Pros
- Our Minivan Best Buy of 2023
- Unmatched value
Cons
- Others have more highway passing power
What’s new?
- 25th Anniversary Special Edition
The Toyota Sienna is our highest-rated minivan of 2023 and a Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award winner. Pricing starts at $35,385.
Drivers looking for a practical family vehicle can’t go wrong with a minivan. All minivans are practical and family-friendly, and the Toyota
TM,
Sienna is one of the best in this segment. An efficient hybrid powertrain comes standard, and it returns up to 36 mpg in the city and on the highway. Optional all-wheel drive (AWD) further adds to its practicality, especially if you live in a snowy climate. Naturally, roomy 3-row seating is standard and can accommodate up to eight people.
Combined with class-leading value and an established reputation for reliability, the Toyota Sienna is KBB’s Minivan Best Buy of 2023.
The Toyota Sienna competes in a small but competitive field of minivans consisting of the Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Pacifica (available as a plug-in hybrid), and Kia
000270,
Carnival.
2023 Toyota Sienna pricing
The 2023 Toyota Sienna starts at $35,385. The mid-range XLE trim starts at $40,695 for either the 7-seat or 8-seat model. The XSE trim starts at $42,945, the Woodland Special Edition begins at $46,195, and the 25th Anniversary Special Edition starts at $46,670. If you want a premium minivan, the Limited trim starts at $47,645, and the top Platinum model begins at $50,845.
All-wheel drive is standard on the Woodland Special Edition, but it’s optional on every other trim for either $760 or $2,000, depending on the trim. A $1,335 destination fee applies to all Sienna models.
The pricing of the Toyota Sienna is quite similar to the Honda
HMC,
Odyssey and Chrysler Pacifica. The Kia Carnival is a slightly more affordable option in this class.
Check out: The 2024 Honda Prologue: Honda’s new electric SUV is attractive and spacious. When can you get one?
Class-leading resale value
The Toyota Sienna is a repeat winner of our Best Resale Value Award in the minivan class. The Sienna is a safe choice if you’re looking for a family hauler that’s sure to hold its value.
See more: The cars, trucks and SUVs that depreciate the least over 5 years
Smooth, quiet drive
The 2023 Toyota Sienna: You won’t break any speed records, but it’s a hauler.
Toyota
This won’t come as a shock, but the Toyota Sienna drives like a minivan. It’s comfy, quiet, and easy to drive. The hybrid powertrain has the lowest horsepower rating in this class, and passing on the highway requires some patience, but it’s still adequate for family-hauling duties. Things get a little sportier with the sport-tuned suspension in the XSE model, but keep your expectations in check.
Its lack of excitement won’t be an issue for most minivan drivers. Comfort and efficiency are the strong suits of the Sienna. The quiet hybrid powertrain is unintrusive and returns 36 mpg in the city and on the highway. Adding AWD drops the city mpg rating to 35.
Speaking of which, the Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica are the only minivans on the market available with AWD. If you live in a snowy climate and insist on this feature, it’s available on every trim of the Sienna except the XLE 8-seater. In fact, it comes standard on the outdoorsy Woodland Edition, which also adds a little extra ground clearance.
The driving position and ride height are just right for a minivan. We also like the visibility afforded by the big greenhouse, making it easy to drive and park anywhere. The generous list of driver assistance tech features like adaptive cruise control and road sign assist further adds to its effortless driveability.
Also see: The most and least reliable car brands, according to Consumer Reports
Functional interior
The Toyota Sienna has a roomy, family-friendly interior. Three-row seating for seven is standard, and 8-passenger seating is optional on the XLE trim. All three rows are roomy and comfortable, and the third row is easy to access.
The Sienna gets more luxurious than you might expect from a minivan when you get into the upper trims. The Limited and Platinum trims have features like leather seating, a head-up display, hands-free sliding doors, JBL premium audio, and a 360-degree camera. Luxurious second-row seats with ottomans are optional for supreme comfort in the second row.
Since the Sienna is designed with families in mind, it has many family-friendly options that are hard to find in SUVs. You can get a rear entertainment system, the Driver Easy Speak intercom system, rear sunshades, and 4-zone climate control.
The Sienna has plenty of cargo room for most families, and it’s easy to fold flat the third row, but it’s worth noting that every other minivan on the market has at least a bit more cargo space. If you like the idea of a minivan that can transform into a cargo van without removing heavy seats, you’ll love the Stow ‘n Go system in the Chrysler Pacifica.
Curvaceous design
The Toyota Sienna has a sleek and stylish aesthetic, especially by minivan standards. It looks like something you’d see in the Japanese domestic market, but it’s also right at home in American suburbs. A slick LED light signature improves the Sienna’s styling and safety.
The look of the Sienna changes a bit depending on the trim. For example, the XSE and 25th Anniversary Edition have a sporty aesthetic with a prominent grille, while the Limited and Platinum models employ tasteful chrome accents and premium-looking wheels.
Every minivan on the market today is pretty much the same size, and the Sienna is no exception. Its dimensions are almost identical to the Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Pacifica, and Kia Carnival.
See: The 2022 Chrysler Pacifica minivan is like home on wheels
Top features and tech
36 mpg
The hybrid powertrain that powers every 2023 Toyota Sienna has an outstanding fuel economy rating of up to 36 city/36 highway mpg with no plugging in required.
Available AWD
All-wheel drive is optional on the Toyota Sienna, which is great for families living in snowy climates. It’s the most affordable AWD-equipped minivan by a considerable margin.
Toyota Safety Sense 2.0
This standard safety tech suite helps the Sienna earn the impressive IIHS Top Safety Pick+ designation. It bundles driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, full-speed adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and road sign assist.
Hands-free doors and tailgate
The hands-free power tailgate is becoming a common option on minivans and SUVs, but the Sienna is also available with hands-free power sliding doors. This adds ease and convenience to loading and unloading people and cargo with the Sienna.
Rugged Woodland Special Edition
The Woodland Special Edition isn’t a hardcore off-roader, but it’s a uniquely rugged choice in minivans. On top of standard all-wheel drive, it gets a modest suspension lift and SUV-like ground clearance. Of course, it’s also full of family-friendly comfort and convenience features.
25th Anniversary Special Edition
The Toyota Sienna commemorates its silver anniversary this year with a 25th Anniversary Special Edition. It has an appearance package and sport suspension similar to the sporty XSE trim plus unique badging, dark 20-inch wheels, luxury features from the Limited trim, silver contrast stitching, and your choice of Celestial Silver or Wind Chill Pearl paint.
Ultra-efficient hybrid power
Every 2023 Toyota Sienna is powered by a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine mated to a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor. This hybrid powertrain makes a total output of 245 horsepower. That’s a below-average horsepower rating for this class, but the hybrid Sienna returns outstanding fuel economy.
The Sienna employs an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is optional. Just a heads-up: You cannot get AWD with the 8-seat configuration.
2.5-liter 4-cylinder gas-electric hybrid powertrain
245 horsepower total system output
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 36/36 mpg (FWD), 35/36 mpg (AWD)
KBB’s car review methodology.
This story originally ran on KBB.com.
