I can give you the downside to having a full sized van with rear entry and no riding "up front". Or should I just stop right there... Well, since I always want to know "why" something is a problem, I will go on and try to be serious, because it's sometimes pretty funny. First, whereas I am not tall, these chairs make us sit pretty high up, so that getting in that rear entry is very difficult unless you were to get the raised roof ( we didn't.). I have to back onto a lift, with my legs elevated, and also with my back quite reclined. Mind you I'm looking straight up, so I'm directed to go back "another three inches". When I'm on the lift correctly, I'm lifted electrically until level with the van's floor. Then, I raise the back, lower the legs, keep backing up, and then turn forward. And, I get behind the passenger seat (which actually looks quite comfortable), and after I'm tied down, strapped in and gotten into a comfortable tilt, I pretty much can't see out the side, other than the road itself. I can see through the windshield. I like leaving the van, especially since I get to do it facing forward in the direction I'm headed.:roll:
And for my own preference, unless I'd already been driving a full sized van, I wouldn't want to have to drive it or park it. I would imagine most women in particular would be more at ease driving a "mini van" or something similar in size.
Ann