Toyota Sienna (US) review

One thing you can say about the Sienna is that it’s a capacity king. With three configurable rows of seating and 33.5 cu ft of storage space, it's equipped to haul just about everything you’re likely to throw into it. Tucking every seat away makes room for 101 cu ft of room. That’s easily a decent-sized couch or several flat packs.

Apart from the ample room, the seating is otherwise fine, particularly in the optional second row captain’s chairs and the pop-up footrests in the top-tier trims, if you want to feel fancy.

Tell me about the tech.

The dashboard is adorned with either an eight-inch touchscreen or 12.3in interface for any trim above the base. Either one is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible. Outside of those overlays, the base system is Amazon Alexa integration, along with satellite radio and Wifi hotspot functions so long as you’re signed up for the necessary subscriptions.

Meanwhile, in the rear, there’s an option for an 11.6in rear seat infotainment system so second row occupants can entertain themselves without bugging the driver.

While we’re back here, we should elaborate on the advanced rear seat reminder system that Toyota’s awfully proud of. In order to make sure nobody gets lost in the shuffle Kevin Mcallister-style, a millimeter-wave radar sensor scans for any movement after the vehicle is switched off.If owners are signed on to Toyota’s connected services, they will receive an alert via the app, along with the car itself escalating things with flashing lights and honks the longer warnings go unnoticed. After a couple of minutes, the car will call your phone.

How safe is it?

As a vehicle made primarily for families, Toyota has provided plenty of accident avoidance and protections baked in as standard. Features range from adaptive cruise control to lane keep assist, and as far as automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection and rear cross traffic alerts. There is a 360-degree camera and sensors for easier parking spot maneuverability, though these are optional extras.

In the unfortunate event of a collision, there are ten airbags throughout the cabin to hopefully mitigate any harm to passengers.