Chief engineer Yuji Yokoya arrived in North America along with a current generation Sienna, and departed on the ultimate road trip. A full 80,000 kilometers (50,000 miles) later, after weathering nearly every clime imaginable, from the extreme cold of Alaska to the heat of Texas, and from the rugged eastern seaboard across the continent to the wet northern Pacific coast, Canada included, Yokoya learned what works and what needs work first hand.
And what are the results of his expeditions? Having not driven the 2004 Sienna yet I can't comment on all improvements, but some items were immediately apparent when looking the vehicle over at the Detroit show. A Toyota engineer, that happened to be on hand to talk to media about the new van, walked me through the operation of the Sienna's slick new 60/40 'Split & Stow 3rd Row' seats. They fold flat, similar to a few of the Sienna's peers, but do so separately and with the ease and flexibility of a contortionist, using up a minimum of space in the process. Each middle row seatback can be folded flat individually as well, but won'ttumble into the floor like the rear seats. Still a seriously large cargo area can be created without the need of hauling out and storing cumbersome seats. Pull out the middle row and the van's 159 L (5.6 cu ft) larger area can swallow up 4x8 sheets of plywood flat onto the floor. When all the seats are back in place it can be configured for a standard seven or optional eight passengers, depending if the mid-row bench seatis ordered.