SW17LS

Theres just not a market here for luxury minivans. For one, the minivan segment itself is shrinking, not growing. Its a MUCH smaller market than it was only 5 years ago, and sales decrease each year. Style conscious luxury shoppers are going to be turned off by more than the brand of a minivan, its the whole image, design, etc.

I personally would not buy a $60k Lexus minivan. Its not that the vans aren't nice, loaded Odysseys, Siennas, Town & Countrys, and the new Sedona are very nice vehicles. Its just that they aren't transportation thats interesting from a car enthusiasts point of view. That wouldn't change if a van had a Lexus emblem.

As for the car seats...we bought two $400 Cybex Aton seats. We bought them because they are the smallest and safest seats available...not because they were expensive or a certain brand.

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

That's what Toyota is for I mean, personally I would not mind driving a Lexus minivan, but its just seems wrong for Lexus to have a minivan. Then again, Benz has an R which I think is doing OK.

williakz

Nope, not buying it. The minivan market, while small, is PERFECT for Lexus. Status-obsessed middle- and upper-middle class parents with TONS of disposable income and a demonstrated willingness to spend lavishly ($400 car seats!) on their progeny all point to a missed opportunity for Lexus. Remember, Lexus doesn't sell many vehicles anyway, especially in comparison to more pedestrian makes. An upscale minivan at $60k - hell, make it $75k! - would draw a substantial (and profitable) number of upscale new moms and dads. Maybe you, maybe not. But then, you don't really have the choice available at present, do you?

tknx

Do you know which car for years (not sure if this is still true) had the highest average income owner? Mercedes E-class wagon (even the E63 AMG wagon). Why? Cause wealthy guys bought these for their families.

The last attempt at an upscale minivan was the Mercedes R-class which bombed for several reasons, but fundamentally wasn't a very good minivan anyway.

SUVs are slowly turning more and more into minivans (or being labeled crossovers). The main thing is a minivan has a ton of interior volume, low floors and easy access because of the sliding door. Easy to load and offload kids and fit car seats which just keep ballooning in volume.

Am I the target audience for a luxury minivan? Maybe. I imported my car seats from Sweden where they have much higher standards and can stay rear-facing longer (which cost more than $400 to do and was a total pain in the ***).

But my T&C Limited is pretty nice on the inside and would be perfect if it had Toyota level of manufacturing (less squeaks and rattles) and a bit more sound deadening. I've heard the Toyota Sienna has finally gotten rid of the crap interior this model year. And both the T&C and Odyssey are reasonably sporty drives given the form factor limitations. In the end, I like that the minivan is really utilitarian, that the kids can make a huge mess and I don't care and that it will serve ferrying kids around for years before I bother replacing it.

SW17LS

Well seeing that I and sick21 are the target market you're talking about and both of us are saying we wouldn't buy Lexus minivans...I don't know how your thoughts on the matter since you're not at all that demographic trumps ours, but whatever you say LOL. I have plenty of choices available...I can buy a minivan or I can stay in my SUV or buy a bigger SUV. The reason I don't "love" minivans is not because they don't have the right badge or aren't luxurious enough. They just aren't a vehicle that an enthusiast would love. I wouldn't love a Lexus RX either.

I guess we'll see if Lexus ever comes out with a minivan. I would bet serious money that they never will.

And FYI since it may have been a while since you bought a carseat. Carseats are expensive, an ordinary middle of the road seat is going to cost $200-250. So if by spending an extra $150-200 a seat because the product is more compact and thus, will fit in our vehicles more comfortably and is much safer makes me a "lavishly spending status obsessed" person, I suppose thats what I am. Hard to make a statement that safety of my children is not worth that extra money when I have it to spend.

$400 for a carseat is not lavish, you can spend twice that actually.

sick21

I can't multi quote or don't know how from my phone.
Anyways, I agree with both SW13GS and williakz. The VAN debate is tough. I know vans offer a ton of utility. And that's the only reason I would buy one but I can't. There's nothing sexy about a utility only vehicle. I want a whip that has at least a little engineering in it when it comes to "sporty-ness" and I feel like that's just not an option for a van. Something like that is the reason minivans kill my boners. I am a slight brand snob, not bad, but I could really care less if the van was a luxury brand or not. It's still just a van. There's nothing fun about it. For some reason I think SUVs/crossovers are. My logic might be jacked but I am wired to dislike vans. Just don't. Can't. Won't. Haha

tknx

Here you go: a minivan with sportiness:




http://www.topspeed.com/cars/renault...1-ar34982.html

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

The only minivan I would drive is,

tknx

It would be cool if they would send over the Alphard or Vellfire as a Scion. But I suspect it won't happen.

tknx

Actually a Google search for Toyota Sienna bodykit turns up some decent looking rides.

NewSpace

A very practical, if somewhat boring choice: 2015 Toyota Highlander (Hybrid?)

Have you considered it? More utility than an RX (third row), but certainly not a minivan.

Test drove one and it's hard to dispute the value.

sarcoptic

We purchased a '14 Highlander Limited in June and love it. Have 3 boys so 3 rows was a must...the captains chairs in the 2nd row makes it feel very much like a minivan and the boys can get to the 3rd row easily through the middle.

1111GS

+1. FYI, new highlander also comes with RCTA and a better back up camera. It's certainly a good practical car.

sick21

+1 as well. They don't look too bad

SW17LS

I drove the new Highlander, I liked it okay. BUT...I don't find that vehicle satisfying from an enthusiast's perspective either. Its a very competent family vehicle, but not as competent as a Minivan. So, to me, the only reason to buy a Highlander over a Minivan is how it looks, otherwise is basically is a Toyota Sienna just without power sliding doors and a flat floor.