2025 Toyota Sienna First Drive -- Same But Different

This facelift ain’t a facelift. Weird, I know, but Toyota’s latest Sienna was a pretty darn great take on the minivan in 2024, so why mess with success in 2025? At least, I suppose that was the attitude going into this at Toyota. You’ll need a microscope to spot the changes made for 2025, so let’s get them out of the way now: Toyota will sell busy parents with messy occupants a vacuum in the van now, a fridge to keep drinks cold, and a new safety system so you don’t forget your own flesh and blood in the back seat (who does this?). Lastly, there’s a new infotainment system.

Some of these updates may even sound familiar, and while shooting the car this week in Charlotte, North Carolina, I stopped to figure out why. Fifteen minutes later, I learned that Toyota had already introduced both the fridge and the vacuum for the 2020 model year. Only, the things never made it to production – the supplier rolled over bankrupt and that was that.

(Full disclosure: Toyota flew me to North Carolina and fed and housed me so I could drive the new Sienna.)

Well, now I’m quite happy to confirm the Toyota Sienna does in fact have both a functional vacuum and a fridge in it. The former does vacuum things. It pulled a good amount of suction, probably more than the ones you’ll find at a gas station to clean up the same mess. Frankly, I don’t see why you wouldn’t order a van with one given the uniquely strange bragging rights it gives (the cleaning power is nice too). The fridge is just as reliable and keeps five to six drinks chilly without really bleeding through to the cabin. Sienna Platinum owners get the duo as standard, but anyone else will need to purchase a Sienna Limited in addition to an options package to snag the pair. 

I can also confirm that the latest Sienna will remind you to check the rear seat for warm bodies before departing, which is as close to testing the new rear seat reminder feature as I’m comfortable getting. That’s because what happens next is a little disruptive. Fail to remove said occupant from the back seats, the radar hidden in the ceiling scanning the second and third rows will eventually detect movement, even things so small as the breathing of an infant, and alert you. First, the door lock chime beeps nine times. Already gone inside? Next, the horn will blare constantly until you open a door. Toyota told me you could also sign up to get push notifications and automated phone calls if the car detects motion once you’ve left it. Clever stuff.

While driving the Sienna in Charlotte, I also got to play with its new, larger center touchscreen. It got sized up from 9 inches to 12.3 as part of the refresh, and boy, lemme tell you, it makes very little difference. The extra real estate is nice, but the real benefit of the larger touch unit is new wireless Carplay and Android Auto capability. Conversely, the base screen shrinks to eight inches, a real downer.

Mechanically, the new Sienna is identical to the 2024 model. As a result, it drives exactly the same as the old one. Again, why mess with what’s selling? The Sienna’s 245-horsepower hybrid powertrain feels snappy enough to get out of its own way, and it’s not annoying to live with. It’ll also be good for 36 mpg combined on front-drive Siennas and 35 mpg on AWD trims.

Critically, the Sienna is still comfortable. Its various seats all fit adults of various sizes, even in rear rows, and they’ll all be comfortable on longer drives. The ride is similarly well executed, and the Sienna’s best trait is its ability to remain comfortable without feeling overly soft, squishy, or bouncy. The real difference-maker is the upper trims here, given their access to the majority of the 2025 model year changes. While the new Sienna isn’t drastically different from last year, it didn’t need to be, and it's still a strong pick in a crowded segment. The lineup starts with the Sienna LE, priced at $40,635 including destination, but the one you’ll want with the vacuum and fridge starts life at $51,650.

[Images © 2024 Chase Bierenkoven/TTAC.com]

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