Talk me off the ledge

My 2016 Honda pilot is getting replaced and we are thinking of replacing it with the 2024 Toyota Sienna AWD hybrid. I swore I would never drive a minivan but I am actually starting to like the versatility and comfort the minivan brings. Plus it is AWD.

Please talk me off this ledge ...

 

Minivans are excellent people movers.

 

I am in the same boat with you, but wife went with a sub-compact SUV, but I do like the idea of that minivan..... Maybe wait for the 2025/26 GR Sienna?
EDIT: So I didn't drive the Sienna, wife did, rode backseat with my two girls, not gonna lie, the space/comfort is unbelievable, so much so that I even seriously considered one for long road trips, Hybrid AWD (since my Tundra is a 2WD, winter trips are a little riskier than not)

 

There’s nothing wrong with a minivan. They are fabulous at what they are designed for.

 

If it is the best tool for the job, why would you not drive a minivan? The only thing they lack is the aesthetic appeal of a car or truck. Their functionality is hard to beat, though. If you have lots of people to move and you don't need it to tackle deep snow or off road duties, an minivan is a better choice than any SUV.

 

We had 3 minivans. We loved them for what they are…great for hauling people and gear. The headroom in the 3rd row even works for average sized adults on short rides..

If you’d rather have a bigger suv, how about the grand highlander?

 

That's just a minivan without the sliding doors, IMO. Still unibody and not great ground clearance.

 

Exactly. Minivan features but aesthetics of a bigger suv. Unlike the old highlander that has a 3rd row that is very cramped.

 

I'd rather have the functionality of the sliding doors, personally.

 

My wife said the same thing when we had our first. He wasn't 6 months old yet when we got our first (of three) minivans. We're past that stage now, but they were by far the best tool for raising kids!

 

Only real downside I've found is how they look on the outside. Can't deny how compfy and handy they are otherwise. Always been anti minivan myself, but had a rental Honda (whatever model) van for a week or so. It was impressive.

 

Come off that ledge, no need to be there. I owned a Sienna for 14 years. Would of been longer but my son unfortunately got into an accident with it and it was totaled.
Best vehicle to raise a family and carry friends around. With the all the back seats taken out and or flipped down it can carry a lot of stuff too.

 

Minivans are awesome. Over the years raising the kids we had 4 of them and there is no vehicle more practical than a minivan.
The guys who have some kind of a complex about being seen in a minivan have different problems.... LOL.

Serious, lots of room, easy access, sit high with good visibility, relatively good MPGs... go for it.

 

The only downside I can think of, and this will be regional, is the ground clearance.
Houston tend to flood without any reason.... I would rather a bigger SUV for that extra ground clearance than the comfort of the vehicle.

Now, wife wants a sliding door but higher....
(my counter was a Sienna hybrid AWD on 9 inch LT..... best of both worlds, until it isn't......lol

 

There is no rational argument against a minivan. It has the most utility for families. Loads of space. Rides better than a Suburban. More efficient, too. People just don’t like the way they look.

I’m still trying to talk my wife into a Sienna Hybrid AWD. Then I would build out our 570…

 

When my wife and I test drove a minivan, we just felt gross the whole time. I really don't think a Highlander/Grand Highlander is any less versatile and comfortable.

 

Minivan's are the best once you get over the boring/ugly stigma. You can't beat the interior room and comfort and the automatic sliding doors are awesome in parking lots. If something happened to either of our vehicles I'd replace it with a Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna is great but you can't get it without hybrid.

 

If I were shopping for a minivan, I personally would be more likely to go with a 2020 or so for the V6. The fuel economy might not be as good but I'm a big fan of the proven reliability you get from the 2GR-FE, and traditional powertrains in general.

 

I like the Highlanders, but the vans definitely have a lot more room inside. Kids (and smaller adults) can step in through the sliding doors and walk through to their seats, even the back row, where in a Highlander you have to crawl through to your seat. Depending on the setup (center console removed or flipped down, captain chairs in the middle row), some of our vans my wife or I could get up from the front seat and walk through to the back row to help kids with something, or go smack them , without having to get out of the car. Sliding doors also have the advantage where you can move between the front door and middle row in a parking space without having to open and close the rear door to get by. When the kids were little, this was more useful/practical than I ever thought it would be.

 

Here you go...

 

If you're not dead set on Toyota, the Subaru Ascent is very nice. My wife really enjoys it over her previous Pacifica.

 

Holy mother of God.......

I actually love Subbies, they are a beast in the winter weather and basically has a very solid handling.... Too bad wife has no love for it at all....

 

I think the Siennas are really nice and comfy (I have sat in a couple that were in the showroom back when there were vehicles in the showroom), AND they are hybrid so the gas milage is pretty good as well with available AWD. My sister has an older Honda odysee (sp) and we love it when we all hop in to go shopping, there are 5-6 of us and we can chill out and be comfy for the drive!!

I don't have kids so I cannot speak on that aspect, but I will say having owned a highlander I would say the Sienna would be much more accommodating and comfortable if you have kids!!

Best of luck with your purchase!

-T

 

We do that in our Pilot with captain's chairs in the second row.

 

The only trouble with those and the Mazda CX-9s is that they're pretty small.

 

My wife got a van last summer. She loves it after arguing years ago she would never get one. We had a pilot before too. I actually liked the pilot but it was not easy in/out for the kids

 

Unfortunately today's Subarus have gone back to having major oil consumption issues -- just for other reasons instead of the old head gasket problems of the past. Basically it comes down to trying to comply with EPA standards. They've done all they can to reduce friction in their engines, which includes not building them to as tight of tolerances internally as before. That results in a significant amount of blow-by, to the point where my 2018 was burning well over a quart every 1,000 miles. Unfortunately this is happening on both their 2.0L and 2.4L engines now. It's the main reason the wife and I switched from both driving Subies back to both driving Toyotas.

 

Who can comment on the accessibility, or ease, or routine maintenance on Sienna? Engine oil changes. Brake master cylinder. Spark plugs.

Say 2010 to 2020 models (not sure if this covers more than one generation). Then 2021 to current.

 

My wife really enjoyed her Sienna. It had all the bells and whistles for the 2016 and she is still sad we had to let it go when we downsized. She wants another one.

 

We love our 2021 Sienna XSE and would purchase another one without a doubt. Wish that ours was AWD but we bought it in 2021 so couldn’t be picky. I just had to have the XSE with the plus package (upgraded JBL audio and power inverter).
If there is a downside it would be that it’s underpowered but that’s not a shocker. (If you care about 0-60 times buy a sports car, or an RS6 lol)

At the end of the day car doesn’t make anyone cool. You can buy a 911 and still look and act like a tool. As the saying goes, clothes don’t make a man, it’s the man that makes the clothes.