Rented a new 2023 Sienna XLE Hyrbid, first time driving a Sienna I think.
Pros:
Love all the storage space in the front, much more usable than the Ody.
Hybrid gas mileage is amazing.
Cons:
Drives like a truck vs the Ody drives like a car.
Worse brakes.
Climate controls seem more confusing and less intuitive, but that could just be a learning curve.
Overall, I'd still rebuy the Ody due to much more comfortable driving and braking, despite the worse gas mileage and storage spaces.
Agreed with everything. I'm generally a honda person but couln't turn down the gas mileage on the sienna.
Brakes are fine - just takes getting used to as Dovy2 siad.
Climate controls are really annoying. Not sure why they haven't figured out how to make it work intuitively. The front is easy but once you need to adjust rear it becomes a pain.
The driving like a truck part - I think you get used to that too.
I'm not worried about toyota screwing up the hybrids. They have been making hybrids since before 2010 so i would assume they have apretty good handle on their hybrid engines and what htey can handle.
Two cons that you did not mention -
1. It is very loud on the highway. Between engine acceleration at high speeds and the lack of wind noise cancellation it is by no means quiet (although I suppose you get used to that as well). I hear that on the higher trim models they put it a noise cancelling windshield but I needed 8 seats and only LE and XLE offer that.
2. it is a royal pain to remove the second row seats. There are some youtube videos showing how to do it but you need tools and you need to disconnect the battery. I haven't needed to take them out yet (they fold up and roll forward very welll) but I imagine that would be a serious con for some people. And Im sure the day I need to do it I will be quite annoyed
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