Despite writing an intro that directly mentions kids, your humble author has no offspring to worry about. However I still find myself wanting a minivan as, despite being old enough to know better, I still think it’s pretty cool to be in a band. This means I frequently spend my time hauling gear from recording studio to concert venue and back again, and my daily driven import just isn’t up for the task.

Not needing (or wanting) a massive land yacht, the Mazda5 is almost the perfect vehicle for me. Despite its ability to swallow almost 100 cubic feet of cargo, it’s actually quite small – about the size of a C-segment sedan. This small exterior footprint, combined with Mazda’s “zoom-zoom” chassis-tuning philosophy, makes for a minivan that is responsive, maneuverable and fairly fun to drive. The fact that it can haul my drums, plus a half-stack or two, is just a nice bonus.

Despite carrying Mazda’s sports car DNA, the Mazda5 is still a minivan. Yes, it’s got a 6-speed manual, but with just 157 horses to haul it around, it’s anything but fast. I’m not necessarily asking for a MazdaSpeed3 engine swap (though that would be nice), but I’d like the 5 to feel at least as lively as the MX-5. I’m also not fully sold on the new Nagare design language – the last-gen Mazda5 had very clean lines, and it looked fantastic when equipped with the basic tune-ups (suspension, wheels, etc.). Maybe the current van’s design will grow in me in time, but if I needed a kid-hauler today, I’d go with the last-gen Mazda5.

I understand the reasons for establishing a uniform corporate identity, but I don’t know why Nissan chose to give its Elgrand a facelift when it imported it to North America as the Quest. The Elgrand is boxy and strong – it’s a man van. But the Quest… it looks like Nissan tried to make a face that would appeal to housewives, but instead created a front end that looks like a near-sighted Stormtrooper’s helmet.

But the van itself is pretty damn good, and the fully loaded SE version delivers a classic luxury motoring experience – the interior is quiet and spacious, the ride supple and, despite having just 260 horsepower, it confidently pulls itself up to highway speeds. It was surprisingly maneuverable in tight spaces, too. Of course, as one still foolishly chasing the dream of rock stardom, my time in the Quest was spent shuttling band gear and band members around town while cranking the premium Bose sound system to its limits. I have no idea how it handles kids, so with that I pass the mic’ (er, computer) to kid-having GTChannel boss Taro.

Thank you Justin for making me feel even older than I really am. I won’t lie; my almost 4-year-old son loves the Quest. It’s spacious, it can haul everyone home from pre-school, has a rear-cabin sunroof and, most of all, a DVD player. A DVD player is almost unfair to compete with. I take him to school in a variety of sports cars, but to him this car is the coolest thing I’ve brought home to drive. At what point in their lives do kids start thinking minivans are un-cool? In Japan, where one car is the norm for a household and living quarters are small as your average American closet, minivans become glorified moving living rooms. If I were to own one of these, I’d take it to the tracks, take it on outdoor family excursions and on snowboard trips. But the front fascia would be swapped for the JDM mask. That American front end has gotta go.

by Justin Kaehler and Taro Koki