Good visibility, comfortable ride, feels like you're high above the road and other cars. I'm 6' tall and have plenty of leg room. Split rear seat makes removal so much easier than a bench.

No fold away rear seats. It would be much nicer to have the extra luggage space on long trips, but still have the extra seats once you reach the final destination.

This is a great van. Ours was originally a dealer loner vehicle, so it was a year old with about 13,000 miles when we bought it. We just had it in for a 30,000 mile service and we've had it less than a year. We've been from PA to Florida, and back and forth across PA many times with no compliants or problems. We follow the 5,000 mile service plan, use 89 octane gas, and haven't heard the slighest hint of a problem. With two kids in car seats, I can see where the size of the Odyssey would be nice, but given the overall comfort and handling of the Sienna, that's a minor obstacle. My brother owns a 2000 Sienna LE, and has had the same positive experience with his. As for the power door; when we bought the van we didn't think that was a big deal, but now, holding a toddler by one hand and an infant carrier in the other, opening a door at the touch of a button is a must-have.

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Test drove a Mazada MVP because of fold away seats - no room with car seats and weak engine. Own a '96 Corolla - 111,000 miles and still going.

Dead quiet, OK power, Good ride although a bit soft for my taste. Would love to find an aftermarket swaybar setup. Great entry, exit. This car is not too big or too small.

The power sliding door is rediculous. I say that even without having had a single problem with it, YET!!! My brother is a Honda mechanic. For sometime he would only work on the Odyssey door problems. He said the amount of engineering involved in operating those doors in all the possible situations(in gear, remote op, disarm, anti-kid squishing, gas door open, etc.) is probably equal to the rest of the car combined. For what????

Here is my experience to date. My Sienna has 58K and as we speak is getting its 60K service at the dealership. On top of this I've given the shop four new Michelins to slap on, balance and align. These are the first tires since purchase. Brakes have never been replaced. Slight squeel at the end of stop but nothing annoying. I bought pads and when I removed the wheel and caliper last week I found I still had @40% on the pads. Brakes can wait a couple of months. Had two scares, first @ 25K, engine began to run rough and became worse over course of a week. Engine light comes on. Drop off at dealer and find one injector failed. They replaced all six on warranty. Problem fixed. Second, wife gets in to start up one morning. Not happening. Keeps cranking without even a kick. I try and get it going in a cloud of unburned gas. Eventually the motor smooths out. Bring it in and the Serv. Mgr. says "let me guess, you started it last night and rolled it into the garage and shut it off." I said, "yea, how'd you know." Evidently, this motor needs alot of fuel for a cold start and needs to run for a couple of minutes before shutting down to burn it off. No harm done. As for this oil issue. My blood runs cold reading these posts. I've had two Toyotas that have reached 200K. Boredom kills these things before anything else. Who wants to drive the same car for ten years?? I've changed the oil at 3K using their filters and a synthetic blend like clock work since day one(I use the "B" trip meter for reminder). An important point, use the proper weight oil. In this case, 5w-30. Would I buy this car again? Yes, for now. But the idea that Toyota would produce an engine so maintenance intolerant is absurd especially this day in age. So for now I feel like I'm HIV positive hoping not to get full blown you know what...Fuel Cell technology can't come soon enough for me...

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'84 Celica, '92 Camry

Nice cruise on the highway. Quiet. Economical

Brakes started squealing at 2000 miles, Toyota has tried to fix twice without success. High beam stick doesnt work. Stereo is underpowered.

Bought a Toyota because I was tired of my misadventures with my Ford Windstar. Used t oown a Corolla (japanese made) and it was the greatest

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Ford Windstar

Fast, comfortable (at minivans rate), quiet, traction control, radio w 6cd in-dash player (XLE model), fog lights.

standard minvan veaknesses: seating, like u took a chair from your kitchen and pit it in minivan, only driver seat is powered. cant race with ferrari. ppl taller than 6.3 may experience some problems... there is one thing ==> the passenger window motor is broken... no other problems. IF U WANT TO BUY MINIVAN - TAKE SIENNA!!! (dont take american minivans), consider only honda odyssey and SIENNA

I am leasing Toyota Sinnna since 2000 year. Before takin this car, i thought of honda odyssey, bcoz other vans sucks. People who are saying thet sienna is a piece of shyt are piece of shyt themselves:) i think this car is the best of all minivans. since i have it, i didnt experience any problems. It runs at exellent rate. It is fast, i can beat Galant, Diamante, Celica easly. The worst thing i have expirienced is when ferrari made me while i was racing with accord, which i won. This car is not only fast, it is comfortable (not compared to mers, but it is the top of minivans). It is spacy. When I was going like 110 miles, I could easily change lines. my xle keeps the road.

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Honda Odyssey

All around performance and safety.

Absolutely NONE!!!

Superior van thru and thru. No surprise, having owned several Camrys, it has been trouble free for 4 years. None of the many problms I had with my Voyager. Several friends have bought a 1999 Sienna with the same experience. It's head and shoulders above the rest of the field. No sludge problem experienced.

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Voyager- Many problems just as listed in Consumer's auto problem charts for all other (non Toyota) vans.

Smooth, quiet ride.

Door latch defective within first month of ownership

We received a letter about from Toyota dated April, 2002 informing us that a "small number of Toyota owners have reported engine damage from a condition known as oil gelling or sludge." It went on to say "oil gelling can occur if the oil isn't changed often enough." Our letter says that..."For eight years, unlimited mileage from the date of first sales or lease of your vehicle, we will cover the engine in your Toyota against oil gel related damage with a Customer Support Program. This program will cover the cost of repairs and reasonable incidental expenses, such as the expense of a rental car, associated with oil gel related repairs. All we ask is that you show a reasonable effort to regularly maintain your vehicle". If you have a problem, contact 1-888-802-9436. We are now experiencing the sludge problem despite doing our own oil checks and changes. After having read many of the problems Toyota Sienna owners are having with local dealerships if they don't handle their maintenance through the dealership, I'll soon learn what "reasonable effort" really means. Keep you posted.

None that I can think of.

1. Sliding doors wont opeb due to panels continuously falling off. 2. Engine sludge problems

This is our 5th Toyota in a row. We bought it for its dependability and good name. We were fooled! The first problem occured within 6 months. The driver side sliding door panel would begin to fall off, interfering with the ability to slide the door open. I brought it into the dealer, which they said they had to order parts. It would be a week, we'll call you when its in. I never heard from them again. We then moved and brought it to another dealer. They fixed it, and within 2 days, it fell off again. I had it fixed AGAIN, and needless to day, its still to this day falling off. Now its happening to the other sliding door! Then, at roughly 20,000 miles, as I started the car, large amounts of smoke bellowed out. As i put the car in drive, the engine light came on. We immediatley brought this to the dealer, which then said it was sludge and OUR fault due to lack of oil changes! What a line! We have been very faithful in our maintenance with this van (and all our vehicles). Then when I got home, and read the receipt the dealer gave me, it stated that "owner never changed oil previously". I can't beleive it! Pointing their guilty fingers at me! Then I keep reading that so many owners are having this exact same problem. WAKE UP TOYOTA! NEVER EVER again will we purchase a toyota!

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5 Toyota vehicles

Car like ride other than cornering at higher speeds. Good layout of driver controls.

Squeeky front brakes. Poor front headlights. Uneven tire wear even when properly rotated. Sludge problems.

I own a 1998 Toyota Sienna xle, I have almost 77,000 km on this vehicle. I like how this van rides, although it doesn't corner like a car. So far, I haven't had any sludge problem although it seems like it is burning a little oil. At 72,000 km I had it in for maintenance and they said they couldn't find any sludge problem. All my oil changes have been done at the dealership where I purchased the van and I have kept all my receipts just in case the computer records mysteriously disappear. As well, all my oil changes have been at 6000km or less as recommended in my maintenance shedule. Also, if it matters I have never used less than 89 octane like the manual says. The front headlights are terrible at night, there appears to be an angular shadow on the drivers side headlight that I can't seem to get rid of. The front brakes squeek and grind even after just having a front brake job. The front end seems to dip down too low especially when you brake, I always feel like I am sliding forward. The dunlop tires that came on the van wore out at about 35,000 km. At the moment I am having a problem with a clunking noise under the front end when I hit a dip in the road or a bump. The mechanics at Toyota cannot find the problem. I also find the arm rests are too small and too low to be of any use for the driver. There are too many reports of sludge problems to be ignored. Toyota should address this problem not try to blame it on the owners. Right now I am considering getting rid of my Sienna and not purchasing another Toyota.

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Ford Windstar, Dodge Caravan.

Stereo controls on steering wheel, auto headlights, plenty of room for second row captain's chairs, plenty of cupholders, Very smooth ride in all seats, tumble rear seats are very convenient. Overall,very good!

None that I can think of - to address the sludge issue - as reported earlier, 5W30 oil should be used not 10W30.

Overall this vehicle is exactly what we wanted and expected! This vehicle doesn't break in till 100K, probably replace the timing belt at 200K and will run for another 100K - very reliable! We were fortunate to receive this vehicle at a lower price due to a costly mistake of the dealer manager. This vehicle also has the highest safety ratings at IIHS. Can't complain at all!!!

none

poor management and poor cars

I purchased a new 2002 sienna at Rick Hendricks Toyota in Fayetteville, N.C. the week of July 4th. I did not want to purchase this van until I had driven a Honda. The sales man met every objection I had and talked me out of my truck as I was leaving the lot. After 5 hours of negoations and paper signing I had my keys and the children loaded in the van and my wife was about to leave the lot when the sales man came out and told me they needed another 1000.00 dollars or we would have to leave the van. We got mad and left the dealership. They would not give me all the copies of the papers we signed. I did get my copies that were in the packet given to me with the keys. I emailed Rick Hendrick automotive group and they assured me that the manager would call me as this was not right and should not be done. The dealership has called me twice (not the manager) since then and offered us an inferior model or to pay an additional 750.00. My advice is to stay away from Rick Hendrick Toyota dealerships. They do not uphold their deals. After reading about the engine sludge, this was probably a blessing.

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