Topic: Test Drive: 2014 Toyota Sienna SE V6

[sailor723]

I also like being with family and friends and day road trips are a fun way to get together.  However, I never had a desire to have one of my own.  When our kids and grand kids were younger and wanted to bring friends along or we took friends/extended family, etc. along, I rented one.  They are very useful and practical, but way too big for me as a daily driver.  And that awful dash in the Sienna with the shift lever protruding from it a la Venza, would be a deal breaker if I were in the market for a van. (I can't use the word mini for anything this huge)

I also fall into the "hire one for the once or twice a year you really need one" catagory but vans sure are handy sometimes.

But a van is not much bigger then your CUV
Specifications    2014 Toyota Sienna Limited 7 Passenger    2014 Mercedes-Benz M-Class Base
Exterior length                                     200.2 ".                  189.1 "
Exterior body width                          78.2 "                    75.8 "
Exterior height                                     68.9 "                     70.7 "

Way more comfortable if you are more than 4.

[2JDM]

...driving dynamics in a van...

 

Ya ya I know, but believe it or not, there are differences on how vans drive. 

My dad purchased a 05' Odyssey over a Sienna because of the ride and handling. The Sienna's softer suspension made him prone to motion sickness.

[Noto]

...but I am yet to find a car that lets me tune through channels using the steering-wheel mounted controls

2011 Subaru Forester XT.  Best controls ever.  The up/down moves 0.2hz, and if you press+hold, it cycles through the presets.  Far better use.

2006 RX400h does it the opposite - using the toggles changes between presets, but if you press+hold, it will do the "seek" function (only stopping on channels with sufficient broadcast signal).

[johngenx]

Have things become too complicated?  On our cars I just hit the "seek" or "scan" buttons.

[Solstice2006]

Have things become too complicated?  On our cars I just hit the "seek" or "scan" buttons.

Yes too complicated, was in the laws Escape last week, with my daughter sleeping beside me, my mother in law was driving, trying to change the station, by talking to the stupid car, she has no accent whatsoever, and told her to do it manually (so she wouldn't wake the baby) , she said that is hard too! 

[Solstice2006]

With the new interior of the Highlander being a big step from previous generation, I am hoping the Sienna mid cycle refresh comes soon...

[dkaz]

Hm, I kinda want to test drive an Odyssey now to compare, I guess both the new one and then a 99-2004 against my 99 Sienna. I test drove a 2011 or 12 SE and LE before, and as I noted before, the SE drove way better than the LE, but it still drove like an understeering boat.

Mazda 5, I've been able to fit a six foot ladder in it numerous times by putting it down the middle, slightly protruding to the front. It works. I've carried 4x8 sheets in it before as well, diagonally and protruding 27 to 29" out the back. I beat up the interior hauling stuff and I'm glad I have a beater van now I don't have to worry about wrecking.

The interior in the current Sienna is not great, but it's nothing offensive either. The sport fabric seats with leather bolsters are nice up front and look good too, but I preferred the Odyssey's seats in the 2nd and 3rd row, especially that proper middle seat in the 2nd row that won't make you commit harakiri samurai style to save your butt's honour. Final note, I didn't know the SE came in red now. From 2011 it only came in four "colours", black, white, silver, and dark grey. Wow. My wife would totally dig the red.

[johngenx]

I've been on a few long trips in a newer Sienna, and it's a superb long distance cruiser.  Tons of room, luxury-car ride, and enough power to climb passes even when loaded.

[Snowman]

If one is looking for driving dynamics in a van, the Honda Odyssey is the way to go.

no way 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5zO_KauFQ

[Blueprint]

Jacob,

Having just bought my first minivan in 2003 (Odyssey EX), I took part in Car and Driver's 2004 minivan comparo and had a ball driving all of these vans at un-family speeds  The Ody stood way above the others on driving fun, and for me coming out of a manual Passat 1.8T, I needed the van to drive like a car. The 2004 Sienna's handling was nice with the stiffer awd setup, but way too soft in fwd form. We kept that van for nearly 10 years and bought a 2012 Odyssey EX which, as others said, hits the sweet spot on price vs value.

The Sienna SE was in my sights in 2012, but no way I could justify the extra 4k$ over the Ody EX. Plus, dw would have destroyed that low front airdam on the first grocery day, and would have blamed the van for being too low. I was not crazy about the 3rd row's plastic hinges taking up the rear well's floorspace

What you missed: the SE has a stiffer suspension and unique 19" wheels. That big cubby in the trunk's left wall is designed to store the 8th seat (or glorified armrest IMHO). The SE trims takes the LE up a notch and out of the rental class. However, at the Ody EX price level, the Sienna LE is quite drab inside.

Edmund's called the current Odyssey the S-Class of minivans, and I think they're right. I like my new van overall, but interior materials had higher quality in the '03.

Oh, and on that plywood thing, I had a ball at the Home Depot with the 2003. Picked-up two 4x8's, had left the 2nd row buckets at home but had the rear single-piece bench up with the 3 kids seated on it. Slid the sheets under the bench, closed the hatch, no issue with the rain.

Face on the macho guys with big 6' bed trucks: priceless.

[bensonc]

Thx Jacob for the article, it is interesting!!
My friend just show me his 13 SE in white, that look stunning with those black sport trim....
Speaking of handling, I went for a short test drive, I feel more confidence in it then my venza on hwy on ramp.....

[Fobroader]

If one is looking for driving dynamics in a van, the Honda Odyssey is the way to go.

no way 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5zO_KauFQ

Pcha...nope....this one

http://youtu.be/yZhXMVNfRb0

[tazcubed]

Jacob,

Having just bought my first minivan in 2003 (Odyssey EX), I took part in Car and Driver's 2004 minivan comparo and had a ball driving all of these vans at un-family speeds  The Ody stood way above the others on driving fun, and for me coming out of a manual Passat 1.8T, I needed the van to drive like a car. The 2004 Sienna's handling was nice with the stiffer awd setup, but way too soft in fwd form. We kept that van for nearly 10 years and bought a 2012 Odyssey EX which, as others said, hits the sweet spot on price vs value.

The Sienna SE was in my sights in 2012, but no way I could justify the extra 4k$ over the Ody EX. Plus, dw would have destroyed that low front airdam on the first grocery day, and would have blamed the van for being too low. I was not crazy about the 3rd row's plastic hinges taking up the rear well's floorspace

What you missed: the SE has a stiffer suspension and unique 19" wheels. That big cubby in the trunk's left wall is designed to store the 8th seat (or glorified armrest IMHO). The SE trims takes the LE up a notch and out of the rental class. However, at the Ody EX price level, the Sienna LE is quite drab inside.

Edmund's called the current Odyssey the S-Class of minivans, and I think they're right. I like my new van overall, but interior materials had higher quality in the '03.

Oh, and on that plywood thing, I had a ball at the Home Depot with the 2003. Picked-up two 4x8's, had left the 2nd row buckets at home but had the rear single-piece bench up with the 3 kids seated on it. Slid the sheets under the bench, closed the hatch, no issue with the rain.

Face on the macho guys with big 6' bed trucks: priceless.

Good to know that full 4x8 sheets fit underneath without removing the bench.  I'd never have thought to consider it, figuring it was an "either/or" situation. I guess it's time to go and look both of these over again.

I'd also like to see how the new vans (such as the Ford Transit (the full-sized truck) and the M-B Sprinter) would compare to minivans in terms of flexibility and usefulness. I've not done any investigation to see whether it's a true "apples-to-apples" comparison, but perhaps it might make for an interesting read.

[Solstice2006]

I wonder if this generation Sienna is better than the 2nd generation (after the mid-cycle refresh).  So like a 2008-2010, that has the same 3.5L.  My biggest priorities are interior materials, seat comfort (prefer leather), I prefer captain chairs, don't need to sit 8.  From the pictures the last gen, looks like it has better materials.  One things for sure, not many used top trims on AutoTrader.   

[JacobBlack]

That plywood thing is awesome. I've learned now that when I test a van of any type, even a hatch, I should bust out the measuring tape and measure the gate opening, plus the max cube dimensions.

Wish I'd done it for this one.

[Ex-airbalancer]

That plywood thing is awesome. I've learned now that when I test a van of any type, even a hatch, I should bust out the measuring tape and measure the gate opening, plus the max cube dimensions.

Wish I'd done it for this one.

you should get a refrigerator box and use that for measuring vans , also the kids will have a great time playing with it LOL

[JacobBlack]

you should get a refrigerator box and use that for measuring vans , also the kids will have a great time playing with it LOL

I have one, it's currently in a state of disrepair, I'm told it's a boat. It holds many soft toys, several of which are falling overboard out of the rips in the corners... Maddie is pretty awesome, but she's not good on ship maintenance.

[mixmanmash]

Yeah that comparo wasn't too long ago..  Why consider the Flex?  Apples & Oranges, throw in the space shuttle (Quest).  Friends of ours have 2 kids (5 and 2), with twins on the way, and just picked up a Chrysler Town & Country demo.  Not sure what the differences are between a top of the line Caravan, and a base Town and Country, but pretty soon one of these will disappear.... The article doesn't mention much of the differences of the Sienna SE over the trims.  I find the Sienna SE is the best looking on the outside, but enjoy the 2nd row lazyboy chairs on the XLE...   Wish I could get those chairs on the SE...   Haven't been in an Odyssey in awhile...

Quest is no longer sold in Canada for 2014.

The Lazy Boy 2nd row chairs can only be used if you slide the seat all the way back, rendering the third row seats useless.

[mixmanmash]

I also like being with family and friends and day road trips are a fun way to get together.  However, I never had a desire to have one of my own.  When our kids and grand kids were younger and wanted to bring friends along or we took friends/extended family, etc. along, I rented one.  They are very useful and practical, but way too big for me as a daily driver.  And that awful dash in the Sienna with the shift lever protruding from it a la Venza, would be a deal breaker if I were in the market for a van. (I can't use the word mini for anything this huge)

I have access to a full-size conversion van for those long trips.  However, I have a regular need to fit 5-6 people (2 twin girls that are 9.5 months plus 3-4 adults).  Only vehicle that fits the bill is a minivan.  Not to mention that a minivan typically gets better fuel economy than a CUV/SUV of reasonable size, whether it's a 5, 7 or 8 seater (i.e. Highlander sized).

[Solstice2006]

Yeah that comparo wasn't too long ago..  Why consider the Flex?  Apples & Oranges, throw in the space shuttle (Quest).  Friends of ours have 2 kids (5 and 2), with twins on the way, and just picked up a Chrysler Town & Country demo.  Not sure what the differences are between a top of the line Caravan, and a base Town and Country, but pretty soon one of these will disappear.... The article doesn't mention much of the differences of the Sienna SE over the trims.  I find the Sienna SE is the best looking on the outside, but enjoy the 2nd row lazyboy chairs on the XLE...   Wish I could get those chairs on the SE...   Haven't been in an Odyssey in awhile...

Quest is no longer sold in Canada for 2014.

The Lazy Boy 2nd row chairs can only be used if you slide the seat all the way back, rendering the third row seats useless.

Thanks for the update on the Quest, didn't know that.

As for the lounge chairs, I kinda knew that, but I don't fault Toyota for that.  You don't use that feature the whole time, on long trips, it would be great.  They are not forcing you to use it, so 4 people in extreme comfort, or 7 in just comfort.  Since I would sit 4 regularly doesn't affect me...