I bought a treadmill and since its box was abso-freakin'-lutely enormous, I needed an abso-freakin'-lutely enormous vehicle to transport it. Actually, I shall be more precise -- I needed an abso-freakin'-lutely long cargo hold to transport it.
Luckily, we had just purchased our long-term Sienna (this was just after Thanksgiving before we officially announced it) so it seemed like a good vehicle for the job. Was it though?
Just oh-so-very-barely.
I lowered the 3rd row, removed the second-row middle seat and then pushed one of the second-row captain's chairs as far forward on its track as it would go. Unlike the Chrysler minivan's Stow 'n Go, the Nissan Quest and big crossovers like our Chevy Traverse, you can't achieve a fully flat load floor from tailgate to front seats in the Sienna without removing the second-row seats. I wasn't going to do that, so this gigantic box was either going to fit or ... I guess I'd come up with something.
Thankfully, it was a perfect fit without a millimeter to spare. I'm not exagerating. Of course, the box had to sit atop the second-row middle floor tray and a seat belt buckle, which certainly isn't ideal. Also not ideal: Riswick and Takahashi carrying aformentioned treadmill into my house and up a flight of stairs ... but that's a different story.
As such, the Sienna isn't the best cargo-friendly minivan around. The Chryslers are still king in that regard (and the Stow 'n Go seats are now mercifully more comfortable than before).
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 200-some miles at that point
Follow me on Twitter @jriswick
audisport says:
10:01 AM, 01/ 6/11
Beautiful illustration James..
ed341 says:
10:23 AM, 01/ 6/11
That is "just oh so barely"? You should see a picture my friend took of his rental Civic with a replacement door for his Range Rover attatched to its roof...
bodyblue says:
10:39 AM, 01/ 6/11
I really want to see the comparo with the new DGC and the new stow n go......SNG was always the best system on the market but the seats were not as comfortable as others....now they are supposed to be more comfortable.....if they are indeed more comfortable then that is a total win for MOPAR.
jaguar36 says:
11:26 AM, 01/ 6/11
So no 4x8 sheets of plywood in there? What a waste.
willin58 says:
11:31 AM, 01/ 6/11
I bet to differ about the Traverse's load floor. My Outlook's 2nd and 3rd row seats fold flat as can be. Plywood and drywall will fit also, but only about 7 feet's worth. The rest must hang out the back.
carguy622 says:
11:45 AM, 01/ 6/11
I once bought a large desk from IKEA and had to somehow get it into my TSX. I had to open the box in the parking lot, take out all the pieces, and the desktop just barely fit in the trunk opening, but I got it all in there.
I didn't lose any pieces in the process either ;)
What was the big aversion to removing the second row seat though? Is it that tough to do?
jriz says:
11:45 AM, 01/ 6/11
^^ I was saying the Traverse DOES have a flat-load floor from tailgate to front seats.
willin58 says:
12:14 PM, 01/ 6/11
@jriz: My teachers always said I had issues with comprehension. I always chalked it up to indifference!
bc1960 says:
12:25 PM, 01/ 6/11
"Also not ideal: ... carrying aformentioned treadmill into my house and up a flight of stairs"
Isn't it ironic that in order to move your fitness equipment, you need to already be fit?
jriz says:
12:42 PM, 01/ 6/11
Indeed, that's quite the paradox.
throwback says:
01:00 PM, 01/ 6/11
"Also not ideal: ... carrying aformentioned treadmill into my house and up a flight of stairs"
What I wouldn't give for a Donna video walk around of this event!
bc1960 says:
01:04 PM, 01/ 6/11
@throwback: Probably would need an "NSFW" caution?
carguy622 says:
01:10 PM, 01/ 6/11
James,
Are the seats that hard to remove in the second row if you had to do it? Or was it just a lack of someplace to put them and / or wanting to get the job done fast?
tifighter says:
03:38 PM, 01/ 6/11
Actually, here's a case where the Flex could score a point, since the front row passenger seat folds flat as well as the 2nd and 3rd rows.
f1mom says:
06:40 PM, 01/ 6/11
The seats come out easily - he simply didn't bother and/or have to do it.
danielacostaaz says:
12:08 AM, 01/ 7/11
Other than a Chrysler with stow-n-go, this wouldn't have fit in any other minivan without removing the second row completely. The long-slide middle row in the Sienna gives a lot of flexibility without having to remove the 2nd row, which you can still do if necessary. The 2nd row's ability to slide all the way back to the third row also gives a huge flat floor space behind the front row, again without having to remove the 2nd row completely. This long slide fore-and-aft middle row was one of the main selling points for us.
DLu says:
02:40 PM, 01/ 7/11
Something like this happens, what, once every few months? And these large things are (hopefully) not usually impulse-buys; a little planning ahead (such as removing the 2nd row seat) makes things a lot easier. Just sayin'. ;)