Take A Seat
. . . to accommodate the family; leave it behind to make room for business.
Who says you can't have your commercial van and a
people-mover, too? That's the concept some minivan
manufacturers had in mind when they designed family-friendly
minivans with removable rear seats. This marriage-carriage trend
economizes on transportation costs by serving two purposes: On
weekdays, you leave the seats in your garage so there's plenty
of cargo room for business needs; on weekends, you just pop the
seats back in for family trips.
Of the 15 minivans you'll find in dealerships, only a few
offer removable seats. Double-duty 2001 vans include the Dodge
Caravan at $19,160 (all prices street) and the $24,430 Chrysler
Town & Country. The split benches come standard in the Caravan
Sport package and fold independently so you can remove and store
one or both of them.
The $20,675 Mazda MPV's center seats can be removed by
folding them flat and pulling them forward. These seats can also
slide apart to become captain's chairs or slide together to
form a bench. The MPV's third-row bench stays in the van but
can be folded into a floor well. Honda's $23,900 Odyssey offers
a similar seating system. Nissan's $22,439 Quest GXE model is
equipped with back seats that unload for garage storage.
Content Continues Below
Jill Amadio has reported on the automotive industry for 23
years as an editor and consultant.