The 2011 Toyota Sienna SE is the sport version of this redesigned minivan. (photos by Toyota)
The first four-cylinder van in five years brings class-leading gas mileage and fresh looks to a market segment that some automakers have written off for dead.
The redesigned 2011 Toyota Sienna is the first vehicle to be unveiled in advance of what some have termed "the year of the minivan" -- Honda and Nissan are also preparing to debut their upgraded vans.
The new Sienna is mechanically similar to its predecessor, sharing its platform and its now-optional 3.5-liter V6 engine, and seems poised to maintain a high level of comfort and refinement, and retains its class-exclusive all-wheel-drive option.
A new SE version promises to challenge the Honda Odyssey as a sporty-for-what-it-is van, offering different suspension tuning and a litany of cosmetic changes.
Toyota did not appear to challenge the best-selling Chrysler minivans' second-row seat tricks, which can fold into the floor on some models and spin to face rearward in others. Its addition is a "lounge-chair" feature for those seats that offer pop-out leg support. (see photo in today's slideshow)
A new 2.7-liter 4-cylinder engine is standard and is rated for 19 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway, which beats the next-best current minivan, the Honda Odyssey's 17 city / 25 highway. (The Mazda5, a microvan with seating for six and sliding doors, is more of a small wagon than a true minivan.) Another new van that's still unveiled may manage to top this, however.
The V6 version also gets improved mileage, from 17 city / 23 highway to 18 / 24.
The new Sienna's dimensions remain similar to the old model's; it's eight tenths of an inch wider, but nothing else is changed even that much.
Even the current Sienna, which the DC Car Examiner recently test-drove for an upcoming comparison review, is a competent and comfortable vehicle. These upgrades should further strengthen its position, and correct its unfortunate IIHS rear-impact crash test results when it goes on sale in February.
See more photos of the new Sienna -- and a comparison view of the old model -- in today's slideshow.
Comments
The front end looks very much like that of a corolla's. Isn't that going to reduce the appeal?
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