Using minivans as moving vans
Minivans are known for hauling lots of kids and the family dog, but they're also adept at moving cargo. Ask any parent who has moved a son or daughter off to college - it's amazing how much stuff you can cram in a minivan when you have to. Interestingly, it's the SUV that is often seen as the ultimate cargo carrier. In reality, that's not always the case, as the table (right) shows. Though similar in exterior size, the
Even when the Sienna is compared with one of the largest SUVs on sale in the United States, the Chevrolet Suburban, it still beats it in total cargo room and space behind the second row, and does so with a much smaller footprint than the Suburban.
What makes minivans so space-efficient? There are a few key things, a number of which center around the fact that minivans aren't designed to go off-road, as are SUVs. The Suburban and other traditional SUVs don't have as much cabin room because their truck-based designs sacrifice it in favor of ground clearance for tackling tough terrain, as well as room for heavy-duty four-wheel-drive systems. Minivans ride low to the ground, which makes for a lower cabin floor and thus a larger interior, ideal for hauling bulky items.Besides the additional space that comes from minivans' car-based design, the fact that they ride lower to the ground makes them better for loading and unloading cargo.
Another trick that helps give minivans an edge in the cargo-carrying department is their removable second-row seats. The minivan's advantage here is that it lets you temporarily remove something - the seats - that would otherwise take up valuable cargo space. SUVs typically have folding second-row seats, which sacrifice some cargo room. A classic minivan characteristic is sliding side doors, and these can be beneficial when loading cargo in tight quarters because they don't require space to swing open. Power-sliding side doors offered on most minivans can make loading cargo even easier; if you have the key fob in your hand, you don't have to set down what you're carrying when approaching the van - a push of a button will make the door slide out of the way.
