2004 Sienna LONG-term test
Written: Dec 29 '06 (Updated Feb 28 '07)
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Pros: Smooth ride
Plenty of seating, storage space
Interior configuration options
Mileage
Cons: Electrical glitches
OEM tires only fair
The Bottom Line: I would buy another if faced with the same needs. The Sienna has a great mix of luxury and convenience (along with a competent suspension, engine and drivetrain).
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| spencercat's Full Review: 2004 Toyota Sienna 2WD |
We bought our 2004 Sienna LE when it first came out, and have about 35,000 miles of experience with it. Overall, it is an excellent van, with a smooth ride, powerful motor, and lots of comfort.
The rear seats are a dream to fold from the open liftgate; the only glitch is when you need to use a key to remove the center row shoulder belt from the middle seat before folding the larger side down. The well the seats fold down into provides lots of space when the seats are up. Overall storage never left us wanting more; even with a family of six we were always able to fit in everything we needed, including lots of Christmas presents along with luggage when we make our annual Christmas pilgrimage to see relatives. We often used the 60/40 split folding rear seat to increase our options, since we have four kids.
The second row outer seats are heavy but not too difficult to move. The center middle row seat on the other hand is a bear to remove and reinstall. The first time I tried to get it out I broke off a piece of trim due to the limited instructions in the manual and the cryptic icon instructions printed on the seat itself. That seat does work as advertised, however, when installed - you can (relatively) easily move it close to the front seat, which we often used to feed our baby on car trips. The front seats are comfortable even on long trips. One seating option that didn't really work out was dealer-installed leather, which is coming apart at the bottom rear seams of most seats.
The standard stereo was adequate, but had some trouble with volume levels on our aftermarket DVD player (sometimes the highest volume was insufficiently loud).
The engine is adequately powerful, and only noisy when the tranny kicks down for passing or speeding up. But it's a pretty pleasant sound. Overall mileage we get is around 19.5 mpg with about an even city/highway mix of driving.
Handling is smooth but a bit floaty. The steering does not give much feedback, but on our Sienna the handling improved considerably when we replaced the OEM tires with Goodyears.
Mechanically we have not had much trouble, though there were some electrical problems that left us stranded a few times at home. They were eventually traced to interior lights that wouldn't shut off. Plus we ran over a few curbs and did in a few tires before their time. >:-)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 27500
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: LE
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Epinions.com ID:
spencercat
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 0 members
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