The 2023 Toyota Sienna minivan is an anomaly. Rather than the basic box look of your average minivan (which is nothing to be ashamed of for a people hauler) it has actual athletic exterior styling.
Within that attractive enclosure is a host of heavenly features providing comfort, security, connectivity, and entertainment, along with all kinds of useful stowage spaces large, medium, and small for every occupant.
Sienna’s maximum occupancy is seven or eight passengers, depending on whether the second row has captain’s chairs or bench seating.
Sienna’s pull in the minivan market includes two biggies: a hybrid powertrain as standard equipment for every model in the lineup, and the availability of all-wheel drive.
Pricing starts at $38,280 with a $1,335 destination charge included.
The 2023 Sienna lineup has seven trim levels: LE, XLE, XSE, Woodland Edition, 25th Anniversary Edition, Limited, and Platinum.
The Toyota Sienna 25th Anniversary Edition model incorporates the standard features of the high-spec Sienna Limited trim. (Toyota)
The anniversary model combines the XSE’s sport styling and the high-spec Limited’s standard features. Production is restricted to 2,525 units and they are exclusively painted in Celestial Silver or Wind Chill Pearl exterior colors.
Sienna comes well-stocked with standard features even at the entry level. I drove the Woodland Edition, midway in the lineup, and it seemed loaded. Its rear seat entertainment system was a $1,415 option, however.
The hybrid powertrain produces 245 horsepower and is joined to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). I found it good for smooth and quick acceleration from a standstill, but at speed the acceleration was sometimes “weighed in the balance and found wanting,” as the saying goes.
In Sienna’s big favor is the fuel economy rating: 36/36/36 mpg with front-wheel drive and 35/36/35 with all-wheel drive. I didn’t travel huge distances in the Sienna, but enough for an honest week’s work by my relaxed standards, and the fuel gauge needle didn’t appear to have moved at all.
There are several factors at play with fuel gauge readings, of course, but a slow-moving fuel gauge is a major psychological boon for any driver.
The 2023 Toyota Sienna 25th Anniversary Edition is exclusively available with Celestial Silver or Wind Chill Pearl exterior paint. (Toyota)
2023 TOYOTA SIENNA WOODLAND EDITION AWD
Base price, including destination charge: $49,030
Price as driven: $50,829
Mary Lowry is a member of the Motor Press Guild and a member and past president of the Northwest Automotive Press Association. She lives in Snohomish County. Vehicles are provided by automotive manufacturers as a one-week loan for evaluation purposes only. Manufacturers do not control content of the reviews.
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