The minivan unfortunately is just the best family vehicle there is! An EV minivan would be great...

 

Well said! I think your use of the words "emotional connection" are dead on. I heard Joe Rogan talking about his Model S Plaid but also saying how he has certain other cars (muscle cars if I remember correctly) that evoke raw emotion for him that can't be felt even in a quicker/faster EV.

Which then might bring up another question. My kids are 13. They both love the Tesla. If they grow up and never drive or ride in a car like a 911, LC, etc. that might evoke some connection due to the sound of the engine, running through gears, etc.... what emotional connections will they have 20 years from now? Remembering when they could actually DRIVE a car and it had a steering wheel and pedals?

 

Close enough, even has the adaptable seating like most minivans.

 

The big thing missing is the sliding doors. They are the main thing that makes the minivan so great when you’re loading kids etc.

Also the price tag is a little higher. I hear the next gen Pacifica will come in ICE, PHEV and EV

 

And would literally be the easiest possible vehicle class to make as an EV. I'm still baffled that a mainstream one doesn't exist yet. I'm counting out the ID.Buzz as....something else, more minivan-adjacent.

 

is the ID.Buzz not a minivan BEV?

 

EV van would be fine for soccer mom use. We use a van for travel. EV = No thanks. Toyota's hybrid Sienna and Honda's new 2026 hybrid Odyssey make sense for our family.

 

I saw my first ID.Buzz a couple weeks ago, I thought it looked pretty cool. No idea if it is a POS or not but it looked good.

 

Microbus and the spiritual successor being the ID.Buzz is better than a minivan the design is inherently "all space inside". I looked at the ID.Buzz yesterday there is one parked at a local dealer it's a cool vehicle. And yes it has loads of room. It's let down by so so power and crappy software. Shame, VW was so close to greatness.

 

yeah the ID Buzz doesn't have quite the same practicality as the American minivan, they also have very poor range.

Depends on the range. For us an EV would be totally fine for travel as long as it has 350 miles of range or so. We always have to stop, the dog needs to be walked, the kids need to get food and go to the bathroom, stopping for 20 min to charge on a family trip for us would be no big deal. Its when I travel alone it would be a little more annoying because I never stop.

Hybrid Sienna is a total dog, screaming nasty 4 cyl, slow. Our PHEV Pacifica is much better to drive.

 

Cost is the biggest problem with a bev minivan, and would be pushing into territory that require high atps. We shall see. With toyota showcasing the next corolla that should arrive in 2 years times, we shall see if the market leader sets the benchmark in economy evs.

 

Pacifica looks way better too the Sienna has ridiculous styling.

 

I don't really think thats the case. If Kia can deliver an EV9 from $55-72k a minivan can be delivered in that range.

 

this thread should be shut down. ice fans / ev critics just keep dragging it into the ‘ice vs ev debate’ which according to the rules are not allowed.

i’ll always be amazed at what people have done, can do, and will do with ice drivetrains. to think of the mechanical forces and precision of gas/air explosions in a 1000+hp ice car is mind boggling.

for the record i have no issue with ice cars, they’re just no longer appealing to me. i’ve always liked quietness and smoothness, probably more than anything and now the tesla has that plus some unmatched features at any price that appeal to this nerd… so for now, i’m in.

 

If the buzz had 300 miles of range and a decent charging curve I would’ve replaced my Ody.