Minivans are just about the least exciting vehicles on the road, until you have a couple of kids, at which point a minivan can totally rock your world. We’re not sure why grown men and women who shuffle about disheveled from lack of sleep, vividly colored diaper bags slung over their shoulders, baby vomit stains on their shirts, booger suckers at the ready, and enough wet wipes to accommodate the entire sumo-tori Makuuchi division are so utterly and irrationally concerned that buying a vehicle with sliding side doors is going to sully their image. Really, people?
See, when your name is Mom or Dad, a minivan is, as Yo Gabba Gabba’s D.J. Lance Rock might say, SUPER AWESOME! The side doors slide, creating a big opening for children to enter and exit the vehicle without dinging adjacent cars to the point where an insurance adjuster is required. Sliding side doors also mean that your lower vertebrae will fuse together later than sooner, because there’s no more stooping or straining or twisting to buckle Junior into his prison of a car seat. And check out the size of that cargo area. There’s room for both the double stroller, the 564-pack of Huggies from Costco, and much more. So get a grip, ladies and gents. Owning a minivan doesn’t mean you’ve given up on your dreams, or that you’ve checked your testosterone at the door. Minivan ownership is a sign of courage, confidence and intelligence, on so many fronts.
This is a big year for minivans. Every single model on the market is getting updated or redesigned, and the competition is really heating up. Our list of recommended models is based on information provided by actual minivan owners, as gathered by customer satisfaction studies conducted by J.D. Power and Associates in 2010 pertaining to initial quality, vehicle appeal, and vehicle dependability. As a result, only the Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona and Volkswagen Routan make this list because their designs essentially remain the same and the consumer opinions found in the J.D. Power and Associates data are accurate.
That means you won’t read about the Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest, and Toyota Sienna in this year’s buying guide. That’s because the Odyssey, Quest and Sienna are completely redesigned this year and large volumes of consumer opinions about these vehicles is not yet available. Plus, the Chrysler Town & Country is significantly improved for 2011 and a new Mazda 5 is arriving soon as an early 2012 model.
Put simply, the minivan field is wide open with the best vans we’ve ever driven and we recommend you cross-shop everything, including the three minivans included in this guide.
About Vehix Buying Guide and JDPower.com Ratings
Vehix 2011 Minivan Buying Guides features ratings by JDPower.com. Learn more about the criteria and ratings.
There are three vehicles highlighted in the 2011 Minivan Buying Guide. All vehicles are listed in alphabetical order.
Follow us on Facebook. 
Follow us on Pinterest. 