Even when it is not your cup of tea, you may’t deny that the brand new Toyota Sienna’s inside design is a surprising departure from the minivan norm. That it is discovered within the Sienna, without end a conservative entry in essentially the most conservative of segments, is all of the extra stunning. It is as if Toyota’s designers stumbled upon a Previa within the firm museum and located some inspiration. As we go over in our full 2021 Toyota Sienna assessment, it is one of many key causes to contemplate this all-new minivan.
The perfect factor about this new design is that it helps you neglect you are driving a minivan, a reality that may be a bit miserable for many who got here to the final word household hauler phase kicking and screaming. The high-mounted touchscreen is angled towards the driving force. The middle console can also be excessive and comparable in relation to the steering wheel as a automotive’s could be, with a conventional shifter as an alternative of a rotary knob (Chrysler Pacifica) or bizarre button association (Honda Odyssey).
Now, this newfound type and car-evoking design is all nicely and good for notion, however what about performance? In spite of everything, the Sienna remains to be a minivan and 100% of patrons might be getting one due to its outsized performance relative different automobile sorts. Nicely, the reply is that not solely does the brand new Sienna not betray a minivan’s finish purpose of practicality, it truly enhances it. Put together for a deep dive.
Let’s begin with that heart console. Historically, minivans had an open area in between the entrance footwells with some kind of storage space between the seats. The Kia Sedona was the primary minivan to supply a extra car- or SUV-like heart console, but it surely did sacrifice that inter-well open area within the course of. The Chrysler Pacifica (under proper) tried to separate the distinction with a “floating” heart console that has an open space under. The Sienna (under left) builds on that idea with a considerably bigger and extra helpful space below the console.
One of many appeals of this open area is the flexibility to accommodate a handbag (my mom used to love the open footwell in her ’97 Honda CR-V for this very purpose), and as you could know, a mother’s purse can get awfully massive. On this case, greater is unquestionably higher.
The Sienna’s area is certainly sufficiently big to retailer a handbag, and as such, can hold it off the ground or a seat. I did not have a handbag useful, however this Skip Hop diaper-changing clutch must be a good fill in.
And since now we have that bag useful, let’s use it to indicate how massive of an area you get within the heart console bin.
A smaller purse will due to this fact additionally slot in there, as did the Yeti bottle proven above.
OK, let’s transfer ahead up the console and begin coping with cupholders.
The Sienna has 4 cupholders in its heart console. The 2 predominant ones are sufficiently big to carry that Yeti, whereas the 2 smaller cupholders coated by a lid are good for a can or espresso cup. Every of those areas additionally has bonus storage.
The bin lid leaves a thin rectangular channel open so you may retailer issues like wallets or hand sanitizer or a masks or no matter. I discovered it fairly useful, particularly since mentioned gadgets would normally find yourself in a cupholder. The ahead one might be suited to a smartphone, however not solely, particularly contemplating what’s behind it …
Borrowing a web page from the final Highlander, the Sienna has a shelf that spans the sprint from steering wheel to passenger door. It is right here the place the accessible wi-fi charger resides, full with little bumpers on either side. Sadly, the USB/media port can also be up there, that means that should you’re connecting your telephone with a wire (vital for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), that wire is both snaking round that shelf or dangling down into the footwell space. I would favor one of many charge-only ports within the heart console bin to be the media connection — particularly since there are each USB-C and USB-A connectors in there.
There may be one other little tray on the left aspect of the steering wheel, very like within the Toyota RAV4 inside.
This is the entrance door. There’s a little bin half-way up for no matter (extra hand sanitizer?) and two bottle holders. It was a little bit of a squeeze for the Yeti, but it surely’s additionally fairly tall and vast. Two may nonetheless slot in every door, that means you might have six of these suckers within the entrance seating space alone. And two cups of espresso. Hope the route has bogs alongside the way in which.
Let’s transfer to the second row.
In the back of the middle console is that this plastic unit on the ground that, yep, can maintain one other two Yetis. There’s additionally somewhat tray ahead of the 2 cupholders, plus one of many Sienna’s two house-style shops (the opposite is within the cargo space) and an HDMI port. Two USB ports are above.
Every sliding door has one other Yetiholder and this phone-ish-sized bin.
Every captain’s chair then has this internet cup/bottle holder. At first look, they may appear a tad janky, however as soon as you utilize them and notice how a lot they’ll develop to carry quite a lot of bottle sizes (convey on that Nalgene bottle Mr. Snyder!), they are often appreciated as a refreshingly easy and efficient answer. They do not take up a lot area and are not some flip-down plastic piece that may inevitably break. I suppose the elastic would possibly begin to wear down after some time, so there’s that potential draw back.
The Honda Odyssey and Chrysler Pacifica have a number of pockets constructed into the backs of the entrance seats for numerous gadgets, together with the leisure system’s headphones and remotes. The Sienna simply has a plain single map pocket design. A uncommon missed alternative right here within the Sienna. Oh, and by the way in which, the Sienna has a one-screen leisure system. The Pacifica continues to reign supreme with its twin screens.
Let’s transfer to the caboose.
The third row is a no Yeti zone. Though there are 4 cupholders, none are sufficiently big to retailer that water-storing artillery shell. Curiously, the scale of the cupholders truly differs on either side.
These on the appropriate aspect have one which’s the scale of a regular soda can (prime left), however the different one is extra Purple Bull sized.
On the left aspect, although, each cupholders are the identical dimension and able to holding a daily soda can. Canada Dry Daring is scrumptious, by the way in which.
So followers, should you’re scoring at dwelling, the 2021 Toyota Sienna has 18 cupholders. Twelve of these are sufficiently big for a big water bottle, 5 are can-sized and one is for the caffeine-starved youngster in Row 3.
And eventually, within the cargo space …
There are grocery bag hooks within the third-row seatbacks, plus there’s this massive open space. This could be the place the in-van vacuum is meant to go, however that is been delayed resulting from pandemic-related provider shortages. So, regardless of this being a loaded $53,000(!) Sienna Platinum, the vacuum is lacking. That sucks. Or, actually, it does not.
So there you go. If that does not fulfill your insatiable urge for food for Toyota Sienna cupholder and bin content material, I am afraid nothing will.
