2018 Toyota Sienna

Short of chartering a bus or renting a moving truck, minivans remain the most practical way to move more than five people or a lot of stuff, and Toyota recognizes that with a handful of enhancements to its player in that class, the Sienna.

Most significant among the changes is a bold (that’s Toyota’s word) new front fascia that borrows heavily from those that adorn the rest of the Toyota range. Inside, Sienna gains the company’s Entune connectivity suite along with the Safety Sense P suite of active safety features, which includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure alert with steering assist, automatic high beams and radar cruise control.

Those additions augment a van that once again gets its motivation from a 3.5L V6 good for 296 hp and 263 lb-ft of torque, power that’s fed through an eight-speed transmission. Sienna buyers also get the option of AWD, something not offered by any other minivan.

Sienna trims start with a base model that seats seven and comes with, among other things, all-season floor mats, illuminated entry with fade-out, locking glove box, 17-inch alloy wheels, black grille and projector halogen headlights.

But it’s the eight-passenger LE that marks a more realistic starting point with its heated front seats, power-adjustable driver’s seat, auto-dimming rearview mirror and power sliding doors.

SE trim is meant to be the fun one of the bunch, with a sport-tuned suspension and 19-inch wheels. It also gets LED taillights and fog lights.

There’s also an XLE trim, but it’s once you reach the Limited variant that Sienna comes with leather seating, 10-speaker stereo with 8.0-inch touchscreen display, rear-seat entertainment system, power front passenger seat, power flip-out rear windows, passive keyless entry, blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert, front and rear parking sonar, auto-tilting (in reverse) side mirrors, dual sunroof panels and HID headlights.

AWD is offered in LE, XLE and Limited trim.

Believe it or not, competition remains fierce in the minivan segment. Toyota faces newer vans like the Honda Odyssey; the Chrysler Pacifica and its PHEV option; the Sedona, which Kia will outfit like a luxury liner; and the aging Dodge Grand Caravan that still sells in strong numbers because of its low price of entry.

Sienna’s fuel consumption estimates are 12.5/8.9 L/100 km (city/highway) for FWD vans and 13.4/9.6 with AWD.