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2014/15 Toyota Sienna

After I started seeing 2014 model Toyota Sienna minvans around town I started to think they look really cool. Their look inspired me to think of some type of small space shuttle type vehicles or such. I decided that I really wanted one, for a few reasons: their cool appearance, Toyota's reputation for both short term quality and long term reliability, and, the fact that I often carried around two kids, sometimes also grandparents, and liked the idea of being able to load 4' x 8' sheet goods such as plywood in the back and not have to have a truck.

Aside from the lower gas mileage than compacts and the inherent selfish nature of driving a larger vehicle that consumes more than it conserves (And the ~$35,000 price I saw last time I looked at one at the car dealer) I thought to myself: I'm only going to have these kids once, with all the SUV drivers on the road, I'm going to feel safer, and I'm going to be able to say to my kids spontaneously some weekend: Hey, let's just hop in the van and drive somewhere for a 2 day vacation. Even without a hotel reservation, we can just pull into a rest stop and sleep and still have loads of camping gear, fishing polls, coolers full of food and drinks, sleeping bags, etc. And [I]still[/] have room for all for of us to sleep.

I haven't yet tried what I really wanted to do: fold down 1/3 of the seats and put a bed big enough for one of us adults to sleep comfortably while the other one drives, in case we want to visit some national parks, or drive down to Florida for a few days.

Anyway, when I read about people saying something like "You won't catch me in a mini van", or somebody saying it's not cool - HA, about the only cars on the road cooler than my Sienna are Porsche 911, the recent model Corvette, and maybe a couple different Ferraris… I *like* the way my Sienna looks and I enjoy driving it. The dealer did seem a little confused when I asked about having a turbo installed, however. Have to do that myself I guess?

Sienna Toyota

From what I've heard (Haven't actually been in one to test it) the braking mechanism can do with some pressurization otherwise it feels as though you don't have brakes! I can't say if its related to just the foot touch feel or the experience but sounds like a safety issue either way.

2014/15 Toyota Sienna Reviews Consumer & Travel Family Culture

Well - I had a close call where I was looking over to the right when the car in front of me suddenly stopped. We were in a line of cars in somewhat heavy traffic on a four lane city road. I stopped fast, was able to avoid hitting the car in front of me. However, the car behind me was not able to stop fast enough to avoid rear-ending my Sienna. He was in a late model Hyundai sedan - seems like he should have been able to stop faster than me in my mini van?

I do feel like I'm in a big heavy car when I drive it, but both the acceleration (Nice V6 engine) and the braking are good - I would say more than simply "Adequate".

Edited: Chris on 8th Mar, 2016 - 5:44pm

Sienna Toyota

Being in a sedan is not the only factor in how fast you stop. There is a method to braking with quick taps and steady push to not paying attention and its too late to stop momentum. So the 'soft' brakes on the Sienna is a myth then?

Sienna Toyota

So, maybe I do feel the "Soft break pedal" sometimes, like, pushing the pedal goes a little further, or feels a little softer than it should. But, the breaks always *work* great, I always feel like the break performance/capacity to stop is excellent, for such a heavy car.

I used to own a VW Golf GTi - small, lighter (Though not particularly light "Feeling" car), performance Goodyear Eagle tires, great four wheel disc breaks - now that car, felt like at any moment you could cause your passenger's face to slam onto the dashboard forcefully, the breaks were so powerful. And I've also had some crappy old cars with brakes that bordered on unsafe.