3 – 2013 Toyota Sienna (75.5%)
By far, the best looking of the bunch the Toyota Sienna also turned out to be the sportiest. Decked out in SE trim, the 2013 Toyota Sienna is an upper-level minivan for the family willing to spend a bit more for quality and looks over quantity within.
First, it’s important to note that while the other two minivans on the comparo drive were decked to the nines with options and amenities, the Sienna was a bit bare bones and sitting midrange in its model lineup at $37,205. Sans DVD screens in the rear, navigation, heated seats/steering wheel, nor blind spot indicators; the Toyota Sienna was already falling to the back of the pack in terms of bang-for-buck content.
Where the 2013 Toyota Sienna gained its points was in exterior looks and the drive.
First, the looks: When lined up side-by-side with the likes of the Honda Odyssey and Dodge Grand Caravan, it was head and shoulders above them styling-wise. We’re not quite prepared to call a minivan “stunning,” but the Sienna is at least attractive in the sense that it has a certain sportiness to its exterior lines. Short overhang in the rear and a snubby front end keep the spirited-driving look going.
Inside the 2013 Toyota Sienna, the good looks kind of fizzle out: While we all agreed that the seats in the Sienna were the most comfortable in the threesome, the ergonomics of the cabin pushed it to the very bottom of every list possible. Toyota clearly focused on the outside and left the inside to the wayside. The layout of the centre stack is just ridiculous, with buttons way too spread out, much too far away from the driver, and screens that are unusable in bright sunlight.
With a removable middle “jump seat” for the second row, the 2013 Toyota Sienna has seating for eight, if need be. Installing the middle seat is a breeze, as is installing two baby seats (both forward-facing Britax convertible seats) in the captain’s seats of the second row. Ingress and egress is quite good, especially getting to the third row.
We affectionately referred to the 2013 Toyota Sienna as the “racing snail” on our drive, as it was soon made clear to us that the Sienna likes to boogie, but only to the best of its minivan abilities, of course. Decked out with a 3.5L V6 DOHC good for 266 horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque, the FWD Sienna felt sportier than the others. Perhaps it was the heavy steering, or the happy-to-rev-high-and-be-pushed engine (and the noise that accompanied the push), but there was something fun about driving the Sienna -- that we all agreed on.
And despite our happy right feet throughout the drive day, the 2013 Toyota Sienna still managed a decent 12L/100km average.
Where the 2013 Toyota Sienna falls behind (and why it landed in third place) is overall value. Sure, the Sienna is a well-built, good looking van that offers a bit of an upscale feelt. However, when you consider the price and what you’re getting for it, you just can’t match it up to other options out there (which we’ll get to in a moment).
The Toyota Sienna’s redeeming quality is its available AWD, which makes it a viable minivan choice for larger families in the Northern United States and Canada. However, that’s not quite enough to make it the very best choice out there.
By far, the best looking of the bunch the Toyota Sienna also turned out to be the sportiest. Decked out in SE trim, the 2013 Toyota Sienna is an upper-level minivan for the family willing to spend a bit more for quality and looks over quantity within.
First, it’s important to note that while the other two minivans on the comparo drive were decked to the nines with options and amenities, the Sienna was a bit bare bones and sitting midrange in its model lineup at $37,205. Sans DVD screens in the rear, navigation, heated seats/steering wheel, nor blind spot indicators; the Toyota Sienna was already falling to the back of the pack in terms of bang-for-buck content.
Where the 2013 Toyota Sienna gained its points was in exterior looks and the drive.
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| By far, the best looking of the bunch the Toyota Sienna also turned out to be the sporticlassiest. (Photo: Olivier Delorme) |
First, the looks: When lined up side-by-side with the likes of the Honda Odyssey and Dodge Grand Caravan, it was head and shoulders above them styling-wise. We’re not quite prepared to call a minivan “stunning,” but the Sienna is at least attractive in the sense that it has a certain sportiness to its exterior lines. Short overhang in the rear and a snubby front end keep the spirited-driving look going.
Inside the 2013 Toyota Sienna, the good looks kind of fizzle out: While we all agreed that the seats in the Sienna were the most comfortable in the threesome, the ergonomics of the cabin pushed it to the very bottom of every list possible. Toyota clearly focused on the outside and left the inside to the wayside. The layout of the centre stack is just ridiculous, with buttons way too spread out, much too far away from the driver, and screens that are unusable in bright sunlight.
With a removable middle “jump seat” for the second row, the 2013 Toyota Sienna has seating for eight, if need be. Installing the middle seat is a breeze, as is installing two baby seats (both forward-facing Britax convertible seats) in the captain’s seats of the second row. Ingress and egress is quite good, especially getting to the third row.
We affectionately referred to the 2013 Toyota Sienna as the “racing snail” on our drive, as it was soon made clear to us that the Sienna likes to boogie, but only to the best of its minivan abilities, of course. Decked out with a 3.5L V6 DOHC good for 266 horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque, the FWD Sienna felt sportier than the others. Perhaps it was the heavy steering, or the happy-to-rev-high-and-be-pushed engine (and the noise that accompanied the push), but there was something fun about driving the Sienna -- that we all agreed on.
And despite our happy right feet throughout the drive day, the 2013 Toyota Sienna still managed a decent 12L/100km average.
Where the 2013 Toyota Sienna falls behind (and why it landed in third place) is overall value. Sure, the Sienna is a well-built, good looking van that offers a bit of an upscale feelt. However, when you consider the price and what you’re getting for it, you just can’t match it up to other options out there (which we’ll get to in a moment).
The Toyota Sienna’s redeeming quality is its available AWD, which makes it a viable minivan choice for larger families in the Northern United States and Canada. However, that’s not quite enough to make it the very best choice out there.
 |
| Toyota clearly focused on the outside and left the inside to the wayside. The layout of the centre stack is just ridiculous, with buttons way too spread out, much too far away from the driver, and screens that are unusable in bright sunlight. (Photo: Olivier Delorme) |