As an interior designer, you need to transport a great many different items, including fabric, paint and wallpaper samples and sometimes even furniture items. You probably don’t handle overly large loads very often, and when you have to, you’ll most likely hire a truck or van. For day-to-day use, though, you would probably appreciate a used mini-van.
With that in mind, we have evaluated several, and settled on the Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country, Nissan Quest SV, Toyota Sienna LE, and Ford Transit Connect.
Dodge Grand Caravan: The Grand Caravan has been one of the most popular minivans on the market for the past 30 years, and with good reason. You might think of it as more the province of soccer moms, but when you fold down the seats (or take them out, if you prefer), you’ll have more than enough room for your supplies. It’s a nice-looking minivan, too, and you want to make a good impression.
Chrysler Town and Country: There’s a lot of cargo space in the Town & Country - almost 144 cubic feet with the seats folded down. There’s also a roof rack, and a power tailgate to make it easy for you to load and unload.
Nissan Quest SV: The Quest SV has 108 cubic feet of cargo space when the rear seats are removed, and the power sliding doors make loading and unloading a breeze. With the rear view camera, it’s also very maneuverable.
Toyota Sienna LE: With 150 cubic feet of cargo space, the Sienna LE provides ample room for all your interior design supplies. The power tailgate makes loading and unloading easy. This is also a fairly inexpensive vehicle new, so you should be able to get a great deal on a used Sienna LE.
Ford Transit Connect Wagon: We’re offering this with a caveat – as an interior designer, you probably want to look stylish. The Transit Connect doesn’t deliver much in that regard – in fact, it’s fairly bland looking. It is, however, very reliable, so you won’t have to worry about disappointing your clients by being a no-show due to breakdowns.
Any of these vehicles would be a good choice for an interior designer.
