2011 Toyota Sienna XLE All-Wheel Drive: A 7-Passenger Luxurious People Mover

Test Vehicle’s MSRP: $41,944 (Base Toyota Sienna starts out at $25,370)

Major Standard Features: Driver’s knee airbag; 4 grocery hooks; cargo area storage compartment; stow-away third-row seat; remote keyless entry; lockable lower glove compartment; tri-zone a/c with individual temperature settings; AM/FM/MP3/CD player with 4 speakers; 17-inch alloy wheels; three 12-volt outlets; 2-year free service maintenance

Standard Engine/Horsepower: 3.5-liter, 6-cylinder/266 (2.7-liter, 4-cylinder/187)

Standard Fuel Mileage: 16-city/22-hwy (18-city/24-hwy on 4-cylinder)

Competition: Chrysler Town & Country Limited, Honda Odyssey EX-L, Nissan Quest LE and VW Routan SEL

What’s New: While both GM and Ford have abandoned the minivan market, Toyota along with a number of brands has stayed in the game. Toyota’s third-generation minivan, the Sienna, has been redesigned for the 2011 model year.

In addition to the exterior and interior being reworked, the van now offers for the first time a fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engine. And to help improve the gas mileage, the redesigned minivan is also outfitted with an all-new electronically controlled smooth-shifting 6-speed transmission.

Pros:

The redesigned people mover is available in five trim levels: base, LE, SE, XLE and Limited in either a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive configuration.

Not only is the redesigned Sienna capable of carrying in anywhere between seven to eight occupants, depending on the seating arrangements, all occupants will have ample space. The additional space is due to two additional inches of interior space in the 2011 model, allowing for more passenger comfort.

And just like at home, the seats in the Sienna can be rearranged. They can be stowed away in the rear storage area or they can be slid forward or backwards, offering more aisle space. Also those traveling with small children will be smitten with the fact that the second-row seats can be move forward, closer to the front seat occupants to attend to needs of the child.

Moreover, the Sienna offers a sleeker, cleaner exterior design with an all-new hidden door slider underneath the back window. The door track is no longer exposed.

And depending upon one’s budget this minivan can be decked-out with a number of features. In our XLE trim, the vehicle was outfitted with dual power sliding doors, second-row captain chairs, leather heated front seats, satellite radio, 10 cupholders and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Added to the aforementioned features, the smooth-riding Sienna we reviewed was equipped with Toyota’s $6,200 Premium Package, which consisted of dual DVD players with wireless headphones, a nav system, a rear-view camera, a push-button engine starter, chrome exterior door handles, rear audible parking sensors, ipod connectivity and an upgraded 10-speaker JBL audio system. Yes, this minivan is like a mobile entertainment vehicle.
Cons:

Within recent years, most consumers have been trading in their mommy-like minivans for not being as cool-looking or fun-to-drive as crossovers. Regardless of what automakers due there is really no way to make a minivan look cool. However, there seems to be a shift recently toward the minivan market again. Just in the first three months of this year, sales of the 2011 Sienna are up 75 percent from the same period in 2010.

The Verdict:

If Toyota’s upscale brand, Lexus, offered a minivan, it would be outfitted with the same amenities available in the high-end XLE and Limited trims found in the Sienna. While Toyota’s space age looking minivan doesn’t have the same cool effect found in the auto industry hottest new segment, crossovers, it’s still capable of providing above average accommodations for seven or eight, including cargo, which is a major downside for most of today’s cramped crossovers.

And, with the exception of the RAV4 and the Highland, the redesigned Toyota Sienna is outpacing every Toyota SUV and crossover in new-vehicle sales so far this year. This is a major feat, since both GM and Ford walked away from the minivan market a few years ago to focus on the crossover segment.

The Highlander, which is Toyota’s midsize crossover, is only a 47 sales ahead of the Sienna for the year. Indeed Toyota’s new minivan shows that it’s back and that it means business for those who thought the minivan market was dead. In fact, Nissan, Chrysler and Honda all retooled their minivans for the 2011 model year.