2008 Toyota Sienna

With 2 kids we quickly out grew our '01 4-door Golf and we needed a minivan badly. My husband kept putting it off, but finally the hunt began.

What I wanted: good handling, power sliding doors, power lift gate, something safe.
What the man wanted: Dvd player, leather, and the more toys the better.

In the past year we had rented two Siennas (LE & XLE Ltd.) and two Town and Countries (not sure of the models but one was all power & the other was not.) For sure we knew we did not want a Town & Country. I felt like I was driving my parent's old '78 RV when I drove the Town & Countries.

For us we knew it was Odyssey or Sienna.
Personally I liked the Odyssey. A bit safer, cheaper (EX-L the leather & DVD version), seats 8, nice little back-up camera in the rearview mirror, better mpg, but slower excelleration, no power lift gate and cheaper stereo.
My husband liked the Sienna (2WD XLE Ltd.) better. He likes the looks (how the sliding door groves are under the window), the laser cruise, the better stereo, ability to play video games on the road, the wood grain, bluetooth, did I mention laser cruise?? :)

The minivan was for me so who was I to say, "no honey, buy the cheaper car" (though I did try.) Besides I like toys too and a power lift gate was something I wanted.


My Experience So Far

The seats are so comfy. I just sit in it and sigh. We have power seats with 2 person memory, they are heated and leather. The 2nd row are two captin chairs. It says in the manual that you can put the two together but I am sure it is quite the chore and with 2 kids there is no need unless I want to hear "Mom! She hit me!" The third row folds "flat" down into the trunk well. (The Odyssey's fold down flat and much nicer, but you can have it all.) I wouldn't try to fit three 200lbs adults in the back seat but three adults under 150lbs would be fine.

The dvd player is nice. You can adjust the sound from the drivers seat (radio knobs) but if you want to stop, play, pause, etc. then you need to use the remote or reach back there and hope you hit the right button. You also have to insert the dvd where the screen is, not very well thought out obviously.

Bluetooth is really handy with the new (hands free) laws in California and Washington. If you are listening to the radio or watching a DVD it automatically takes over the audio system. Fine if you are buy yourself or if the incoming call is a exciting annoucement for everyone in the van, but otherwise it is kind of annoying to the passengers.

Sonar (& laser cruise) it really isn't my style but when it comes down to it this is why we got the Sienna. The sonar when backing out is really annoying (probably until I ignore it & hit something.)High pitched beeping and a little icon telling you which corners of your car to watch out for. I can only imagine how much fun it is going to be to parallel park.
The laser cruise works by adjusting the distance, engaging it then the cruise keeps the set distance behind the car in front of it. If the car slows down quickly (I believe) it starts beeping so you pay attention & slam on the brakes.

Other features include three rows of vents for AC/Heat, sun shades in second and third rows, de-icer wipers, power dimming rear-view mirror, power folding side view mirrors. 10 speakers and the subwofer (the Odyssey has 6 or 7 and no subwofer), 120v plug-ins with the ability to shut of the electric current to them from the dash, of course you can plug in your mp3 player or sign up for satellite radio, more cup-holders than any 7 people ever need, a pocket on the back of the drivers seat (but not the passengers), lots of little compartments, and more buttons to press than you or your toddler know what to do with.


The Ride

My Sienna is new so I haven't broken it in enough to feel comfortable trying to squeal the tires around a corner or time it's 0-60mph. I do understand that it is faster and as more horsepower than the Odyssey but you also get worse gas mileage because of it. Right now I am averaging 19 mpg with combination city (hills) and highway.

The brake petal are a little stiffer than I am use to but I will adjust.It does have anti-lock breaks of course, but I am hoping I never get the chance to use them.

It has traction control and stability control (but these are not standard on the lower Sienna models, but they are on Odysseys). It would be no exaggeration to say the Sienna handles and drives 3 times better than the Town and Country. The drive & ride is a lot smoother than our Golf. It is a big 4 ton van but aside from it physically being big (larger turning radius) you can't tell from the handling.

In the SNOW and ICE

We took the van out in the snow and ice. On the hiway where it was plowed and just icy and slushy we had no problem traveling at 40-50 mph. Off the beaten path, where snow 6 inches of snow had been packed down by 4X4s, the car also perferformed nicely in forward and reverse. (Make no mistake though, this van is not a 4 wheel drive vechile and it does not have the clearance needed to be useful in the conditions we were in, had it been a 4 wheel drive model, ie parking in 1-2 feet of compacted snow.) We lost traction twice. Once under an over pass in about 2 inches of compacted snow and ice (the ABS also kicked in when the brake was applied) but there was no real slidding involved, the car had good control over itself. The other time we lost traction was on and on-ramp in the same conditions. The traction contol kicked on for a second or two but you never would have know had you not seen the light on the dash kick on.

In these conditions that cold weather package was very handy. The instant we hit that "defrosster" button to the right of the dash the de-icer wipers had the window cleared in 5 seconds (in 20 dgrees F.)

I am in Love

What a difference having a minivan has made. I can easily nurse or change diapers in the car. All four of us can go when we pick up one or more persons from the airport (we are going to save $1k or more in rental cars alone). I no longer have to put my toddler in the car at a sideways angle or hear my husband complain and yell at our toddler for kicking his seat. Power sliding doors means I can open it from far away and say "Get in and you can watch Dora" instead of having kids hanging out on the outside of the car while waiting or banging the doors. I don't have to press the buttons 2 times to get the doors or lift gate to open (like on the Town and Country.)

Problems/ Potiental Problems

The cheap wood grain plastic on the passengers side is a little flimsy. I don't think it is attached well.
The glove box doesn't latch as well as I would like it to. Sometimes I think I closed it all the way and then it pops open while driving.
The driver's side power door isn't opening as smoothly and quietly as the day we bought it (and we don't yet have 2000 miles on it.)



We are hoping this minivan will last us 8-10 years and survive 3-4 kids. I will continue to update this review as we break it in.