An ergonomic misgiving is the dash-mounted shifter that partially obstructs the audio and HVAC controls.
That was my thought when I first saw the shifter, too. Stupid placement for it, IMO. Last thing I want to do when driving a big minivan is struggling to find controls because I can't see all of them and having to reach around a shifter to get to them.
and the flip-up third row (powered in the LE) is habitable by smallish humans.
I'm very disappointed with this... what's the point of a minivan if only 4 people can be comfortable in it? If I've got two baby seats in captain seats of the second row, where am I suppose to put my parents or in-laws for family trips? And what if I have three teenagers? A minivan with 6 usable seats, is that really too much to ask?
I am with you 100%. I currently have 2 car seats in the second row and the in-laws are VERY comfortable in the third rown in my Entourage. Even with the 3rd mini-me on the way, the 2 adult (medium sized) occupants are quite comfortable sharing the third row with an additional car seat on shorter trips.
As nice as a van can be, when form goes over function, the sales are limited to luxo buyers who will only carry hockey gear for their only child in the back.
One other thing I really don't understand. The vans that carry large(r) families with kids tend to get somewhat messy pretty quickly. What's the point in trimming the interior in all the light shades of colours?
I'd say give me a good looking van with a usable third row and a set of useful features (power sliding doors, heated mirrors and seats, ability to carry an odd 4x8 sheet of drywall) and I won't mind setting the temp manually or be happy to live without XM radio.