CARY, N.C. -

As a millennial (albeit an older one), I’ve always assumed most of my peers were averse toward driving minivans.

Turns out, that stigma might not be as strong as I thought, at least not on the pre-owned side.

Edmunds.com recently dissected Polk’s used-vehicle registration data from the first half of the year, and guess what its analysis uncovered?  

The used-vehicle segment where millennials take their largest slice of the pie is, in fact, the passenger van category.

This, of course, would include the minivan.

The report, which looked at used vehicles up to 10 years in age, found that roughly 20 percent of used passenger van purchases were from millennials.

 No other segment has millennials taking a greater share. For instance, 17.3 percent of used sedan purchases were made by millennials, and Gen Y’s share of pre-owned coupe purchases is only 15.8 percent.

I asked Edmunds analyst Jeremy Acevedo about these findings, and like me, he was a bit surprised.

The van isn’t necessarily the segment toward which you may assume young people would flock.

But, yes, many of the millennials are at an age where they’re starting families, and when it comes to buying cars, this is a “pragmatic, need-driven” group, Acevedo said.

As other findings from Edmunds’ analysis of used-car registrations would suggest, this is a group that is not afraid to make bold choices and buck traditional style, he said.

It matters less what the vehicle says about them, Acevedo explained, and more about the practicality of the vehicle itself.  

And not only does the passenger van have utilitarian value, it also makes economic sense for many young buyers. As Acevedo points out, their prices tend to depreciate heavily. So, buying a used one often is a good deal for a millennial.

Granted, when looking at all of Generation Y’s used registrations, the proportion made up by passenger vans (6 percent) is much lower than the share commanded by sedans, SUVs  or pickups, Acevedo said.

However, he points out that passenger vans still beat hatchbacks (4.8 percent) and coupes (3.9 percent), two segments that one may think as being more millennial-esque.

But this generation is already going against the grain, oftentimes.

By the way, if you're a dealer and looking to see which minivans may generate some traction, Edmunds found that the most millennial-heavy minivans in the first half of the year were the Volkswagen Routan (where 24.6 percent of pre-owned buyers were from Gen Y), the Nissan Quest (23.9 percent) and the Honda Odyssey (23.6 percent).