Toyota Sienna (US) review

Hold on to your heinies, you’re not going to believe this but Toyota’s minivan drives kind of just fine. Yes, this is the kind of professional assessment you come here for, particularly when you ask about the dynamics of a family utility vehicle.

Jokes aside, there isn’t much to complain about as the 2.5-liter engine and assorted electric motors dutifully pull the Sienna along just fine around town and on highways. Subsequently, the multilink suspension does a decent job of mitigating the rolls, bumps, and bounces that would make passengers of the family hauler nauseous over time.

To that end, it functions as a worry-free transport of families as well as a versatile ride share vehicle.

Tell me more about the sole powertrain option.

Alrighty. Since 2021, the Sienna has been hybrid-only, nixing the V6 option available on the previous generation and replacing the 2.7-liter I4 with the current 2.5-liter. This is supplemented with two integrated electric motors upping the total output to 245hp and 176lb ft of torque. FWD is standard but every trim has an AWD option which adds a motor to distribute up to 80 per cent of the power to the rear in situations that call for additional traction. FWD models score an estimated 36mpg while the AWD models get 35mpg.

Oh, so it can corner?

As much as we would love to see Toyota deliver us a barnstorming GR Sienna, this is far from the current case. The independent suspension and torque split helps mitigate understeer, but it’s for enhanced control, not for a good time.

Toyota will tell you the XSE grade has a “sport tuned” suspension with different spring rates and damping along with non-standard stabilizer bars. We’ll believe Toyota did those things, though we’re less inclined to say the XSE is more fun to drive than the other versions.