Hauling the family in Lexus-like luxury

For those who want or need a minivan, it doesn’t get much better than this. With near Lexus-like manners and luxury appointments and features, the Toyota Sienna ranks as a virtual tie with the new Honda Odyssey as our best choice when choosing a minivan.

The Toyota Sienna is big, roomy and cleverly designed to fill the transportation needs of families while doing its best to make a “soccer mom” vehicle attractive. It is, after all, a minivan and often “good-looking minivan” is considered to be an oxymoron. There’s no head-turning quotient here, but Sienna is one of, if not the absolute, best-looking minivans available today.

First introduced in 1998, the second-generation Sienna remained basically unchanged after a major redesign in 2004. Upgrades for 2006 include a mild front-end facelift with new headlamps, fog lamps and a revised grille. Rear tail lamps have been moderately redesigned. This generation Sienna is larger and more powerful than the pre-2004 model.

Sienna comes in four trim levels: CE, LE, XLE, and XLE Limited. All models come well equipped with standard power windows/door locks/mirrors, dual-zone front and rear air conditioning, sliding doors on both sides with power windows, keyless entry, AM/FM/CD/cassette with six speakers, tilt/telescopic steering column, tire-pressure warning system, third row 60/40 storable split bench seat and captain’s chairs for the first and second rows. LE is the most popular model; I tested the XLE Limited with optional equipment.

I found the Sienna ride quality to be on par with several luxury sedans I have tested. The ride is smooth and quiet with responsive handling. I noticed a little more body roll and lean during cornering than I would have liked, and it’s not quite up to the sporty feel of the Honda Odyssey.

All Sienna trim levels come with the same engine/transmission combination: a 3.3-liter 230-horsepower V-6 engine and a five-speed automatic transmission. Horsepower on 2006 models has been dropped to 215 with revised SAE testing procedures. Performance is unaffected by the change. Toyota recommends premium fuel. Power is adequate and Toyota claims the Sienna can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 8.3 seconds, making it one of the quickest minivans on the market.

All Siennas are front-wheel drive with all-wheel drive available on all trim levels (except the base CE), and automatically include 17-inch wheels, run-flat tires, stability control and upgraded brakes. A DVD-based entertainment system is available on LE, XLE and Limited, however the navigation system is only offered on the XLE and Limited. For 2006, the optional rear seat entertainment screen has been increased in size from seven to nine inches.

Sienna’s large exterior dimensions allow for a roomy interior. The standard leather seats in the Limited model are exceptionally comfortable. Sienna comes with seating for seven (or eight when a middle-row bench is selected over the standard dual captain’s chairs). The middle-row captain’s chairs can be moved together or kept separate, but there’s no track for the seats to slide together as in the Odyssey. You must lift the seats manually (not easy), reposition them and lock them into place on the floor. Finding the exact place for the four latches to drop into is difficult at best and nearly requires two adults to accomplish. Positioning the seats together does afford easier access to the third-row seats.

For 2006, the XLE model gets standard power front seats and the XLE Limited gains driver-seat memory and power folding mirrors with puddle lamps and turn signals. There’s also a new power-folding rear seat option on XLE Limited 2WD models.

Choose the middle-row bench seat and a small “front and center” middle seat section slides almost 13 inches forward and closer to the front seats, making toddlers easily reachable for replacing a pacifier and the like, but still far enough to protect from contact with an airbag in a collision. A similar seat is offered in the Volvo XC90. Child seat anchors (LATCH) are included in all three rows of seats.

Another convenient feature is a center console that can be moved from between the front seats to between the middle-row seats. Middle-row passengers get power windows in the sliding doors, however they only retract about half way. Still a nice touch.

All gauges and controls are easy to operate and well designed. A small interior mirror flips down from above to help the driver keep an eye on children riding in back seats, similar to a school bus. The Sienna is loaded with cup and bottle holders, and storage bins; there are 10 baggage hooks for plastic grocery bags and one large hook for a purse or handbag.

In terms of safety equipment, standard features include front-impact airbags that deploy at one of two speeds, depending on crash intensity. On 2005 Siennas, side-impact airbags for the front seats and side curtain head airbags for all three rows are standard in the Limited and optional in all other trim levels, and are oddly packaged with other features, including non-safety items. On 2006 models, the formerly optional front side-impact airbags and three-row head-protecting side curtain airbags are standard on all Siennas.

Antilock brakes are standard on all Sienna models, stability and traction control are included on the Limited and all-wheel drive models and optional on all others. In government crash testing, the Sienna earned five-star ratings across the board. Frontal offset crash testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety returned a rating of “Good,” their highest score. All seats have head restraints, but when fully down, the third-row restraints are too low to adequately protect against whiplash.

Safety features included on my Limited model included the “dynamic laser cruise control system,” which can be set to maintain a pre-set distance from vehicles ahead. My tester also had a sonar-type parking aid on the front and rear bumpers, which beeps in tones of increasing frequency as the vehicle nears an obstacle. A rearview camera automatically engages when shifting into reverse, the best solution to help drivers see small children or obstacles when backing up. Unfortunately, it is only available with the costly navigation system and not sold separately.

Sienna is arguably the best choice when competing against models like the Nissan Quest, Ford Freestar, Kia Sedona, Chrysler Town and Country, Saturn Relay or Dodge Grand Caravan. It drives and handles like a fine luxury sedan yet is roomy, safe and backed by Toyota’s reputation for quality and high resale values. Sienna is a top recommendation.