Try to talk new parents into considering a minivan as their primary family mobile and you'll likely be greeted with cold, dead stares. But when it comes to hauling kids, dogs, bikes, and everyday life essentials, nothing beats a minivan. This is a good year for minivan buyers, with the impressive Chrysler Pacifica, upcoming next-generation Honda Odyssey, and the current Toyota Sienna to choose from.
Facing renewed competition, Toyota has freshened the Sienna for 2017. The major change is the addition of a new direct-injection V6 engine paired with an eight-speed transmission. This new engine produces 30 hp more than the mill it replaces, for a total of 296 hp.
With our test model, we have noticed some peculiar behavior with this new powertrain, particularly when the van gets going from a stop. The transmission tends to hold on to gears for too long before shifting.
We can't see how the new eight-speed helps the van's drivability, and we've seen lagging shifts from our new Toyota Highlander as well, which uses the same transmission.
Otherwise, the Sienna is among the best minivan choices available. The V6 produces lots of smooth power, the ride is comfortable, and handling is sound and secure.
There's a bit of wind noise on the highway, as well as some unpleasant engine roar when the transmission delays upshifts, but otherwise the Sienna is fairly quiet.
Thus far, the staff remains divided on front seat comfort based on initial drives. Some testers find them to be supportive, while others consider them to be stiff. Lumbar support adjustment is only in and out and not up and down. For some drivers, the lumbar is positioned too high and creates an unwelcome pressure point.
There is agreement that the second-row seats are supremely comfortable and notably more so than Chrysler's convenient Stow 'n Go captain's chairs. Plus, fore-aft adjustments allow one to optimize legroom and cargo space.
The interior has lots of convenient storage bins and cup holders. The controls are mostly simple and straightforward, but the touch screen and tuning knob are quite a reach.
The base front-wheel-drive Sienna L model starts at $30,690; the line tops out at $48,250 for the all-wheel-drive Limited Premium. We bought a mid-range front-wheel-drive XLE version, which starts at $36,310, and added the Navigation package and a few other bits for a total of $38,424.
Unlike other all-new and updated Toyotas, the Sienna line is not bestowed with the complete Safety Sense P suite of active safety gear. In fact, forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking only come on the Limited trim line (where they're standard). We think this important safety gear should be standard on every trim line.
Toyota's ace-in-hole has always been top-notch reliability. Combine that with the only van available with all-wheel drive, and it's no wonder that the Sienna is such a strong seller. But we wonder if the shift logic that Toyota programmed into this new powertrain will dampen our enthusiasm for this family machine. Time will soon tell as the Sienna is quickly gaining miles in preparation for formal testing.
