Let’s face it—we’re going to be late again.  Rushing through a mid-afternoon’s Metro traffic, our humble Toyota Echo zipped between bigger motor vehicles.  The 1.3-liter engine was clearly given a thrashing as the responsive four-speed auto ‘box gave us much needed accelerating power.  We subjected ourselves to a slightly sore backside for the sake of motoring journalism.

Given a fixed length, width and height, the most efficient shape to enclose a space is that of a box.  That's something that appliance designers, modern architects and seasoned travelers know only too well—we don't see too many cylindrical refrigerators or triangular office towers.  Passenger vans have to follow the same rule, so don't expect anything other than a refrigerator on wheels when you go shopping for that 12-seater.