Toyota continues to tweak style with Sienna
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As with the 2015 Toyota Camry, the Sienna minivan has been tweaked inside and out to make it more appealing to the masses. The upgrades start with an infusion of style and finish with a rethought cabin. Between the two, there are new technologies and some welcome features. The Sienna is available in both seven- and eight-seat configurations.
The biggest change, aside from the new-look nose and LED daytime running lights, is the upgraded interior. The entire dash panel has been reworked. It starts with a significant improvement in the materials (now soft touch and accented with contrasting stitching), a redesigned instrument panel with smarter gauges and the inclusion of the same 4.2-inch TFT screen found in the Camry. The latter smartens things up by delivering the desired information in a clean-and-clear manner. The seven-inch touch screen that dominates the middle of the dash is new and iPad-like in its execution. It looks like one and it is capacitive, so it recognizes swipe gestures. The format is easy to use and ushers in a new infotainment age for Toyota.
For the kids, the inclusion of a new rear-seat entertainment system is good news. The dual-view entertainment centre is Blu-ray compatible and can show one widescreen image on the 16.4-inch colour display or it can show two separate movies from two different sources. It also includes a pair of wireless headphones and accepts SD and HDMI inputs. There is also a handy 12-volt outlet, which allows a gaming console to be powered up.
Also new is Toyota’s EasySpeak. It picks up the driver’s comments via a microphone and relays the sound to the rear-seat riders through the rear speakers. As was pointed out in the press kit, mercifully it only works one way!
The versatility remains with a second-row seat that, when the base is tipped up, slides up against the back of the front seats. The centre section is also removable, which opens up a walkway. The third-row seat is available with a power option, which eases the switch from kids to cargo. The nonpower version is somewhat heavy when moving from the seatback-folded position to the stowed position (the well that accommodates the seats is large and accounts for the generous seats-up capacity). With all seats up, the Sienna offers 1,110 litres of space, 2,470 L behind the second row and 4,250 L with all seats out of the way.
As before, all Sienna models are powered by Toyota’s ubiquitous 3.5-litre V6 engine. In this application, it makes 266 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque and arrives with a six-speed automatic transmission. Again, as is the case in the new Camry, Toyota needs to put some work into its powertrains, as the stand-pat mentality will see the Sienna’s fuel ratings rise.
The Sienna starts at $30,690. The SE V6 eight-passenger tester carried a sticker price of $42,850. The increased price boils down to the Technology package ($5,355), including navigation, the rear entertainment system, as well as blind-spot monitoring, rear crosstraffic alert, smart key with push-button start and a power moonroof.