I've asked this question before but not in the form of a poll. I, for one, am very interested in the hybrid Alphard which Toyota sells in Japan and wish they would make one for the US market. Just want to quantify what the overall desire might be for a hybrid minivan. Even in this generally hybrid-accepting demographic of PC, I'm still curious what people think.
I think mini-van's are best suited for those with kids. I have none yet. Even if/when we do have kids, I think I'd prefer a HiHy. The only thing I miss not having my Jeep is the ability to tow. A HiHy would allow me to do that. And, when we do get one, my wife would probably drive it and she drives very little.
Just responded "yes" though honestly I don't want one just yet! We were just talking about this last night - we see so many of our friends with kids getting minivans and liking them, and we can easily imagine a hybrid minivan being a great choice for us someday. Emphasis on "someday", since we don't have any kids yet, and knock on wood, our 2000 Civic should be good for a few more years! In the meantime, we can keep enjoying our 4-day-old Prius. Michelle
I'm with galaxies, Don't need one yet, but we're already close to a 2nd dog and we have started talking about having a child... having 5 beings in a prius could be kinda cramped so we would need something a little bigger.... a futuristic (a'la prius) looking minivan that REALLY went for FE would be cool in a couple of years.
Not being PC, but soon to be a Prius owner and having owned two mini-vans, I would certainly have welcomed the option of a hybrid mini-van. If one has more than two children (a large number of my friends have one or two biological children and one or more children via adoption), one's auto choices are limited. If my husband and I were still adopting or had a child under age 10... That's my long-winded "Yes".
We definitely hope to get a hybrid minivan in several years (4-5). You just can beat the capacity of a minivan without a honking SUV (and I don't have the they are not cool mentality like so many my age). We have tried out the Sienna just for kicks and really liked it. I would like to see the Stow-n-Go of the Chrysler vans, though. I really hope that Toyota comes out with one soon, but any hybrid version would at least deserve a long look. We tried the HiHy, but it was just too small, it didnt' seem much bigger than the Prius.
That's exactly what I thought about the Ford Escape Hybrid. You didn't seem to gain much room over the Prius for it being an SUV. I suppose if more towing capability and ground clearance are what you want then the Escape Hybrid or HiHy would be a better option than the Prius. Maybe I'm in the minority here but towing things and offroading are two things that I simply don't care about. Give me more room, wider easy access sliding doors, and better mpg's first.
Last spring on a return flight from Manila, we had a stopover in Nagoya. After we reboarded the plane and waiting for the pushback, I noticed several of the airport service vehicles were minivans and had hybrid in very large letters on the side. I couldn't make out any manafacturer's logo given the angle and distance I was from the van, allthough given the location, it probably was a Toyota. Could this be the Alphard you mentioned???
If you really wanted one you could probably import it from Japan if you don't mind driving on the right side.
While I personally do not want or need a minivan, I feel a hybrid minivan should be available in the U.S. for those that need a minivan and want a hybrid. They have them in Japan, have for years. Why not here? Why should people who want a hybrid minivan be forced to buy a hybrid SUV? And I think they all should be HSD, whether it's Toyota or someone else.
Though I'd rather have more R&D go into creating a plug-in Prius, I think that a minivan would REALLY put this technology to the masses. Most of my friends now have children, and a minivan is the vehicle of choice. I'd love to see it, and I'd love it even more if it had *reasonable* power and great mileage - instead of what everybody seems to be doing... maxing the power, and offering mediocre mileage. Who the hell needs a 250HP minivan? Or any family vehicle for that matter? Now a minivan with an honest 40mpg would be something to talk about.
I was reading about the Mazda microvan in CR today. It looks like a very functional form and size for a family car -- but I was mortified to see it gets around 16 mpg in the city. Like Darell says, a 40 mpg city family hauler is way overdue.
From the Chicago Tribune today: When Ford on Monday identifies the assembly plants it intends to close as part of a major restructuring in North America, the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey mini-vans may go with them.
only one in the 19 months i've had my Prius that needed to carry more than 5 people and only a 9 passenger vehicle would have been able to pull it off anyway. only have 8 people but at 6'5" and 275 lbs, my nephew doesnt really fit in those 3 across seats very well.
