chrysler minivans introduced a driver-side sliding door; by 2002, all minivans were sold with doors on both sides of the body. Most minivans are configured with a rear lift gate; few minivans have used panel-style rear doors, for example, cargo versions of the Chevrolet Astro, Ford Aerostar, and the Mercedes-Benz V-Class.
Interior
Most minivans have a reconfigurable interior to carry passengers and their effects. The first examples were designed with removable rear seats unlatched from the floor for removal and storage ; however, users gave poor reception to the design as many seats were heavy and hard to remove. In 1995, the Honda Odyssey was introduced with a third-row seat that folded flat into the floor, which was then adopted by many competitors, including Chrysler that introduced third-row and fold-flat second-row seats in 2005.High-end minivans may include distinguished features such as captain seats or Ottoman seats, as opposed to bench seats for the second row.
Predecessors
Before the adoption of the minivan term, there is a long history of one-box passenger vehicles roughly approximating the body style, with the 1936 Stout Scarab often cited as the first minivan. The passenger seats in the Scarab were moveable and could be configured for the passengers to sit around a table in the rear of the cabin. Passengers entered and exited the Scarab via a centrally mounted door.The DKW Schnellaster—manufactured from 1949 until 1962—featured front-wheel drive, a transverse engine, a flat floor, and multi-configurable seating, all of which would later become characteristics of minivans.
In 1950, the Volkswagen Type 2 adapted a bus-shaped body to the chassis of a small passenger car. When Volkswagen introduced a sliding side door to the Type 2 in 1968, it then had the prominent features that would later come to define a minivan: compact length, three rows of forward-facing seats, station wagon-style top-hinged tailgate/liftgate, sliding side door, passenger car base.
The 1956–1969 Fiat Multipla also had many features in common with modern minivans. The Multipla was based on the chassis of the Fiat 600 and had a rear engine and cab forward layout.
The early 1960s saw Ford and Chevrolet introduce "compact" vans for the North American market, the Econoline Club Wagon and Greenbrier respectively. The Ford version was marketed in the Falcon series, the Chevrolet in the Corvair 95 series. The Econoline grew larger in the 1970s, while the Greenbrier was joined by the Chevy Van.
North America
Due to their larger footprint and engines, minivans developed for the North American market are distinct from most minivans/MPVs marketed in other regions, such as Europe and Asia., average exterior length for minivans in North America ranged around, while many models use V6 engines with more than mainly to fulfill towing capacity requirements which North American customers demand.In 2021, sales of the segment totalled 310,630 units in the U.S., and 33,544 in Canada., the passenger-oriented minivan segment consists of the Toyota Sienna, Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager, Honda Odyssey, and Kia Carnival.
History
1970s and 1980s
In the late 1970s, Chrysler began a development program to design "a small affordable van that looked and handled more like a car." The result of this program was the first American minivans based on the S platform, the 1984 Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan. The S minivans debuted the minivan design features of front-wheel drive, a flat floor and a sliding door for rear passengers.The term minivan came into use largely compared to size to full-size vans; at six feet tall or lower, 1980s minivans were intended to fit inside a typical garage door opening. In 1984, The New York Times described minivans "the hot cars coming out of Detroit," noting that "analysts say the mini-van has created an entirely new market, one that may well overshadow the... station wagon."
In response to the popularity of the Voyager/Caravan, General Motors released the 1985 Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari badge-engineered twins, and Ford released the 1986 Ford Aerostar. These vehicles used a traditional rear-wheel drive layout, unlike the Voyager/Caravan.
To match the launch of minivans by American manufacturers, Japanese manufacturers introduced the Toyota Van, Nissan Vanette, and Mitsubishi Delica to North America in 1984, 1986, and 1987, respectively. These vehicles were marketed with the generic "Van" and "Wagon" names.
In 1989, the Mazda MPV was released as the first Japanese-brand minivan developed from the ground up specifically for the North American market. Its larger chassis allowed an optional V6 engine and four-wheel drive to fit. In contrast to the sliding doors of American minivans, a hinged passenger-side door was used. A driver-side entry was added for 1996, as Mazda gradually remarketed the model line as an early crossover SUV.
By the end of the 1980s, demand for minivans as family vehicles had largely superseded full-size station wagons in the United States.
1990s
During the 1990s, the minivan segment underwent several significant changes. Many models switched to the front-wheel drive layout used by the Voyager/Caravan minivans. For example, Ford replaced the Aerostar with the front-wheel drive Mercury Villager for 1993 and the Ford Windstar for 1995. The models also increased in size due to the extended-wheelbase versions of the Voyager and Caravan, launched in 1987. An increase in luxury features and interior equipment was seen in the Eddie Bauer version of the 1988 Ford Aerostar, the 1990 Chrysler Town & Country, and the 1990 Oldsmobile Silhouette. The third-generation Plymouth Voyager, Dodge Caravan, and Chrysler Town & Country – released for the 1996 model year – had an additional sliding door on the driver's side.Following the 1990 discontinuation of the Nissan Vanette in the United States, Nissan also ended the sale of the second-generation Nissan Axxess. Nissan reentered the segment by forming a joint venture with Ford to develop and assemble a minivan that became the Nissan Quest and its Mercury Villager counterpart.
Toyota also introduced the Toyota Previa in 1990 to replace the Van/Wagon in North America. It was designed solely as a passenger vehicle sized to compete with American-market minivans. For 1998, the Toyota Sienna became the first Japanese-brand minivan assembled in North America, replacing the Toyota Previa in that market. For 1999, Honda introduced a separate version of the Odyssey for North America, with North America receiving a larger vehicle with sliding doors. These Japanese minivans targeted a higher price bracket as they were considerably larger and had better handling/horsepower over their domestic counterparts.
The highest selling year for minivans was in 2000, when 1.4 million units were sold. At that time, domestic minivans were produced in large volumes and often sold for cheaper than midsize cars, however Japanese minivans were more expensive than either.