"Lexus of Minivans"
That's how an automotive journalist colleague characterized the Sienna, and he was right, this is the finest minivan we know — refined, quiet, smooth, comfortable, capacious. "Like driving a cloud," I told someone. "Look, a cool Mom Van," said a teenage friend. No, it's not like a BMW M3 sports coupe to drive, but that's not what we were shopping for; we wanted good interior volume and long-distance comfort, and the high eye-point is especially appreciated on the freeway. We chose AWD because at the time we lived in snow country; the only downsides are that the larger spare tire has to live inside the van, because there's no room under the floor, and also that you can feel the vehicle sits taller on the road (just like its stablemate, our Subaru Outback), making it a bit floppy in switchback turns. But after 9 years (we bought it used in 2006) and 150K miles, we're still delighted with our choice. We almost dread the day we have to replace it, hoping we'll find something as all-round useful.
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