I drive a lot of EU cars in Israel and Belgium - French and Italian, but you can not compare it with smooth Japanese.
I see you personal reason to hate it, I have almost the same story with Pontiac and I own Toyota Sienna right now - the best Van what I ever drive.
About style - its just matter of taste - I know, many women prefer American, I think size is appealing to them in subconscious level (just a joke)
