Minivan

Minivan (sometimes called simply a van) is a <a href="/facts/Car_classification/gTyQ0WU7">car classification</a> for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows . The equivalent classification in Europe is MPV (multi-purpose vehicle), people carrier, or M-segment.
Compared with a <a href="/facts/Full-size_van/kprf6QXL">full-size van</a>, most minivans are based on a passenger <a href="/facts/Car_platform/hsBY0eHT">car platform</a> and have a lower body. Early models such as the <a href="/facts/Ford_Aerostar/gVaC0aUK">Ford Aerostar</a> and <a href="/facts/Chevrolet_Astro/7yok9dcC">Chevrolet Astro</a> utilized a compact pickup truck platform. Minivans often have a 'one-box' or 'two-box' <a href="/facts/Car_body_configurations/Knw0vr0Q">body configuration</a>, a higher roof, a flat floor, sliding doors for rear passengers, and high <a href="/facts/H-point/5GqSdqHc">H-point</a> seating. The largest size of minivans is also referred to as 'Large MPV' and became popular following the introduction of the 1984 <a href="/facts/Dodge_Caravan/Y6SJT8yc">Dodge Caravan</a> and <a href="/facts/Renault_Espace/kffT57NX">Renault Espace</a>. Typically, these have platforms derived from D-segment passenger cars or compact pickups. Since the 1990s, the smaller <a href="/facts/Compact_MPV/rsmaVBT8">compact MPV</a> and <a href="/facts/Mini_MPV/5dxm5c9c">mini MPV</a> sizes of minivans have also become popular.
Though 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 <a href="/facts/Chrysler/kMHhMgYx">Chrysler</a> (producer of the <a href="/facts/Chrysler_minivans/fAvXfXdC">Chrysler minivans</a>) and <a href="/facts/Renault/obzoLxSN">Renault</a> (the <a href="/facts/Renault_Espace/kffT57NX">Renault Espace</a>), both first sold for <a href="/facts/Model_year/z5RUIEK2">model year</a> 1984. Minivans cut into and eventually overshadowed the traditional market of the <a href="/facts/Station_wagon/m98qdszh">station wagon</a> and grew 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 <a href="/facts/Crossover_(automobile)/srpC5N3N">crossovers</a> and <a href="/facts/SUV/qAeED6XM">SUVs</a>, while in Asia they are commonly marketed as <a href="/facts/Luxury_vehicle/nFb5l5kk">luxury vehicles</a>.

Minivan open-in-new

Minivan