Best minivan for a wheelchair conversion in NEMT: Sienna, Pacifica, Voyager, and Odyssey compared

Which minivans the big converters build on

For most fleets the choice is between the hybrid Toyota Sienna, which wins on fuel and can be converted with all-wheel drive, and the Chrysler Pacifica or Voyager, which has the widest range of commercial and ADA builds. The Honda Odyssey is converted mainly for families.

BraunAbility and Vantage Mobility International (VMI) build their 2026 wheelchair minivans on those three, counting the Voyager as the Pacifica’s lower-priced twin, and both publish full specifications for each build. This page assumes you have already decided a lowered-floor minivan fits your trips; if not, start with the minivan or full-size van guide.

The table shows what each converter builds on each van. “Commercial” models are the ones each company sells to fleets.

Two things stand out. The Chrysler body has the deepest commercial lineup at BraunAbility, including a rear-entry model built for NEMT. And the Odyssey appears in neither company’s commercial lineup, so a fleet buying one is buying a conversion designed first for families.

Fuel and drivetrain: where the Sienna pulls ahead

EPA’s 2026 ratings list the Sienna only as a hybrid: 36 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 35 with all-wheel drive. The Pacifica, Voyager, and Odyssey all carry a 3.6 or 3.5 liter V6 rated 19 city, 28 highway, and 22 combined. BraunAbility says its Sienna conversions keep Toyota’s 36 mpg estimate, and it moves the hybrid battery to the rear cargo area during the build. BraunAbility lists a warranty of 120 months or 150,000 miles on that high-voltage battery.

That 14 mpg gap is the largest running-cost difference among these vans. The minivan or full-size van guide puts it in dollars at current gas prices, and the cost per mile calculator does the same with your own annual miles.

All-wheel drive is the Sienna’s other edge. VMI calls its Sienna AWD Northstar the only all-wheel-drive wheelchair van available and offers AWD on its commercial ADA Sienna too. For fleets in snow states, that matters on unplowed side streets and steep driveways.

The cost of the hybrid is payload. VMI lists an average payload of 921 pounds for the front-wheel-drive Sienna Northstar and 839 pounds for AWD, against 1,000 pounds for its Odyssey and Chrysler builds. For example, a 350-pound power chair, a 250-pound rider, and a 200-pound driver already use 800 pounds. BraunAbility also will not convert the Sienna’s Sport and Limited Platinum trims, citing weight limits and wheel size.

Pacifica and Voyager: one platform, two badges

Chrysler sells the Voyager as its value minivan. It uses the Pacifica’s 3.6-liter V6 and carries the same 22 mpg EPA rating, and NHTSA gives the 2026 Pacifica, Pacifica AWD, and Voyager five stars overall. Converters treat them as one platform: VMI lists the same measurements and price for its Northstar on either van, and BraunAbility’s commercial side-entry van is built on the Voyager.

The model years are shifting. So far, EPA’s 2027 list shows the Pacifica and Pacifica AWD but no Voyager, and BraunAbility’s 2027 Pacifica conversions start at an LX trim. If your fleet standardized on Voyagers, ask the dealer what the base van is called for the model year you are ordering, and confirm the converter’s parts and floor plan carry over.

The Chrysler body also has the most commercial options aimed at heavy use. BraunAbility’s ADA In-floor with Simple Stow has a 30-inch ramp, endured more than 30,000 stow and deploy cycles in testing at 150 percent of the recommended maximum operating speed, carries a three-year limited warranty, and is approved for purchase by New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission and Chicago’s business affairs department. The commercial side-entry Voyager adds a ramp that swings out of the way so riders who walk can use the same door.

Door openings and ramp widths, conversion by conversion

Door height decides whether a rider in a tall power chair clears the frame, and ramp width decides whether a wide chair fits between the edge guards. Here are the figures each converter lists. BraunAbility measures door height at the middle of the door.

Compare those numbers with the federal accessibility specifications in 49 CFR Part 38. A ramp needs a 30-inch clear width and, if it is 30 inches or longer, a 600-pound design load, and a vehicle 22 feet long or less needs 56 inches of clearance between the top of the door and the highest point of the ramp. Some personal-use builds list less, such as the 29.25-inch ramp on BraunAbility’s Sienna foldout. If a broker or state asks for ADA vehicles, buy the model the converter sells as ADA compliant. Brokers can add their own minimums: Massachusetts broker MART asks for converted minivan ramps rated for 600 pounds and wheelchair van side doors at least 54 inches high.

Side entry or rear entry for NEMT work

The general trade-off between loading at the curb and loading behind the van is covered in the conversion guide. On minivans, BraunAbility adds that rear-entry ramps often have fewer power options and a steeper angle than side-entry ramps. Its main caution for families, that a caregiver has to run a rear-entry ramp every time, matters less in NEMT, where the driver loads every rider anyway.

Three rear-entry builds are worth a look for fleets:

• VMI Sienna rear entry. A 41-inch-wide door and a 39.5-inch ramp, room for five passengers with two wheelchair users, and an average payload of 1,349 pounds when fitted with two mid-row seats and no spare tire.
• BraunAbility Pacifica manual rear entry. A 34-inch ramp at 10 degrees onto 98 inches of lowered floor that is 34.5 inches across, and 56 inches of height at the second-row wheelchair position.
• BraunAbility Chrysler rear-entry NEMT package. A removable Q’Straint AmbuLok cot securement tested to SAE J3102 and J3027 and compatible with Stryker manual and powered cots, a storage dock for an oxygen bottle and spare tie-downs, a carrier for folding wheelchairs and walkers, and one flip-and-fold seat. The wheelchair van with stretcher guide covers when a combination van makes sense.

What the conversion and the van cost

Converted minivans are priced as the van plus the conversion. VMI lists conversion MSRPs on top of the cost of the vehicle:

• Sienna Northstar with AWD, power ramp: $46,250.
• Odyssey Northstar, power ramp: $42,000.
• Pacifica or Voyager Northstar, power ramp: $41,500.
• Northstar E manual ramp on Sienna or Chrysler: $32,500.
• Sienna commercial ADA, manual in-floor ramp: $37,000.
• Sienna rear entry: $27,250, or $28,000 for the ADA version.

BraunAbility quotes complete vehicles instead: from $89,590 for a 2026 Sienna, $86,990 for a 2026 Odyssey with the power in-floor ramp, and $66,090 for a 2027 Pacifica. Add-ons and financing are covered in what a wheelchair van costs, and the manual or power ramp guide helps decide whether the power ramp earns its price.

What to check before you sign

1. Commercial or personal-use model. Commercial builds are sold for fleet duty with ADA features; BraunAbility’s commercial Voyager, for one, lists a park interlock and ramp and door entrance lighting. BraunAbility backs its commercial Simple Stow and Sienna rear-entry models with a three-year limited warranty; VMI gives every new conversion a seven-year, unlimited-mile rust-through warranty.
2. Payload against your heaviest load. Add the heaviest power chair and rider you carry, the driver, and any seated riders, then compare the total with the converter’s payload figure for that exact build.
3. Door and ramp numbers. Compare the door height and ramp width the converter lists for that exact build with your riders’ seated height and your broker’s vehicle rules.
4. A backup way to deploy the ramp. VMI’s Sure Deploy adds a second control inside the van and a manual crank for when the battery is dead. Ask every converter how a driver gets a rider out when the ramp motor fails, and read the ramp troubleshooting guide.
5. Open recalls under both names. Search NHTSA for the base van and for the converter, as the used wheelchair van guide explains along with the recent retractor recalls on these vans. BraunAbility’s 25V381 adds one for tie-down floor fasteners that may not have been tightened on 2021 to 2025 Pacifica, 2022 to 2025 Voyager, and 2024 to 2025 Sienna conversions.
6. Age rules that start the clock. MART counts vehicle age from the date of manufacture, with limits of seven years for vans in its program-based service and 15 years for demand-response vehicles, but lets a van converted before first use count from its registration date after conversion.

Matching each minivan to the right trips in HealthRide

Each converted minivan goes into HealthRide once, with its seat count and wheelchair spaces. After that, wheelchair, stretcher, and oxygen needs are matched to vans that have the right equipment, so a power chair trip never lands on a sedan and a stretcher trip goes only to a van set up for a cot. The fleet page shows how each vehicle is recorded.