7 seater minivan

Sliding rear doors change a family holiday more than any figure on a specification sheet does. A minivan door slides back along the body instead of swinging out, so a child can open it in a packed theme park car park without putting a dent in the vehicle beside you, and you can stand in the gap and buckle a toddler in without folding yourself round a door edge in the heat.

Seven seats and 3 large cases with 3 smaller bags is the rated capacity, and the load bay behind the third row is a deep well rather than a shelf. Doors count as 5, since the sliders and the tailgate all open onto the same cabin, and every vehicle in the class is automatic with air conditioning.

Typical models are the Chrysler Pacifica and the Dodge Grand Caravan. Both are proper American minivans, low enough to step into rather than climb into, with a flat floor from front to back and enough width for three across the middle row. The Pacifica in particular has seats that fold away into the floor rather than needing to be lifted out.

Using all seven seats cuts the boot noticeably, and that is the honest caveat on this class. Third row up gives you three large cases and the smaller bags, and no more than that. Third row down and the load space roughly doubles, so a family of five travels with an enormous amount of room. Decide which of those two you will be before you book, not after you land.

Parents of small children get the most from this class, and the whole of the reason is the doors. Theme park car parks in Orlando pack vehicles tightly, the bays are marked out for American cars, and swinging a heavy door open with a toddler on your hip in a Magic Kingdom lot is the exact scenario minivans were designed to solve.

Two families travelling together fit here neatly. Four adults and three children across seven seats, a fortnight of luggage once one third row seat comes down, and one set of tolls and one parking charge instead of two.

Families with three children in restraints have their own reason to look. The middle row of a minivan is wide and flat and takes two seats easily, and the third row provides the belts for the third, so the whole party travels legally with nobody wedged against a door.

Grandparents in the group are far better served here than in a big SUV. Minivan floors are low, so you step in rather than climb up, and the sliding door leaves an enormous aperture with nothing to duck under. Getting an older passenger in and out several times a day is genuinely easier than it is in a Tahoe.

Where the class falls short is luggage for a full party of seven. If seven people are each bringing a large case, the full size SUV carries four cases to this class's three and is the better booking. Anyone planning a long touring loop rather than an Orlando base may also prefer an SUV or a full size saloon, since minivans are set up for comfort at moderate speed rather than for hours of interstate cruising.

Two rate tiers are offered on Florida car hire and they are not directly comparable. A basic rate covers the vehicle and the legal minimum only. An inclusive rate adds collision damage protection, the liability cover required by American law, unlimited mileage and generally an additional driver allowance.

Groups booking a minivan almost always want two drivers, because sharing the airport run and the long park days makes the fortnight easier. Every additional driver has to be at the desk in person with their own licence, so decide before you fly and check what your rate tier allows. Adding somebody after collection means a return trip to the branch.

Excess and protection terms vary by supplier and by rate, so we set them out in writing against your specific booking rather than publishing a figure that would be wrong for the next customer. The same applies to the fuel policy, which is usually full to full, and to the mileage terms.

Toll charges come back to your card after the holiday under your supplier's programme, generally with an administration fee for each day a toll road is used. Orlando International offers the alternative of a Visitor Toll Pass, a hangtag from a terminal vending machine charging the electronic rate with no service fee. Take one or the other.

Child seats are charged per seat per day and a family booking a seven seater usually needs at least two. Reserve them on the booking, because branches run out and a child under six cannot legally travel without one. Satellite navigation is not worth adding, since a phone with offline maps in a vent mount does the job better and free.

Florida law requires a crash tested, federally approved restraint for every child aged 5 or under. Birth through age 3 must use a separate carrier or an integrated child seat. Ages 4 and 5 may use a separate carrier, an integrated seat or a booster. A seat belt satisfies the law from age 6.

Installing seats in a minivan is easier than in any other class, which is worth saying plainly. The floor is flat, the door aperture is enormous, and you can stand upright inside the cabin between the rows. Fitting a rear facing infant seat while kneeling on a car park surface in Florida heat is a job nobody enjoys, and a sliding door removes the need to do it.

Two seats across the middle row leaves the third position usable, and a third restraint goes in the back row. Families with three children under six can therefore travel legally and comfortably, which is not possible in any five seat class.

Access to the third row with a middle seat installed needs a moment of thought. Put the child seats on positions that do not need to tilt forward, or fit the third row seat first and load the middle row afterwards. Once you have found the arrangement that works, leave it alone for the fortnight.

Reserve any hired seats on the booking rather than at the desk, since supply is finite and a family with no legal restraint cannot drive away. Bringing your own is equally viable, because airlines carry child seats free on transatlantic routes and UK seats fit American belt systems in most cases. Whichever you use, check the belt path and harness tension in the collection garage before you join the traffic.