Minivans often have AWD varieties these days and its not like all SUVs have it. Other than "inclines" which I doubt most family cars ever see challenging ones, a minivan probably performs similarly to most SUVs on the market when it comes to gravel, dirt, ice/snow when equipped with the right tires.
I own both a minivan and an SUV, the minivan handles horribly in poor weather conditions, even with the proper tires. Our SUV handles much better in all weather even without switching to 4 wheel drive.
The minivan also has horrible clearance that bottoms out frequently when you drive on dirt trails trying to get to hiking trails and primitive campgrounds.
They each serve their purpose. The minivan is by far the best suburban people carrier we could’ve bought, and it has incredible storage capacity when you stow the seats, but it definitely has its limitations.
I'm trying to understand why the minivan would handle so much worse than a comparable SUV/crossover. Could you clue me into the reasons why? Is it actually something innate with the geometry/weight distribution or potentially more like "this particular van has poor handling"?
The biggest things I notice are less ground clearance, which becomes a problem in heavy snow and the less powerful engine which makes it harder to get traction in snow and ice, particularly when trying to get up an incline, such as a hill or ramp.
I can accept the lack of ground clearance but lack of power is not your problem on snow. I would bet that this is traction control related. Modern traction control are for the road and they suck big time in the snow because they don't allow any slippeage. I currently drive an electric RWD car and live at the end of a 2km mountain road with +20% slopes that can get snowed in for a few days before being plowed. On normal traction control, I don't get anywhere but using sports mode made it work like god damn magic.
