SIENNA READY TO GO THE DISTANCE
The 2017 Sienna Limited is the minivan with maximum value — it’s the ultimate road trip vehicle that’s extremely comfortable and decked out with safety features.
Everything about this $44,900 Sienna makes taking a long trip an easy experience. There are supremely comfortable leather-trimmed seats, the anti-vibration subframe provides a seriously smooth ride and the 3.5L V6 engine cranks out 296 horsepower and is remarkably responsive.
The Sienna, which handles highway speeds with ease and will have you overtaking other vehicles effortlessly, has an 8-speed automatic transmission that works well to find the right gear to help you accelerate. You may even have to remind yourself to
lay off the gas pedal — you can barely feel the speed at 85 mph.
The Sienna gets decent gas mileage for a minivan — 18 mpg in the city, 24 mpg on the highway — averaging about 20 mpg per trip.
The interior is equipped with numerous accessory outlets and features a clean and neatly organized dashboard with climate controls for three zones. The entertainment and navigation system is displayed on a 7-inch touch screen.
The entertainment system is quite impressive. It has all the usual features you’d find in most cars, like satellite radio, navigation and Bluetooth. But it also offers a Blu-ray player and a massive 16.4 inch widescreen, which means kids and adult passengers alike will fall in love with the system while watching high-definition flicks.
This Sienna seats seven adults and the rear seats adjust nicely and fold away with the push of a button. The center console has extra storage, adding to the 150 cubic feet of cargo space.
The exterior looks, well, like a minivan. Although the Salsa Red Pearl paint job is nice and the front grille looks sleek, in the end the Sienna is the same shape of all minivans: a wedged front and squaredoff back.
One complaint is the quirky automatic sliding doors, which are slow to open and seem to confuse everyone who tries to use them. The rear power gate works well.
Safety-wise, the Sienna Limited Premium has everything you need. It has blind-spot detection, crosstraffic alerts, and a vehicle stability system.
This is an enjoyable minivan to drive and well worth the $44,900 when you take into consideration the abundance of great features.