[Locke]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I can agree the van is a little bit of an odd ball at times.

Vans are better for older people due to the lower height profile, sliding doors are awesome for tighter parking spots/dumb kids and aiding the elderly, sliding or removing the middle row and a shallower but deeper trunk (almost vertical) has its pros and cons. The deeper vertical trunk means less stuff falls out from the bottom and if you use a cargo net, closer to the top as well. The space is redistributed towards the front for a more comfortable loading/unloading and seating experience for the second and third row passengers.

Trucks and SUVs have seemingly more storage in the back due to a deeper and more horizontal trunk which is more comparable to a sedan. This might work better for some and is perhaps more beneficial due to less requirements to consider stacking of certain things in the trunk. A van is typically more shallow and vertical in the same way as perhaps a hatchback or wagon?

In vacation mode, for my van, I'd typically put most of my luggage in the back and food combination in the back or mid depending on how fragile the food is (ie: is it stackable or not) due to the more vertical vs horizontal trunk space of SUV. When I reach the destination, it is indeed more of a pain in the ass to have passengers climb over these items in the middle row to get out.

But on ski trips with a group of friends, it's always nice to have a van in the group so that you can just drop down the seats and throw gear in haphazardly like an equipment room and rejuggle the seating arrangement with the other vehicles. Also nice to have it enclosed and warmed so that the snow/ice can melt and the gear won't be all wet by the time you get back to the city (I refuse their stinky clothing). Or in the summer, sometimes we consolidate a supply run/wine purchases/beach gear into the van and redistribute stuff and passengers as needed.

Flexibility is the strength of a van, but for people who have fine tuned their vehicle experience, I can totally see how that flexibility can turn into a detriment.

Plus kidnapping!

Vans dont get nearly enough credit for making kidnapping so easy an amateur can do it!