Dependability, in a Negligee

Yes, there is sex after minivans.

At least that's what Nissan North America hopes you'll believe.

So do Toyota Motor Corp., and Honda Motor Co. They're trying to scrap the image of minivans as romance killers. They want to sell the notion that minivans are hip.

But the car companies know deep in their hearts that minivans are for families, which means parents, guardians, kids, grandparents and all of their stuff -- the people and things that show up in your life when sex leads to commitment.

Thus, automakers have developed minivans that attempt a compromise between fantasy and reality. This week's test vehicle, the 2004 Nissan Quest 3.5 SE, is an example. It is the latest, and perhaps most extreme, attempt to give the minivan libido.

Like its competitors, the 2004 Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey, the new Quest has divorced itself from boxier-than-thou exterior design. The body is long and sensuous. The hood rises above the front fenders and slopes dramatically forward, where it meets sharply angled headlamps.

The side panels are no longer flat slabs; they are rounded. There is a gently undulating line between the tops of the panels and the bottoms of the side windows. It appears that glass and metal are embracing, dancing.

The design is visually and, in a way, polemically exciting. It clearly states that the Quest chooses not to be just another minivan. It cares not that it might offend traditionalists in making that statement. It doesn't seek common approval. You either love it or hate it.

The interior picks up the theme. Yes, there are the requisite cup/juice-box holders. I counted eight scattered throughout the tested Quest 3.5 SE. And, yes, there are myriad storage bins and nifty practical touches, such as the second- and third-row seats that fold flat into the floor, eliminating the need to remove them to increase cargo space.

But, egad! Look at that optional Skyview ceiling! There are two skylights on either side of a center ceiling panel extending over the second- and third-row seats. The skylights really open up the rear passenger cabin. They make it feel less confining.

The ceiling panel, reminiscent of something found in corporate aircraft, contains air-conditioning and heating vents, more storage bins and, in the tested vehicle, two DVD screens facing the second- and third-row seats.

Perhaps the biggest mechanical rap against minivans has been their perceived lack of power. It is a perception that stems from a conflict between current lifestyle needs and former lifestyle memories -- the single woman or man merging into couple merging into parents and leaving fast cars and the wonderfully carefree, exhilarating, thoroughly selfish feel of fast driving behind.

Let's face it. Most minivans even look slow. To address that perceived deficit, Nissan installed a 240-horsepower version of its 3.5-liter V-6 engine in the Quest 3.5 SE and linked it to a five-speed automatic transmission. I question the ultimate wisdom of producing the moral equivalent of a hot-rod minivan. But the bottom line is that this baby can run.

Will all or any of these things give the Quest the sex appeal it needs to attract couples with kids? Time and sales will tell. But twenty- and thirtysomethings should at least be comforted by this: The new Quest is not your mom's vanmobile.