Toyota Sienna marks 25 years, 4 generations
25 years is usually considered the Silver Anniversary. One of the best-selling minivans of all time, with 2.2 million units sold since its debut in 1997, turns 25 this model year. During the 2021 model year, Toyota made a hybrid engine standard for this minivan and in 2023, two years into its fourth generation, the stalwart minivan is still going strong.
The Sienna has evolved through those two and a half decades starting off as a rear-wheel drive and a gasoline engine. Now the Sienna has available all-wheel drive and the hybridized powertrain. My how the minivan has changed.
As far as looks, the Sienna still separates itself from all the SUVs on the road with its long wheelbase and true minivan looks. This almost makes it a throwback to the days when minivans were cool for families. With a focus on interior comfort and family-friendly amenities, the four generations of the Sienna have held true to what it does it well.
The most distinctive design element is on the side panels where a swirling element runs from the front wheel well to the back wheel well which almost emphasizes the length of the minivan. The front end styling and back end styling are fairly similar and all in all this is a handsome van with congruent looks.
For this model year, Toyota introduces the official 25th Anniversary Edition, after adding the outdoors-oriented Woodland Edition last year. The other trims include the LE, XLE, XSE and the two previously mentioned trims, Woodland and 25th Anniversary.
The 2023 Sienna offers a slew of standard features such as four-zone climate control, heated second-row Super-Long Slide captain’s chairs with ottomans, power tilt and telescoping steering column with heated steering wheel, 10-in. color head-up display and 12-speaker JBL Premium Audio system.
The Sienna has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder has two additional electric motor assists to offer maximum fuel economy. Altogether it accounts for 245 horsepower. A continuously variable transmission is mated to the hybrid system and provides more fuel efficiency. While some quirks exist with this transmission, it does its job of keeping this engine running efficiently.
As such, the Sienna Hybrid has an EPA rating of 36 mpg/city and 36 mpg/highway. The all-wheel drive version loses a small amount on the city economy with a rating of 35 mpg. My tester was the AWD version and it was smooth shifting, good enough off the line and incredibly well behaved. It’s basically what you expect from a minivan, with fewer trips to the gas station.
The Super-Long Slide second-row captain’s chairs in some 7-seat models slide 25 inches, providing ample legroom and flexibility to maximize comfort, especially when used with the available ottoman feature. That’s really the appeal of the Sienna. The interior creature comforts. Honestly for a seven-passenger vehicle it’s hard to find a rival that offers a similar combination of comfort and safety elements.
The Sienna is equipped with Toyota’s Safety Sense 2.0 which is a sensor-based system that includes lane departure, pre-collision detection, dynamic cruise control, lane tracing assist and road sign assist.
There’s a 9-inch responsive touchscreen to drive the infotainment system. Integration with Samsung and Apple products is seamless and there are seven USB connectors to appease all passengers.
The 2023 Toyota Sienna XSE with all-wheel drive has an MSRP of $43, 705. That falls right in the middle of the average price with the low-end LE and its price of $37,835 and the top-of-the-line Platinum trim with a price of $51,605.
There is very little exciting about the Toyota Sienna from an enthusiast standpoint. And the minivan has fallen out of favor amongst family-oriented consumers. Perhaps that’s why the sales have tailed downward. But now in its 25th anniversary, the Sienna continues to be one of the leaders in the segment and should certainly be at the top of list for those who still seek a minivan. It’s a vehicle with a lot of merit and value, when compared to the numerous seven-passenger SUVs on the road.
