2021 or 2022 Toyota Sienna AWD as road trip vehicle

[Wendy]

Does he have snow tires on it or regular?

he runs Nokian all weathers with the snowflake rating. Keep in mind @Mel and @coskigirl are driving in areas at much higher elevation than CT/New England.

 

[pete]

Hmm, that’s a little disappointing isn’t it? EPA estimates for the RAV4 are 39-41mpg, right? Though it’s good to see you aren’t seeing a massive reduction in fuel economy with snow tires and a box+ cold temps in winter! Thanks for posting your info!

Maybe a simple math conversion issue ... but I've noted some OEMs Hybrids do not always have much greater milage performance than the gas version.

I noted a few years back the Hyundia early versions were around 10% better for milage which surprised me.

Heck, I had a 2000 Silhouette extended minivan, affectionately knick named the "orphanator" due to poor crash safety ratings, that got 27mpg hwy and this was packed loaded with kids, back stuffed with gear, etc.

Always surprised me that newer minivans got lower mileage.

Hybrids do offer advantages over pure electric if one travels longer distances.

 

[Mel]

Hmm, that’s a little disappointing isn’t it? EPA estimates for the RAV4 are 39-41mpg, right? Though it’s good to see you aren’t seeing a massive reduction in fuel economy with snow tires and a box+ cold temps in winter! Thanks for posting your info!

Keep in mind that’s just my conservative calculation based on how often I fill up the car and how far I drive, converted from metric, at 1050m elevation with winter tires 6 months of the year. A lot of variables! My summer and winter driving patterns are very different too, which makes comparison difficult. However, I went from a Toyota Matrix (50L gas tank) to the RAV4 (55L gas tank) with the same driving patterns, and I am using significantly less gas than I used to for the Matrix. In summer I fill up every 4-5 weeks, and used to have to fill the matrix every 2-3 weeks. For me, I feel there’s a significant difference in switching to a hybrid.

 

[kdziebarth]

Keep in mind that’s just my conservative calculation based on how often I fill up the car and how far I drive, converted from metric, at 1050m elevation with winter tires 6 months of the year. A lot of variables! My summer and winter driving patterns are very different too, which makes comparison difficult. However, I went from a Toyota Matrix (50L gas tank) to the RAV4 (55L gas tank) with the same driving patterns, and I am using significantly less gas than I used to for the Matrix. In summer I fill up every 4-5 weeks, and used to have to fill the matrix every 2-3 weeks. For me, I feel there’s a significant difference in switching to a hybrid.

Yeah for sure! We live up at 6500 ft (almost 2000m) and I’m not sure how much this would effect. We have a 2015 outback which if you look on fuelly.com with crowdsourced mileage folks average 25 mpg, but we almost always get 30ish because we live rurally without city stop and go traffic.

 

[Wendy]

Keep in mind that’s just my conservative calculation based on how often I fill up the car and how far I drive, converted from metric, at 1050m elevation with winter tires 6 months of the year. A lot of variables! My summer and winter driving patterns are very different too, which makes comparison difficult. However, I went from a Toyota Matrix (50L gas tank) to the RAV4 (55L gas tank) with the same driving patterns, and I am using significantly less gas than I used to for the Matrix. In summer I fill up every 4-5 weeks, and used to have to fill the matrix every 2-3 weeks. For me, I feel there’s a significant difference in switching to a hybrid.

If you are in stop and go traffic, the hybrid brings an advantage due to the switch to electric at idling/slow speeds. The torque of the electric motors is nice, too.

 

[kdziebarth]

If you are in stop and go traffic, the hybrid brings an advantage due to the switch to electric at idling/slow speeds. The torque of the electric motors is nice, too.

Yeah, I’m curious where we’d land in a hybrid. We are usually driving at optimal speeds 30-60mph, but it’s a cold long winter. But if we get more space and have comparable mileage to the smaller Subaru then I suppose it’s still a win.

 

[Wendy]

Yeah, I’m curious where we’d land in a hybrid. We are usually driving at optimal speeds 30-60mph, but it’s a cold long winter. But if we get more space and have comparable mileage to the smaller Subaru then I suppose it’s still a win.

We’ll be in Duluth MN in January, with our Sienna, so, if it’s bitter cold, it’ll also be a test of gas mileage.

 

[Wendy]

Got to bring the Sienna Woodland home today! She’s beautiful and rides so nicely. So.Much.Room. I really like how it switches to the electric motor when stopped in traffic, or when navigating slowly in a line of traffic, through parking lots, etc.

@jmeb @James Tires are some kind of Michelin; I can’t tell. I’m planning to get Falken Wildpeaks installed to replace the stock tires.

It’s a fun car to drive and has a great commanding view of the road. Stereo sound is awesome. When I got home the Toyota app let me know that I had left my doors unlocked. . I can also remote-start the vehicle through the app.

 

[skiki]

If you plan on keeping the 3rd row down most of the time, I recommend the cargo liner. It is a bit overpriced, but it keeps stuff from falling down the cracks and is easy to clean.

 

[jmeb]

You can also just buy a couple of cheap rubber backed carpets from home depot and overlap them -- works pretty well .

 

[tball]

Tires are some kind of Michelin; I can’t tell. I’m planning to get Falken Wildpeaks installed to replace the stock tires.

Congrats on the Sienna!

Do you need to go off-road? Other than that and rugged looks, the Michelins are likely much better all-around tires, including in the snow and ice. The TPMS designation on the Wildpeaks doesn't necessarly mean they are better winter tires than the Michelins without the designation. Take a look at Consumer Reports reviews and compare the tires.

 

[jmeb]

Do you need to go off-road? Other than that and rugged looks, the Michelins are likely much better all-around tires, including in the snow and ice. The TPMS designation on the Wildpeaks doesn't necessarly mean they are better winter tires than the Michelins without the designation. Take a look at Consumer Reports reviews and compare the tires.

While I agree that the 3PMSF (TPMS == Tire pressure monitoring system) designation isn't everything, I'd frankly trust @nay 's experience and review about as much as CR, and he's currently testing the Wildpeak Trails.

I've had the Wildpeak At3/w (not ideal for sienna due to wait)....and that tire earned it's 3PMSF. I'll be heartily impressed if my new X-Ices match their prowess.

 

[pete]

Got to bring the Sienna Woodland home today! She’s beautiful and rides so nicely....

It's humorous in a nice way that minivans visually are trending more to a SUV look. SUVs once all on truck frames have moved primarily to unibody, and small cars have SUV versions available sharing a common platform.

 

[DanoT]

One thing that I have learned from seeing posts here and some tire threads and YouTube vids is that the Tire Industry has rendered the 3 peak mtn snowflake (3PMSF) a completely irrelevant and useless designation. This is because a tire only needs to exceed the winter performance of any all season tire by only 10%.

So the winter performance requirements with tires with 3PMSF can be so low as to not work very well in the snow and cold.

I have Falken Rubitrek 3PMSF tires which are not as aggressive off road as Falken Wildpeak but worked very well for me this past winter. I thought they were very reasonably priced for 4 tires; $900CAD (plus tax) including balancing, mounting, install for LT235/85/16R, load range E for a 3/4Ton pickup.

 

[coskigirl]

Did you notice it was a lot less when it was colder in Feb-March? I guess it was still breaking in then too, but curious.

My gas mileage before I left on my trip in May for the entire ownership period from early February was around 33. The long highway miles definitely killed it as it went down around 31 over the entire period. It is back up to 32 now and I've kept the box on it.

 

[coskigirl]

Got to bring the Sienna Woodland home today! She’s beautiful and rides so nicely. So.Much.Room. I really like how it switches to the electric motor when stopped in traffic, or when navigating slowly in a line of traffic, through parking lots, etc.
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@jmeb @James Tires are some kind of Michelin; I can’t tell. I’m planning to get Falken Wildpeaks installed to replace the stock tires.

It’s a fun car to drive and has a great commanding view of the road. Stereo sound is awesome. When I got home the Toyota app let me know that I had left my doors unlocked. . I can also remote-start the vehicle through the app.

It almost doesn't look like a minivan. I love the app telling me the doors are unlocked or windows are open. I also adore being able to lock and unlock from my phone so if I just need to grab something out of it on my way for a walk (sunglasses) I don't have to take my keys with me. I haven't used the remote start much but it is nice to have.

 

[James]

Got to bring the Sienna Woodland home today!

@jmeb @James Tires are some kind of Michelin; I can’t tell. I’m planning to get Falken Wildpeaks installed to replace the stock tires.

It’s a fun car to drive and has a great commanding view of the road. Stereo sound is awesome. When I got home the Toyota app let me know that I had left my doors unlocked. . I can also remote-start the vehicle through the app.

Zooming in on the photo, looks like they’re Bridgestone Turanza tires, a type of run flat. They’re not cheap, but I wouldn’t think twice about getting rid of them. (1.9/10 people would buy again. That’s not a ringing endorsement.)
Turanza

Congrats on the vehicle! Looks sweet. You’re likely to find yourself doing 80 very quickly. Is it a green or a gray?

 

[nay]

While I agree that the 3PMSF (TPMS == Tire pressure monitoring system) designation isn't everything, I'd frankly trust @nay 's experience and review about as much as CR, and he's currently testing the Wildpeak Trails.

I've had the Wildpeak At3/w (not ideal for sienna due to wait)....and that tire earned it's 3PMSF. I'll be heartily impressed if my new X-Ices match their prowess.

Congrats on the new ride!

So my sister-in-law has a 2021 Sienna AWD, they just missed the Woodland edition and the hitch drags getting onto their driveway so I think they should lift it (yes, you can ).

Anyway they were coming to visit for the day and got a flat in the miserable Firestone OEM tires, were trying to figure out winter tires anyway, and I said “hey you could check out the new Falken AT Trail” because they really aren’t in the mountains in winter, Denver isn’t a particularly difficult climate, and they don’t tempt fate like I do by driving in historic blizzards for fun.

So BIL who I was consulting with called SIL who was out with ms nay and he came back and said “yea we’re getting the full winter tires” so that idea was shot down or I’d have some specific feedback. Blizzak DVM2 and now he has to find a replacement crap Firestone that was probably just a OEM run for a year for next summer. Bummer.

Would I put the AT Trail on a Badlands Badass or whatever model Sienna? Yes. That tire is amazing in transforming this type of vehicle performance onroad - it is shocking how big of an uograde over these junk touring tires, I can drive our Ascent hard now through rough stuff with no other changes. I don’t of course, just testing a bit, it’s too pretty for that.

Will a Sienna AWD work well setup like this? I don’t know but I can’t see why not. Reviews on Tire Rack have raves from minivan drivers including “FWD in a big storm”. And it looks awesome, classy yet rugged.

We got some snow a few days ago and I thought it might be one of our shoulder season ice events, but it was a bit too warm so no tire testing.

I can report that the AT Trail, aside from being dramatically more robust, handling vastly better, is also quieter and fuel economy went up immediately according to onboard lifetime fuel economy reporting. AT Trail went on my daughter’s Forrester today replacing the noisy crap Michelins to the same effect: quiet, robust, grippy, performance.

Just gotta wait for snow. Doesn’t even look like an Ascent anymore.

 

[Wendy]

Zooming in on the photo, looks like they’re Bridgestone Turanza tires, a type of run flat. They’re not cheap, but I wouldn’t think twice about getting rid of them. (1.9/10 people would buy again. That’s not a ringing endorsement.)
Turanza

Congrats on the vehicle! Looks sweet. You’re likely to find yourself doing 80 very quickly. Is it a green or a gray?

Thanks for the tire info. (How in the world could you tell? I’m curious).
Anyway, it’s matte gray. Technically, “cement.” Odd color name for a somewhat outdoorsy trim level, LOL.

 

[KingGrump]

(How in the world could you tell? I’m curious).

Elementary, Watson.