Once upon a time ... the minivan
11/24/2023
They offered the elevated seating position of a truck and could transport the luggage of a family of five for three weeks of summer vacation in the space of a modern compact car: Minivans - the classless all-rounders for all those who need three cars but don't want three cars. Families, in particular, enthusiastically grabbed one when the estate car had become too small.
The Fiat 600 Multipla from 1956 is generally regarded as the first, if you don't include non-series experiments such as the Stout Scarab. However, Renault Espace, Citroën Evasion, Fiat Ulysse, Peugeot 806, Lancia Zeta, Opel Zafira, VW Sharan, Ford Galaxy, Seat Alhambra, Chrysler Voyager, Pontiac Trans Sport, Nissan Serena, Toyota Previa, Mercedes-Benz V-Class and the like did not reach their heyday until around the year 2000.
And today? All that remains of the once popular MPVs are vans designed for passenger cars, such as the VW Multivan and the Mercedes-Benz Vito. The Opel Zafira is now also based on the PSA van platform. The Renault Espace has recently even mutated into an SUV. Only in the USA are there still plenty of them: Chrysler Pacifica, Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey - in the land of unlimited wasted space, of all places.
