Faults:

Tick in engine at idle when hot.

General Comments:

This is my second (non consecutive) Sienna. My first was a 2012 SE I had till about 2015.

The Sienna has just about everything you’d want or need in the SE PREMIUM trim. It’s Toyota so the technology lags a bit and is rather “touched by Toyota”. It reminds me of setting up technology in the late 90s. A bit more work than we are used to today. And it has a blue ray disc player... so... Yeah, kinda old school.

The touch screen only option to navigate (vs a jog/joy knob like good cars have) is infuriating. It’s sensitive (hovering a centimeter or two above it will actuate the “touch”), and it’s distracting and dangerous to try to be touching tiny menu items while driving. Studies have shown this is the most dangerous thing to do.

But this is a mini van. It’s all about moving mass from one place to another in a slightly more road worthy package than a frame based van. The Sienna does this with aplomb. Particularly the SE with “sport tuned suspension” and lower sidewall tires. The 2018+ XLE handles better than the 2011 did, but the SE still feels a lot more secure on the road. The other models are too squishy for me. Though they are more comfortable on rough spots.

It’s not a sports car, but it handles surprisingly well.

I’m fairly tall and find the Sienna pretty easy to get comfortable. I don’t even have the seat all the way back most of the time.

The steering wheel is a bit far from the seat. It tilts and telescopes, but only a few degrees and about an inch or two.

6 adults are very comfortable. You can do 8 adults, but not comfortably.

As is typical for Japanese cars, the passenger seats offer almost no adjustment. Even the power front passenger seat is just “4 way” 2 way in human language. (Forward adjustment implies backward, you car robots, we don’t replace seats once they’ve been adjusted too far forward). This is particularly frustrating for the front, as the arm rest on the seat and on the door are different heights. Might cause orthopedic problems for some.

Plenty of room for the rest. If everyone was over 6 foot it might be cramped, but better than anything else.

The center row seats are still heavy and have to be removed to turn it into a cargo van. The hassle comes from the driver's side seat weight. It’s heavy and too large (even for me at 6’2”) to get good leverage on to lift in and out. Plenty doable but no fun. However once you do get the seats out you are able to fit an entire 4’x8’ sheet of (anything) plywood into the back. If you don’t mind resting things on the console, you can fit a 10 foot long board into the car.

Consumer Reports and others knock it for “body integrity” buzzes and rattles. I agree. It’s crazy how little thought Toyota has put into a few things. You have to keep the unused seatbelts buckled or they flap around. They don’t have those soft pads that most cars have and the interior is rightly for its purpose, plastic and it makes a racket to have the seatbelts flopping around on the sides. Interior lights and A/C vents, just not up to a modern standard. The overhead entertainment makes noises. Again, no “felt” type pads at all to quiet it down. The unit itself makes noise. Like wiggling the screen, you can hear wires slapping around in the unit (or something similar). The cargo boxes for the rear passenger are hard as well, nothing to dull the din of even a pair of ear buds bouncing around inside. Then of course, all the other crud that accumulates in a family van, it gets downright clattery.

Wind noise, body noise and such from doors and other parts is nonexistent, but interior is pretty utilitarian. Feels like an American car from 2010, which it is. It’s an American market car made in American factories with similar care given to rattles and buzzes. Very similar to an older Chevy inside like most Toyota’s. Built to Chevy specs with maybe a bit better material.

You can go around and fix or abate a lot of the noise. But it can get a bit much on rougher roads and less tolerant temperament. Not a trait you expect of a $45000 vehicle.

Overall, it’s the best in class. All the other brands come up short. I hear the Kia is getting better, but in my test, it was far too poorly designed to be satisfied driving. Still has serious driver ergonomics problems, just like back in 2011 (steering wheel and pedals should be in front of you not beside you, and I should not have to move my seat to touch the touch screen).