xjokerz

The van is much faster than the Prius. So no, they don't have the same characteristics. A van is also much roomier and you're a bit higher up and have much better visibility.

Anyways, people have to make compromises. As I said you get a hybrid van for what: gas mileage. With these prices people are going to love the 36 mpg, or possibly even better in some scenarios.

SW17LS

When you drive it, it drives like a giant Prius, I'm not implying that they are the same vehicle. All the things I hated about the Prius are present in the Sienna. I wouldn't buy a hybrid Highlander, Venza or Rav either.

And when you get a hybrid Prius you get it for what? "Great gas mileage. With these prices people are going to love the 55 MPG." Its the same thing, it makes no logical sense why you deride one yet defend the other. They are both vehicles built for a specific purpose, and that purpose is fuel economy over other considerations.

The issue with the Sienna is operating it in a highway scenario when it has 5 people and all their gear in it. This was the big issue with the Prius too. Pull out around a truck at 70 MPH going up a 7% grade in the Sienna in that scenario and see how confident you feel. Its going to make a lot of noise and go nowhere. Prius was the same way. The Pacifica isn't fast, but it has enough power to perform in that scenario to where I wont poop my pants. I redline the Pacifica routinely driving it on family trips in the mountains.

IMHO, the PHEV Pacifica is a way better choice for someone who wants better fuel economy in a more drivable package.

Toys4RJill

Sienna has more toque than that. 288 when you combine the gas and hybrid

LeX2K

Drivetrain can't sustain that which is fine for some situations but driving up a long hill or towing and you're at the mercy of the gas engine only.

AMIRZA786

That combined torque you mentioned is good to about 20 mph, but does little to help you at 60 or 70 mph or when you need power to merge or pass. I think it only has a 1.9kWh battery pack

Toys4RJill

Gotta keep you honest. You should list that in the cons as you made it sound very misleading

Striker223

Correct and that's the real issue, it's a false sense of power. No hybrid is truly capable of full power operation like a pure gas car is, the pack and inverter can't sustain it. I have never once driven a hybrid that can....they all only give about 20-40 seconds of max power before you can feel the taper. Same issue with really driving them hard on the same way I would my pure cars, they heat soak and can't recover charge.

AMIRZA786

That's why you are here, to keep me honest 😊

Toys4RJill

LOL. Ha. You know I’m kidding around. MT did a comparison, the performance are so close. But the Sienna is less enjoyable…4 vs 6, the 6 will feel better. Performance numbers are so close…

AMIRZA786

It's definitely more about the feel for sure. But the smaller engine combined with the CVT and less hp becomes noticable when pushing the engine at highway speeds and inclines. If you are just driving it casual, it's totally fine. Also when the CVT is trying to keep the engine in it's power band, it just sounds horrible. I think for most people this minivan is fine and does the job saving gas at the same time, so it will sell very well like the Prius continues to

spwolf

actually, it should be doing a lot, because otherwise that engine does not have a lot of power... It also has nothing to do with battery size, that pack is huge for a hybrid.
You can check Rav4 hybrid vs regular, biggest difference is actually things like 50-70 mph acceleration.

LeX2K

It is? The 1997 Prius battery pack is about 1.9kWh I think it ends up being about 1.7 usable.

AMIRZA786

When I drove it, I only felt the additional help from the EV motors from stop to about 20 or 30 mph, but when I stepped on the gas hard I only felt very brief assist and the engine struggling somewhat to get up to speed by the CVT holding the revs. Where I really felt the EV motors kick in was letting off the gas pedal, or cruising at very low speeds. I even tried to put it in EV mode, and if I went more than 30 mph it would switch to engine. I way more prefer the 3.5L V6 in my 2013.

Again, it's not a bad van, has a smooth ride, and most people will be fine with its power. Just not me

LeX2K

Let's be honest this hybrid system in the Sienna was designed for a medium sized sedan not a hulking van.

AMIRZA786

I'm actually puzzled why they didn't at least give it the same drivetrain as the Rav4 Prime Hybrid, which combined is 302 HP. That would have been plenty. I guess they wanted to avoid the Sienna being a plugin