I was at a local Toyota dealer getting an oil change and was looking through the showroom while I waited. I was approached by a salesman who asked what I was looking for. I mentioned that we might be in the market for a new Sienna at some point in the future. She said that a lease return (some sort of fleet use, it seems) always came in in July of every third year, and always in excellent shape with very low miles. A few weeks later, they called and let me know that it was in. We looked at it and purchased it immediately thereafter. It's a 2017 Sienna LE, and had just 7000 miles on it at the time of purchase, plus a record of an oil change/service. As promised, it was impeccable and nearly flawless - a few minor blemishes including a bit of scratching on the dashboard, but still essentially "like new" and a solid 9/10 in terms of condition. It still even smells new! We needed another car for a new driver, and figured that passing the '10 on down would be a good choice, rather than gambling with another used car. That Sienna has about 217,000 on it.
Our '17 LE is a mid-trim but feels rather upmarket in comparison to the '10 LE (which was the last year of its generation). The new one makes about 300 hp to the old one's 268 hp, but actually feels a bit slower (just power delivery characteristics); the new one has an "ECT POWER" setting which really wakes it up, but that's switched with the ignition. In terms of equipment, it has power doors (but a manual liftgate), cloth seats (and power driver seat), tri-zone automatic climate control, upgraded audio system (BT/XM/GPS link via phone/weather/apps/fuel economy info), backup cam, alloy wheels, auto-dimming mirror with compass/Homelink, all auto up/down windows, and a bit of ambient lighting. It's rated 19/27, and the old one was rated 17/23 (although highway MPG was often 25-26+ on the old van). Our five-speed automatic is now an eight-speed unit, and the 2GR-FE is now a 2GR-FKS.
The interior feels much more upmarket for being the same trim level, and I do like the car on the aggregate. Seats are more comfortable, the interior is more attractive, and it is far more feature-rich. It is comfortable and quiet, and has a pleasant ride. I have only two minor gripes: it does feel less quick than the old one (which itself was eager to accelerate), though the numbers don't really confirm this. And the instrument cluster is a bit harder to read (no center speedometer), plus its monochrome center display has little information and is not terribly intuitive to use (the DISP button toggles through screens rather than the arrow buttons on the steering wheel). All in all, though, we're very happy with the purchase. It will go on its first road trip in the next week, and I'm interested to see what sort of economy it can pull down (the screen suggests 30 mpg may be possible on the open road). It's also Certified (7 year/100k warranty) and has a bit of the factory warranty left. Additionally, this Sienna was made in the USA in Indiana.
Our '17 LE is a mid-trim but feels rather upmarket in comparison to the '10 LE (which was the last year of its generation). The new one makes about 300 hp to the old one's 268 hp, but actually feels a bit slower (just power delivery characteristics); the new one has an "ECT POWER" setting which really wakes it up, but that's switched with the ignition. In terms of equipment, it has power doors (but a manual liftgate), cloth seats (and power driver seat), tri-zone automatic climate control, upgraded audio system (BT/XM/GPS link via phone/weather/apps/fuel economy info), backup cam, alloy wheels, auto-dimming mirror with compass/Homelink, all auto up/down windows, and a bit of ambient lighting. It's rated 19/27, and the old one was rated 17/23 (although highway MPG was often 25-26+ on the old van). Our five-speed automatic is now an eight-speed unit, and the 2GR-FE is now a 2GR-FKS.
The interior feels much more upmarket for being the same trim level, and I do like the car on the aggregate. Seats are more comfortable, the interior is more attractive, and it is far more feature-rich. It is comfortable and quiet, and has a pleasant ride. I have only two minor gripes: it does feel less quick than the old one (which itself was eager to accelerate), though the numbers don't really confirm this. And the instrument cluster is a bit harder to read (no center speedometer), plus its monochrome center display has little information and is not terribly intuitive to use (the DISP button toggles through screens rather than the arrow buttons on the steering wheel). All in all, though, we're very happy with the purchase. It will go on its first road trip in the next week, and I'm interested to see what sort of economy it can pull down (the screen suggests 30 mpg may be possible on the open road). It's also Certified (7 year/100k warranty) and has a bit of the factory warranty left. Additionally, this Sienna was made in the USA in Indiana.
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