Minivans have a reputation as lame soccer-mommobiles, having stolen Dorkiest Vehicle status from the station wagon circa 1984. It is a reputation that is both unfair and incorrect, at least from the 40-year-old dad perspective. This specimen of homo sapiens is often seen as the maximum of dorks, just watch one of those “Turning Into Your Parents” ads from Progressive for proof.
The Ultimate Dadmobile
I am from this demographic. Station wagons make me happy, minivans kick ass, and my level of nerdiness on such subjects is generally only equaled by fellow members of the genus. So you can disagree with me on the Toyota Sienna being an absolutely awesome ride, but I’m telling you, it is the ultimate dadmobile.
After driving my family around in a 2026 Sienna Platinum for a week, the foibles were few and the want was strong. Toyota has stuffed so many neato features into the Sienna Platinum that we’re just going to run through them listicle-style to keep things somewhat brief.
Power-Sliding Side Doors
I realize this feature is nothing new on modern minivans, but our 10-year-old Ford Transit Connect has sliding doors of the manual variety that are lacking something in the way of actually sliding. So, clicking a key fob and watching the Sienna’s doors magically slip open left me feeling like a regular wizard. It’s also pretty darn handy when you’re carrying all the things, as is normally the case when kids are in the mix.
Integrated Vacuum Cleaner
The Sienna is enormous, with 3 rows of seating and a sizeable cargo hold. Fill it with kids and you’re guaranteed a mess in minutes. My current method for addressing this unacceptable scenario is dragging an old Princess vacuum out of the house, running a giant extension cord, and wrestling with the thing to clean my car. It weighs about 400 pounds and has an odd smell. In Platinum spec, the Sienna comes with a vacuum cleaner built into the center console, and I firmly expected it to be a gimmick.
I was utterly incorrect. Toyota gets the gold star for engineering a genuinely useful integrated minivan vacuum. The hose stretches to every corner, multiple attachments are included, and the suction is serious. Plus, the container for capturing your car crap is big enough for a typical mess and easy to empty.
What Sarah Says
My wife, Sarah, is the polar opposite of a car person. Look to this section for her unfiltered thoughts on the car of the day.
“There are so many cup holders!!! I could find so many drinks to fill these with!”
28 MPG
That’s what I achieved in mixed driving for a week, though the EPA pegs the 2026 Sienna AWD at 35 mpg combined. Perhaps with more highway driving and less idling for influencing in the wild with Tyler (Master of Photo and Video Things), I could bump up closer to that figure. But even at 28 mpg, the 18-gallon gas tank can get you more than 500 miles of range thanks to the wonders of hybridization.
Heated Super-Long-Slide Second-Row Thrones with Ottomans
Trimmed in two-tone Macadamia and black perforated leather, the second-row captain’s chairs in the Sienna Platinum are glorious odes to keister comfort. Manually sliding to and fro, when sent all the way back and fully reclined - with ottoman extended and heat on - these car seats are transformed into chauffeured-life thrones. The kids were staggered. I told them not to get used to it.
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Gamified Hybrid Driving
Like Toyota’s Prius, every 2026 Sienna is a hybrid, but I’ve always thought of it as a minivan first. Which is partly true, and yet, given the gauge cluster video-game-like animations portraying the complex dance between the ICE and hybrid system, it’s as much a hybrid first kind of Toyota as the Prius.
There’s an EV mode for puttering around parking lots on battery power. There’s a graphic showing how the hybrid system energy is flowing fore and aft. And the Hybrid System Indicator encourages your best impersonation of a hyper-miler. I found myself paying close attention to where I was driving within the Charge, Eco, and Power zones, in an effort to stretch every gallon of gas - and I daresay having fun while doing it.
60 Grand Brings All The Things
Toyota has packed a lot to like into the Sienna Platinum, as well it should for the $59,980 price tag that came with this example. It looked good in the optional Heavy Metal paint, and lest you think 18” rims are not befitting something with a Platinum badge, the 60-series sidewalls that accompany them are likely much cushier than whatever a size 20 would be stuffed into. This is a family vehicle after all, and the ride was indeed soft, without being floaty.
The Noises Of A Hybrid
Steering feel on the other hand seemed to be asleep for the most part. And there is a notable trade-off for achieving high 20s in fuel efficiency. The wee naturally aspirated 2.5L inline-4 pairs with the hybrid system to make just 245 horsepower combined.
While no one is expecting the Sienna to be a stoplight racer, the gas-powered portion of the powertrain sounds thrashy when pushed, and I noticed a fair amount of humming, buzzing, and vibrating as the hand-off back and forth between electric motors and internal combustion was sorted out. That said, the battery-powered zip out of my driveway at low speed was appreciated.
Is Toyota’s Top-Spec Sienna Worth A Look?
Minivans have been struggling against the odds for a long time. Ford, General Motors, and Nissan have long since exited the full-size minivan segment, leaving just Toyota, Honda, Kia, and Chrysler to duke it out (VW’s ID.Buzz, though cool as a moose, is in some kind of strange limbo at the moment).
Each one of these no doubt has its charms, but a week with Toyota’s big family wagon left me impressed. There are storage spaces galore, it has a head-up display and 6-pack-sized refrigerator (in Platinum spec), the Driver Easy Exit system moves the seat and steering wheel fully out of the way to meet its accurately named directive, and you can stow the third-row seats with one hand tied behind your back, or loaded with groceries, or wrangling a child…
As a certified dork of a dad, I’ve been blathering about the benefits of owning a minivan for many years, when there are kids in the picture. Our particular minivan is a well-loved Ford Transit Connect, and it’s a family favorite that garners much praise from other dads who nerd out on these vehicles. But the 2026 Toyota Sienna Platinum is in a different league, one I would someday like to join.
About the author: Niel Stender is an automotive journalist. More of his work can be found at muckrack.com/niel-stender