A bright position in a slumping automotive market category of minivans appears to be that of the Toyota Sienna and its maker’s decision a year ago to produce and sell only gas/electric hybrid models.
Contrasting that is FCA’s axing a bit earlier of the Dodge Grand Caravan, the greatest-selling minivan of all time.
Results through nine months of 2021 show the Toyota Sienna rising from fourth to first place in sales on the strength of an astounding 190% increase; the FCA minivan two-pack of Grand Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica which traditionally owned more than 50% of the market, has skidded to 24% by the Pacifica, alone without the Dodge’s presence.
In the face of worldwide chip shortages and pandemic slowdowns, it isn’t clear as to whether the Sienna sales surge will be of prolonged duration, and with the long-popular Grand Caravan gone, will loyal Dodge minivan buyers turn to stablemate Pacifica for replacement.
“The Toyota Sienna and its all-hybrid powertrain have surpassed customers’ expectations with a combined 36 miles per gallon, Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 as standard equipment at no extra cost and built-in quality, said Christine Henley, Western communications manager for Toyota North America.
A strong selling point for the Toyota hybrid is the claim of much higher economy; on that basis of information, I requested and received one.
For testing the 2022 Toyota Sienna Hybrid XSE All-Wheel-Drive minivan, we drove from Greeley to Boulder to visit with James Colwell in a retirement community, on in to Denver to autograph a copy of “The 100-Year Deal” at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, then on out southwest for dinner at the home of Kurt and Tammy Wells.
The Sienna performed smoothly, if not powerfully. Its hybrid engine is made up of a 190-horsepower, 2.5-liter 4-cylinder, which is driven by two electric motors; total output is 245-hp. This is tied to an electronic continuous variable transmission.
For the 170-mile drive, the Sienna Hybrid averaged 34.9 miles per gallon, right at its EPA estimate of 35 in the city and 36 on the highway. Performance was a bit more satisfactory a year ago when I drove a gas-only Sienna Limited Premium AWD minivan equipped with 3.5-liter V-6 and 8-speed automatic transmission; its mpg, though, was 20.1.
The large ’22 Sienna is 17 feet long and weighs 4,610 pounds with sport-tuned suspension. The red-stitched SofTex (more durable than leather) front seats are very well-bolstered, the second-row captain’s chairs are of long-slide capability and third row seat is split and can be stowed in one motion.
Sticker price on the ’22 Sienna, including a full range of Toyota Safety Sense features, is $47,215.
Colwell, 95, English instructor for my freshman year at Sterling High School 70 years ago, enjoyed a distinguished career as an educator.
Jan and I were assisted at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association by Kim Jackson and Savannah Hatcher. The book-signing was for John McCallan, whose family was associated in a Colorado dealership before moving to California, where John is involved in several large-scale automotive operations.
Minivans at the turn-of-the-century sold more than 1 million annually; the tally this year will be down around 310,000.