2010 Toyota Sienna
Expert Review

Look down the list of features available in this new Sienna and you, too, may come to the same conclusion: Side-curtain airbags for all three rows of seats, all-wheel drive, fold-into-the-cargo-floor third-row seats, laser cruise control, a tire pressure monitor, a power tailgate, a navigation system, a rear camera, front and rear parking sonar, windows that open on the sliding doors, a cargo floor that can accommodate 4-by-8-foot sheets of plywood, skid control, traction control, tri-zone air conditioning, DVD-based entertainment system with wireless headphones, a "conversation mirror" that allows parents to keep an eye on youngsters in back. Do I need to go on?

I can, you know. The Sienna's features aren't all that's new.

Bigger size
The previous Sienna, which dates back to the 1998 model year, didn't quite measure up in terms of passenger space and cargo room.

For example, according to automotive research firm J.D. Power and Associates, the first-generation Siennas had 154.1 cubic feet of room for occupants, while the Grand Caravan—which was longer and wider—had 164.9 cubic feet, and the Odyssey has 170.7.

The new Sienna is more competitive, with 6.5 inches of additional length and nearly 4 more inches of width. So the Sienna now is nearly as long, overall, as the Grand Caravan and is actually wider than the Odyssey.

And I noticed the more spacious feel immediately upon entering the test Sienna. Headroom in all three rows of seats in the Sienna is improved—and not just by fractions of an inch. For example, in the front seats, headroom has gone from 40.6 inches to 42 inches in vans without a sunroof.

Legroom and shoulder room are improved all around, too. I especially enjoyed the additional 3.1 inches of legroom in the second-row seats.

Cargo room is better, too, with 43.6 cubic feet available behind the third row seats. This compares with 26.6 cubic feet in the 2003 Sienna.

Pleasant ride
Riding on a new chassis, the front-wheel-drive 2004 Sienna handles better than its predecessor.

There was a controlled feel in the test front-wheel-drive van, even on twisty mountain roads where the Sienna managed curves well and without being sloppy. Drivers can notice some weight shift, however, in this tall people hauler.

The suspension is similar to what was in earlier Siennas, but suspension travel is increased for better ride and tires are upsized to 16- and 17-inchers. The Sienna has MacPherson struts up front, while a torsion beam handles duties at the rear.

This minivan's power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering responds more quickly and tracks more predictably than on earlier Siennas.

Inside the seven-seat test van all remained quite quiet, even at higher speeds.

New V6 engine
Power is improved, too.

The Sienna's old 210-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 is replaced by a 230-horsepower 3.3-liter V6 that generates 24 more lb-ft of torque at a lower rpm, for a peak of 242 at 3600 rpm. This provides better acceleration and it's noticeable.

The Odyssey has 242 lb-ft at 4500 rpm and maximum horsepower of 240, while the Grand Caravan's up-level V6 can deliver 245 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm but has only 215 horses.

The new Sienna joins the Odyssey in having a five-speed automatic transmission. Shifts between gears here are smooth, and the new tranny also helps keep fuel economy in the front-wheel-drive, more-powerful Sienna on par with the 2003 Sienna.

Specifically, the front-wheel-drive '04 Sienna's estimated fuel economy rating is 19 miles a gallon in city driving and 27 mpg on the highway.

All-wheel-drive trims are rated lower—18 and 24 mpg, respectively.

Premium fuel is recommended for maximum performance, but the engine's management control system can tailor the engine workings for regular, too.

Note: In recent years, some Toyota owners have complained about an oil sludge problem with an earlier-generation Toyota V6. Toyota officials include an oil change reminder light in the new Sienna, and while they insist it doesn't have anything to do with the earlier sludge issue, they add that they want owners to realize there are things, like regular oil changes, that people can—and should—do to properly maintain their engines.

Comfort, convenience
The Sienna's seats now feel more upscale, with some decent cushioning and good support. Toyota officials insist that they spent more money on the new seats, just because they are so important for comfort.

If you're a comparison shopper, you'll no doubt recognize some of the new features on the Sienna. They debuted in other minivans.

For example, a power tailgate now is available. This feature was introduced on DaimlerChrysler vans.

Another DaimlerChrysler feature is here, too: A center console that can be moved from between the front seats to the second row.

The 2004 Sienna is the first with available navigation system. The Odyssey offers navigation, too.

Power windows on the Sienna's sliding doors go down part way to allow kids or pets in back to get fresh air. The Mazda MPV has this feature, too.

And the Sienna now has third-row seating that can fold into a cavity in the rear cargo floor, much like the feature pioneered by Honda.

But the mechanics to make the seating fold down are different, with the Sienna requiring a bit of "oomph" from me to get the seat down while the seat in the Odyssey gets help from gravity and sort of drops into place.

Another difference: The Sienna's third-row seat is split 60/40, so, if needed, a person can sit back there and there's still room for cargo on the side. In contrast, the Odyssey's third-row seat is a bench and so offers no such versatility.

And it sure looked as if there were a lot of fabric/carpet flaps attached to and around these third-row seats. The Odyssey's bench looks cleaner in comparison.

Second-row seats differ in these two vans, too. The Odyssey has sort of flat seats that slide together to act as a bench or slide apart as separate seats.

The Sienna offers together or separate locations, too, but there's no track for the seats to slide together. You must lift one, reposition it and lock it into place in the floor.

This caused me problems in the test Sienna. First, I tried to slide the seat and wound up scratching some plastic surrounding the seat latch points in the floor. When I attempted to move the seat back, I lifted it up and dropped it down to where I thought the latch points were. Well, I only had found the two rear latch points, and unfortunately, they had locked into place even though the two front latch points were out of position.

Try as hard as I could, I simply could not get the seat released and repositioned by myself. Neither could my passenger. In the end, it took two guys, working for a few minutes, to get the seat back in correctly.

After this experience, I never wanted to move the seat again.

Note: This was a seven-passenger model. An eight-seat version also is available and substitutes the two-seat second row with a three-seat arrangement.

Pricing changes
At introduction, the 2004 Sienna carries a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price of just under $23,000. This is nearly $1,000 less than its predecessor.

Starting price for the most popular Sienna, the LE, was set at introduction at just over $24,000. This also is a price cut from its predecessor.

But the newest Sienna trim level, the top-of-the-line XLE Limited, starts at just under $36,000 when all-wheel drive is included.

In comparison, the starting price for the top 2003 model, a front-wheel-drive XLE, wasn't even $30,000.

Minivan activity
Overall minivan sales have trended downward, to about 1 million annually, in recent years as American families found sport-utility vehicles and crossovers to be the latest and greatest people haulers.

But calendar 2003 is repositioning the spotlight on minivans as the 2004 Sienna is only the first of several new vans that are due in showrooms. Others include the 2004 Nissan Quest and 2004 Mercury Monterey.