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Toyota has one of the best Minivans in the segment


The Sienna is an impact player in the mini-van segment that


Make no mistake about it. The 2021 Toyota Sienna is a powerful and attractive option in the minivan segment. It's stylish, roomy, comfortable, and delivers great fuel economy. But the segment is extremely compeitive and the minivan continues to fight off SUV's for the attarctions and features that families desire.


Besides the fact that this is an amazing minivan, there are plenty of options. The limited is one of five trim options. Those trims include the Le front wheel drive, The XLE front wheel drive at 39,000 starting MSRP the xse front-wheel drive starting at 42,000. The Sienna adds a new, unique trim level for 2022: the Woodland Edition. It gets a 0.6-inch increase in ground clearance thanks to unique shocks and springs.


The limited front-wheel drive that we drove starting at 46,700 and the highest level is the Platinum front wheel drive starting at $49,900. The limited we drove comes with rear seat entertainment, intelligent review mirror special paint temporary spare tire and there's an all-wheel drive option.


“This is an all-new vehicle from the ground up, including a new chassis platform as well as a new electrical platform,” said Chief Engineer Monte Kaehr (pictured at left). “The development of the fourth generation Sienna was a huge undertaking but we always worked towards one single mission—to make the best van yet.”



PERFORMANCE

On the road the Sienna Limited is smooth, quiet and controlled. It drives with much more agility and ride dynamics than one would expect. The 2021 Sienna features the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 suite—including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and automatic high beams. The list of features also includes full-speed dynamic cruise control. The Sienna's drive handling is also sharper than its competitors.


While driving, of course you've got different modes, sport, normal and eco mode. Hey you guys know I'm going to pick sport mode first. It's smooth and comfortable. It's surprisingly realy quiet too. The entertainment system and all the controls are right there within reach. It's easy to enjoy all the space service and making driving that much more fun. Kicking up the acceleration is very interesting.

The CVT engine seems to mute the overall driving experience somewhat but it's not something you want to be driving at the racetrack but rather on fun outings. The hybrid capability absolutely adds value to it. Being able to maximize my truck is always excellent. Another feature here is the extraordinary visibility all around the vehicle.

The electric motor drives a Goodwill so it's going to be switching back and forth so there may be a little bit of slip. You may notice but then again you may not. It drives a lot smaller than it's actual size. In other words it's quite agile and responsive. Definitely a plus factor for this amazing mini van. The mileage rates around 36 in the city / 36 on the highway.


INTERIOR

There's a silver trim that runs along the middle of the dash (seen below) from the right of the steering wheel all the way to the end of The passenger side. Horizontal air vents complement each corner. The center stack is clean and simple. The gear shift with leather wrapping and silver trim is right there next to the driver.

It's spacious, stylish, and well-organized. I start with the front seat driver and passenger area. From the driver perspective you've got a nice well-organized cockpit and control area precede it by a sport inspired steering wheel with various controls and settings integrated into the middle. Behind the steering wheel is a strong and confident dash Hood in the middle with your digital readouts and information on the car and it's performance right there. To the lower right you've got your little blue ignition button and to the left you've got your air vent. Moving to the center of the dash you've got a strong protruding infotainment system that rises up from the middle dash prominently and gives it a high-tech demeanor.

There are two spaces for beverages or other storage items between the driver and the passenger area with additional storage spaces between the seats. That center divider between the driver and the passenger is elegantly designed and you can change those configurations and materials as you desire when ordering the vehicle.


The Sienna XLE offers seating for up to eight, while the Limited gives you seating for seven with premium leather-trimmed second-row captain's chairs and available lounge seating. The Limited also gives you premium leather-trimmed and multi-stage heated front seats as well as front and rear parking assist sonar. These are all very helpful in the drive experience.

The second row is also roomy clean and comfortable. There's great headspace, leg space, venting or ventilation, and beautiful visibility. Throughout the cabinets places to charge your phone and other mobile devices.

Those seats on the second row are versatile. You can bring the seat back or fold it down for more storage.

It's quite useful and Toyota has learned how to be one of the best in the business with space management. With that in mind, the third row actually has enough space for an adult. Not a big one but there is space back there and it's usable. I'd be tempted to say that you can fit or at least squeeze seven people into there or at least six comfortably.

A Split and Stow 3rd Row seat is a Toyota exclusive, with an exceptionally easy fold-down mechanism that’ll make for extra simple storage when you hit the grocery store.

There’s just so much to enjoy inside this vehicle. For the busy professional on the go, there are 7 USB outlets that mean that you’ll be able to keep all your connected devices plugged in and charging, perfect for those long trips on the road. All three rows get coverage in the USB department. The eight-passenger version is only available on the LE and XLE.


EXTRA COOL STUFF

There is an exceptional level of cabin storage like a bold interior design and versatile Super Long Slide second-row seats that are especially good for parents with older kids. Its feature content, cargo space and safety are similarly strong. Therefore, with most other elements being equal or at least similar enough, the Sienna's massive fuel economy advantage becomes a deciding factor.


THE VERDICT

The Sienna starts at $35,775, including the $1,215 destination charge. Although other vans have lower base prices, the Sienna has a higher trim level that comes with more equipment. Standard features includes automatic LED headlights, the full Toyota Safety sense driver assistance suite (see Safety section), power sliding doors and liftgate, three-zone climate control, an eight-way power driver seat, second-row sunshades, 16 cupholders, seven USB ports, a 9-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a six-speaker sound system.

All in all, this is one of the top minivans inthe segment with plenty to offer. For more insight, visit Toyota.com



 

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