It appears that the high-end mini-vans end at the Honda Oddessy, the Toyota Sienna, and the Chrysler Town & Country.
Looking around on the roads, you can see there is a market for mini vans, so why is there no Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Infiniti, etc, mini van?
Because minivans are “uncool” and they can afford a luxury SUV which is cool. I mean if you are looking at Lexus’, Mercedes, et al, the price of their luxury SUV isn’t going to scare you off. If you were a stay-at-home soccer mom with the money to spend would you rather have a luxury minivan or a luxury SUV?
Pfft. If I had big bucks, I’d buy a Lexus minivan. I’ve got three children, one of which is just a year old, and I like to be able to “walk” around in the minivan. I can hop from the ‘way back’ to the middle seat to the driver’s seat, tending to the various needs of the kids (when parked, of course). I don’t know that this is possible with an SUV. At least it’s not with the Jeep Cherokee we own.
I don’t give a crap about cool. But if I could have a minivan that would do everything but wipe my hiney and it had a Lexus nameplate, I’d buy it in a new york minute!
I think a minivan would be a logical choice. Minivans have far more space inside, and are easier to get in/out,
I’m a single guy and I love my minivan. Because it has a flat floor all the way to the front, and no obstacles between the front seats, it can easily carry my 9.5-ft long recumbent tandem bicycle without any disassembly. Try that with an SUV!
Mercedes and BMW are both releasing vehicles that are essentially luxury minivans, but without the sliding doors. The Benz will be called the R-Class.
http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/NewsID/2050323.014/mercedes/1.html
The Straight Dope: Where the rule proves the exception.
Minivans are by definition not luxury vehicles. This is because they’re plastic-coated middle-class baby-boxes.
Upmarket folks put ba-ba in his little seat in an RX330 and happily sail off. They can do this in part because they have this irritating habit of not having enough babies and waiting too long in between.
As for minivans wiping heiney, however, it’s only a matter of time.
It wasn’t so long ago when trucks and off-road-capable 4x4s were, by definition, not luxury vehicles.
Minivans usually contain kids who are either puking, peeing, or wingin’ wet suckers and popcorn balls. You don’t want them in a luxury anything!
Slight Hijack - why don’t minivan’s captain’s chairs ala Honda Oddessey, swivel 90 degrees for easier placement of children in child’s seat without wrenching your back?
Oh and I agree with Kalhoun
Don’t the smaller models of high-end SUVs answer this need?
Looks more like a luxury Magnum to me.
That is what I thought. It isn’t a mini-van it’s an over sized station wagon.
Shhhh…don’t say “station wagon”. It’s a “crossover vehicle” now.
True. As parents of young children, our life is based on having things that are ruinable. Our couch is OK to throw up on; we’ll buy a nicer one later. Our van is OK to throw up in; we’ll get a nicer one later–well, probably we won’t, we’re not really car people. But why would I want a luxury van that would get thrown up on?
What makes the Honda Oddessy a high end minivan? My step daughter recently traded in her underpowered problematic 2002 Oddessy for a 2003 Olds Silhouette. The Silhouette has much more room, a whole lot more power than the Honda and power features even brand new Oddessy’s don’t have. While helping my step daughter look for a replacement for her Honda, the only thing I found high end about them was the price.