With an upgraded powerplant and a number of other changes for 2007, does the popular Toyota Sienna still have what it takes to retain its place as one of the top minivans on the market? We rented one for a week-long family road trip to find out.
My test vehicle had a base price of $25,830 ($27,919 as tested). The 2007 Toyota Sienna LE comes with Toyota's 3-year/36,000-mile warranty and an EPA estimate of 19 mpg city/26 mpg highway.
First Glance: Road Trip!
The opportunity to give the Sienna a good, thorough test presented itself when our family decided to visit relatives around Independence Day earlier this year. We rented a white 2007 Sienna LE from a local Toyota dealer for the trip, then proceeded to travel through three states (and log more than 1100 miles) during our journey. (You can read about our exploits in more detail here.)Our vehicle was an 8-passenger model with the LE trim package, which included a passenger-side power sliding door. The Sienna doesn't stray much from the relatively conservative styling common in most other vehicles in the segment, which isn't necessarily a negative. (If you want a less conventional take on the minivan, give the Nissan Quest a look.)
Our test vehicle was reasonably well-equipped with safety features, including front seatbelt pretensioners, standard front, side and side-curtain airbags, as well as anti-lock brakes (ABS) and a collapsible steering column.
Electronic stability control (ESC) was available for the LE trim level as part of a $2795 option package that includes traction control and rear disc brakes. That package also includes features like dual power sliding doors, a HomeLink transceiver, and overhead information display, so if you want those safety features you'll need to buy lots of potentially unwanted extras to get them.
I'm sure dealers approve of that profitable option package strategy, but forcing customers to buy potentially unwanted options to obtain potentially life-saving features doesn't seem like the best solution.
In the Driver's Seat: Spacious and Comfortable
Material quality in the cabin was generally good, although we did spot a slightly misaligned dash panel, and one of the doors had a small tuft of fabric that jutted out from a seam. The second row seats were generally comfortable and easy to access, although access to the third row was a bit problematic at times.
It's not that the third row seats didn't have enough room (they did), or that they weren't comfortable (they were). My gripe is with access into the third row, which was made problematic by the full-length second row seats. (Our Sienna came equipped with the 8-passenger seating option.) With three seats in the second row, getting access to the third row requires that you fold and roll forward one of the outboard seats, a feat that is made more difficult if you have cargo on the passenger floor in front of them. Removing the seats wasn't an option for us, so having the kids clamber back into the third row over the folded seats was a neccessary evil. If you're planning to carry enough passengers to need the third row on a regular basis, my advice would be to choose the 7-passenger model instead.
On the Road: Hot Rod Minivan?
The 2007 Sienna gets a new and improved standard engine: a 3.5 liter V6 with 266 hp and 245 lb.-ft. of torque. It's not so much an upgrade for the Sienna as it is a new corporate powerplant that Toyota now uses across many of their vehicles. Regardless, the new engine turns the formerly mild-mannered Sienna into something a bit more lively.Merging into traffic and passing other vehicles is made easier with that extra power, as the engine has plenty of grunt at lower speeds as well as lots of zip on the freeway. We set the cruise control many times during our trip, and not once -- even while driving up hills with a full load of kids and luggage -- did the speedometer needle stray more than a sliver or two from our chosen speed. The 5-speed automatic transmission shifted smoothly at low and high speeds, ensuring that power delivery was smooth across the board.
That extra power also doesn't impact fuel economy: We averaged an impressive 26-27 MPG for most of our journey, although we spent plenty of time on the highway with cruise control engaged. We took advantage of that extra power often, so it's clear that Toyota has managed to simultaneously provide more power while keeping fuel economy comparable to previous Sienna models. That's quite a feat.
The Sienna has a comfortable ride, with smooth and controlled motions in turns. It's also very quiet, with road noise and vibration kept to a minimum. Parents attempting to get fussy toddlers to sleep during long trips will undoubtedly appreciate the quiet cabin.
Journey's End: Options and Hybrids
On the downside, the lack of key standard safety features like ESC and traction control--included by default on the range-topping Limited, but part of an expensive option package for most other trim levels--is a big negative in my book. That pricing strategy forces customers to pay for unwanted features to get those safety options, a practice I hope Toyota reconsiders in the future.
The argument for the Sienna on the more price-conscious end of the market is also a more difficult one to make, as Kia and Hyundai offer comparable vehicles with better warranties, more standard safety features and (arguably) equivalent quality for thousands less.
One area where Toyota has consistently shown market leadership is also sadly lacking on the Sienna: Hybrid engine technology. I receive several emails a month asking about the availability of a hybrid minivan, a vehicle that would seem to be a natural next step for Toyota -- it already sells a hybrid minivan (the Estima) in the Japanese market, so one can only hope that a hybrid engine option is in the cards for the next-gen US-market Sienna.