Auto Trends

While minivan’s are said to be on a downward curve in comparison with the sports touring SUV’s, they are still a force to reckon with in some areas. For our final segment of the BrandIntel Consumer Voice Awards, we asked Alan Dean and Vince Bucciachio what consumers are saying about which sports tourer and minivan is the best buy for 2008. You just might be in for a surprise, because guess what? The Honda Odyssey does not take center stage this year… and neither does the Mazda CX-9.

For the Minivan Segment, the Overall Bread-Winner is the — Dodge Grand Caravan

Consumer Comments: What’s that you say, another American car beating out several top selling imports? Yes indeed, Dodge is on fire this year and their redesigned Caravan appears to be a winner. Last year if you’d dropped into a consumer forum discussing the Dodge Grand Caravan you might have heard words such as “boring” and “standard”, but while styling alone does not make a minivan, the redesigned Caravan does more than just create a slight facelift to win back the hearts of its old customers.

Consumers love the “feel of the new Swivel ‘n Go seating system”, which allows the captain chairs to spin clear around to face the third seat passengers. Consumers like the overall comfortability of the Caravan, it’s smooth ride, roominess, and conveniences such as a three-zone video entertainment system which allows front, middle and rear-seat passengers to view and listen to separate entertainment sources (Sirius Backseat Television).

Share of Consumer Discussion — 45% of all discussion (that is close to half folks)

Sentiment — High

Consumers Like — Seating, Value, Comfort, Interior Roominess, and Overall Ride

Consumers Dislike — Exterior Styling, Quality, and Engine (which lags in comparison to some of its competition with its 175 to 251 horsepower rating)

Most Significant Rival is the — Chrysler Town & Country

Consumer Comments: There is a notable trend with the minivan today, and that is the consumer is much more impressed with their comfort than their pure brawn. Once again we find that the runner-up of this class is not a real performer (175 to 251 horsepower), but more of a luxury tourer. The Town & Country is basically the twin sister of the Grand Caravan, albeit slightly more blocky and less refined on the outside. And while consumers are still not real fond of its “brick-like shape”, they do like the fact that it translates into a lot more room and comfort to speak of.

The overall most popular and liked vehicles among consumers in the Minivan segment:

10^th Place— Chevrolet Uplander 9% popularity, high sentiment

9^th Place— Nissan Quest 3% popularity, medium sentiment

8^th Place— Mercury Montery 1% popularity, high sentiment

7^th Place— Buick Terraza 1% popularity, medium-low sentiment

6^th Place— Toyota Sienna 1% popularity, very high sentiment

5^th Place— Kia Sedona 1% popularity, high sentiment

4^th Place— Hyundai Entourage 1% popularity, medium sentiment

3^rd Place— Honda Odyssey 16% popularity, medium sentiment

2^nd Place— Chrysler T&C 20% popularity, low sentiment

1^st Place— Dodge Grand Caravan 45% popularity, high sentiment

For the Mid-Size Sports Tourer Segment, the Overall Bread-Winner is the — Nissan Rogue

Consumer Comments: It would be easy to pass over the success rate of the all new Nissan Rouge as being out of its newness alone, but there are just far too many keys that lead to its appeal to pass it over without a real glance at what it has to offer its consumer. Receiving one of the highest sentiment scores of all the segments, what most consumers seem to like about the new Rogue is its standard Nissan Xtronic CVTâ„¢ (transmission), which they say “makes the vehicle very smooth and fun to drive.” On the negative side, some performance enthusiasts claim the CVT takes away from the performance feel of a “clunkier” transmission and some also complained about its poor rear visibility… but nothing’s perfect!

Share of Consumer Discussion — 13%

Sentiment — Very, Very High

Consumers Like — Appeal, Comfort, Fun, Suspension, Transmission, and overall Value

Consumers Dislike — Poor Visibility in Spots

Most Significant Rival is the — Subaru Forester

Consumer Comments: Subaru has gained a wealth of happy consumers due to the quality build of their Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive systems and this is one of the most talked about features of the 2008 Forester. Consumers also like the latest styling additions to the Forester, specifically the new STI-style front bumper, and the 6-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels. Add in the zippy finesse of its turbo-charged 2.5-liter, 230 horsepower version and it is easy to see why the Forester captures the hearts of so many of its buyers.

The overall most popular and liked vehicles among consumers in the Sports Tourer segment:

10^th Place— Ford Edge 9% popularity, medium-low sentiment

9^th Place— Ford Freestyle 1% popularity, medium-high sentiment

8^th Place— Cadillac SRX 3% popularity, very high sentiment

7^th Place— Saturn Outlook 4% popularity, high sentiment

6^th Place— Infinity FX35/45 5% popularity, very very high sentiment

5^th Place— Mazda Mazda5 6% popularity, very high sentiment

4^th Place— Volvo XC70 6% popularity, very high sentiment

3^rd Place— Mazda CX-7 7% popularity, very high sentiment

2^nd Place— Subaru Forester 8% popularity, high sentiment

1^st Place— Nissan Rogue 14% popularity, very very high sentiment