Sienna '04 - initial observations - Great minivan...could be better w/ the right options
Written: Aug 05 '03 (Updated Aug 06 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Reliability: |
 |
|
| Seat Comfort: |
|
|
| Build Quality |
|
|
| Ease of Conversion: |
 |
|
|
Pros: spaciousness; seating configs. (2nd removable or row-forward); 2nd row power windows; 40/60 split 3rd row
Cons: many options/packages, but can't get combos. wanted. Ex.: LE7 BW_Package HID NAVIGATION.
The Bottom Line: Sienna '04 - Got That Toyota Feeling!
...from BMW 3-series to a Sienna LE 7... And, our 10-months old loves it too! No more boos-boos on the head.
|
|
|
| fchan's Full Review: 2004 Toyota Sienna 2WD |
Vital Statistics:
Vehicle: Toyota Sienna 2004
Trim: LE 7
Options: BW Package (aka - Package 7) - includes a) stability control; b) curtain air bags (all 3 rows of seats); c) TRACtion control; d) side air bags for front row; e) Daytime Running Lamps (DRL's); rear disc brakes; f) 16" alloy rims; g) rear audio tuner w/ support for 2 wired or wireless headphones; h)and other fluff like their HomeLink system (basically universal built-in garage door openers or remote controls for misc. home convenience appliances like lighting, etc).
City of Purchase: Almost bought in San Jose, CA (residence, but too long wait times for desired feature sets); ended up purchasing in Daly City, CA (same day as discovery of availability). What a buying frenzy...
Special Purchase Program(s): Purchased via Costco's Car Buyer's Program. Essentially, dealers agree to charge a fixed amount over invoice. I still recommend one to shop around - talk to Costco Sales/Fleet Manager (low pressure), then come back and "work" the sales guy to see what's his/her best price.
Price OTD: $1400 over invoice (best I could do after conferring w/ 4 dealers in South Bay). Pretty much the 2nd dealer set the bar, and everyone else just tried to meet it. Was told by 1 dealer that they normally charge $1500 over invoice for Costco inquiries. Again, do your homework.
Length of vehicle search: About a month (includes internet research and dealer visits)
Overview:
After shopping for about a month, and having test driven the Mazda MPV ('03) and the Honda Odyssey ('03), and of course the Toyota Sienna ('04), we've settled on the Sienna primarily because of it's flexible configurations. BTW, these were the only 3 vehicles we had seriously considered; actually the make that 2 - the Honda and Sienna. Going back to the issue of flexible configs., not only can the 2nd row seats be removed for more storage space, but they can actually be folded flat, or folded flat and rowed up against the back of the front row seats. (Caution! Use both hands to guide the movement, as I almost sprained my left wrist; my left hand got pinched between the driver's side backseat and the 2nd row front rowed up seat. It's spring loaded with alot of tension!) The "dismount, row, and tuck" is cleverly done by releasing the rear hinge and tucking forwards (think tucking knees to chin and rowing/tumbling forwards); of course the 3rd rows famous 40/60 split folding stow-away seats. Another thing that in all reality helped cinched the purchase was the fact that the Sienna has power windows for the 2nd row passengers (goes about 70% down; not all the way... citings for safety). If it weren't for the 2 aforementioned distinct Sienna features, I would have probably purchased the 2003 Honda Odyssey which albeit has a higher base price; it appears to have more standard features (i.e. - dual power sliding rear doors (EX model); rear disc brakes; standard traction control ABS, and I think side air bags for front driver and pax.)
CONS:
Although there are plenty of options, only offered in specific packages and several of those packages are tied to the higher-end trim (XLE and/or XLE Limited); however, we didn't care for the inflated pricing for the XLE and XLE Limited trims. The LE 7 proved to be the best fit for our family. Case in point, we wanted the following options in our vehicle (LE 7 BW ("Package 4")), what I call as the "safety package". We were hoping to find w/in the LE 7 package/options family something with the PACKAGE 7 ("BW") inclusive as well as HID (High Intensity Discharge) lighting as well as add-on for their NAVIGATION unit. I do a good amount of night driving, and the HID lights proved to enhance my night time vision (direct and peripheral). Just too bad HID wasn't offered as an option in all but the highest end units - not a smart move by Toyota.
Per Reviewer Feedbacks - Here Are Some Addn'l Insights:
Performance: The car has decent pick-up after some short, initial lag. However, I'm still wary of pushing it hard as I'm still in the initial "break-in" period. (Will report back after more miles)
So, far I've logged about 600 miles; understand recommended break-in is at 1000 miles. Looking forward to work it through the entire power band (possibly redline) for various gears to evaluate speed pick-up for those "emergency situations." I like to know what the limits of my vehicle's performance are - be it a minivan, or sports sedan.
Transmission is smooth and quiet. Although it's not dead quiet when accelerating, it does provide a "somewhat deep throaty sound" which sounds sporty. When cruising at 65MPH on freeways, the tachometer only clocks in at 2000 rpm or so. Even slight increases in speeds when passing other cars or changing lanes, or getting to freeway merging speeds do not seem to tax the tach. I think I've noticed it go as high as 4000 rpms when accelerating steadily (mind you I'm still in the break-in period and am not hitting it hard, yet!) IMO, appears the ECT tranny is doing a good job at matching the best gear for the job to provide good power and torque when needed. Also running on premium fuel this round to evaluate whether it is making a "real" or "perceived" difference in performance and mileage. Next tank of gas, I think I may try regular unleaded (87 octane) and see if anything changes. (It's my understanding from manual that 87 octane is okay, but 91 will yield better performance. We'll see...)
Handling: From my day to day driving so far, the car seems to track well around curves. But being somewhat neurotic when it comes to vehicle safety I opted for the LE7 w/ the BW package (i.e. - TRACtion control, stability control, rear disc brakes, curtain and side f/r airbags). Keep in mind that I'm often chauffeuring around my infant son, so no aggressive driving here. (That was done on my previously held bimmer ;-) However, because of my philosophy that one should know the limits of the instrument/vehicle they are handling (for safety reasons) and their own limitations, I hope to test the efficacy of the aforementioned components in the future (responsibly of course).
Quality of Workmanship: The car feels solid. Doors have a good sound when they closed. Knobs look and have a good tactile feel for this vehicle class. No loose of misaligned fittings be it the seams of the glove box, or body panels.
Ergonomics: Good seat height and view out from front and back. But, like any vehicle, be aware of the blind spots to the side and back of vehicle. My 2-cents, it would have been nice if the pax. side mirror tilted downward to facilitate parallel parking (like in my old Bimmer), otherwise you may very well be "driving by Braille" as my friend has said. Ouch... scratched rims and/or sidewalls. A back mounted mirror or other device to assist in "back-ups" would be nice and good safety feature too. Next incarnation perhaps... or maybe I'll just become a better minivan driver with time.
Reach to radio controls and overhead driver side sunglass holder somewhat awkward and unnatural (and I've got pretty long arms at 5'11' tall). IMO, should have panned/tilted front control to favor driver, but still allow front pax. decent access. (again, drawing from my experiences on the Bimmer's "cockpit" layout).
Driver's seat is comfortable with forward and tilt adjustable steering column. Also, driver seat has control wheel for manual lumbar adjustment - nice touch! All other seats are large and comfortable w/ good back and thigh support. Minor pet peeve - I wish the dead-pedal for the left foot was positioned to the farthest left possible. Currently it is located about 5 - 7 inches from far left; it just feels a little unnatural for me. I've noticed that I seem to often have a tendency to put my feet to the left of the dead-pedal (carpeted area if I recall correctly).
Braking: Not sure if it's because it's still so new, but the pedal feel seems a bit too stiff now; too much back-pressure. The pressure exerted through the range of pedal motion just feels unnatural, but brakes work fine still. Perhaps it may change after more miles? (I hope.) If this doesn't change I will research more online, and if others experience differ I will probably bring back to dealership for adjustment.
Reviewer's Comments: If I can think of anything else I will add it. I hope this helps someone in their decision process; spent more time on this than I had planned to. But, I'm for being an informed consumer. So, let me know if I can contribute. And, I'll update... time permitting.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 29,300
Condition: New
Model and Options: LE 7 BW Package (Package 7)
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
fchan
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.