[kmcintyre]

I hope you're right. Where is the pic/article/link that you saw a folded seat? There is a pic I saw that looked like a folded seat at first but it turned out to be the ottoman seat.


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If I find it, I'll post it but I've been trying to find more info on the Sienna and have looked at a lot of places

 

[kmcintyre]

If I find it, I'll post it but I've been trying to find more info on the Sienna and have looked at a lot of places

This is what I found. Could be they are the ottoman seats but they are flat.

 

[floridanative]

Yeah, that's the one I saw. On a close look it's clearly the seat bottom with the ottoman extended. The seatback is not in the view of the camera.

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[KGT]

There seems to be conflicting information out there about whether or not there will be a Prime PHEV version of the new Sienna in the future. This article mentions that Toyota executives say it's unlikely.

Toyota Sienna Prime Technically Possible, But Unlikely

The new Toyota Sienna is the first minivan to go full hybrid, but could it get a plug-in Prime option as well?

www.motor1.com

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Yep, saw that other article too, and it disagrees. So nothing concrete right now, unfortunately.

If I had to guess, I would say it's yes, a PHEV Sienna is coming. We just don't know when. Maybe 2022 model year?
IMHO, it's just too easy, with all the engineering already done with the Rav4 Prime powertrain.
I can understand Toyota not wanting to say anything right now, them not wanting to give people any reason to not buy the new Sienna when it comes out.
I can also see a Highlander Prime, but again Toyota will not say anything right now to avoid the Osborne effect.

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[goldfish4]

If I had to guess, I would say it's yes, a PHEV Sienna is coming. We just don't know when. Maybe 2022 model year?

I'll buy whichever AWD PHEV minivan comes to market first, regardless of manufacturer. PHEV is about the only thing that might make me overlook the impracticalities of the 2021 Sienna's non-removable seats and enormous center console. If I were to guess, I bet the Highlander gets PHEV next year followed by Sienna a year later.

 

[KGT]

goldfish4:

You may be right with the PHEV's coming out in that order, Highlander 1st, then Sienna.
I'm still holding on to hope they are both released together, because I don't want a 2 year wait for a plug in/Prime Sienna.
Also, my thinking is exactly the same as yours...... a plug in AWD Sienna would make me overlook the non removable 2nd row seats.

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[goldfish4]

a plug in AWD Sienna would make me overlook the non removable 2nd row seats.

I forgot to mention PHEV would even make me overlook the lack of a panoramic sunroof option too... My fear is that by the time Toyota is ready to make a PHEV Sienna, they may have sold so many RAV4 Prime's that the federal tax credit is gone. At that point the PHEV Sienna might not make much economic sense for buyers and may not get produced.

 

[Geezer1]

If I had to guess, I would say it's yes, a PHEV Sienna is coming. We just don't know when. Maybe 2022 model year?
IMHO, it's just too easy, with all the engineering already done with the Rav4 Prime powertrain.
I can understand Toyota not wanting to say anything right now, them not wanting to give people any reason to not buy the new Sienna when it comes out.
I can also see a Highlander Prime, but again Toyota will not say anything right now to avoid the Osborne effect.

Osborne effect? Is that the Ozzy Osbourne effect that might cause buyers to bite the heads off live doves?

Seriously, the possibility of a PHEV Sienna and/or Venza will likely cause my wife to not buy a 2021 RAV4 Prime as planned. Her current 2012 Prius v hybrid is used 99% in town and we see no reason to buy a replacement that can't run in EV mode most of the time.

My wife doesn't like driving our 2014 Sienna due to its bulk but I think she would be willing to drive a 2021 Sienna if it was a plug-in hybrid and especially if it had a panoramic roof similar to her Prius. She loves that pano roof.

My wife was far more interested in the new Venza with pano roof as a replacement for her Prius but again it has to be a PHEV. There have been three identical high-spec previous generation Venzas in her extended family - all with pano roofs - and she liked them a lot. The new generation RAV4 hybrid isn't getting exactly stellar reviews and I'm not expecting the complaints to be addressed on the 2021 RAV4 Prime.

So ... I guess we'll wait a year or two on replacing the Prius which is at only 45,000 miles. Even if there is no acceptable PHEV Sienna or Venza, maybe something else will come along ... such as Tesla's new "million mile battery" which is supposed to be announced soon. Maybe I'll get her into a Tesla Model Y yet.

Dang, Toyota! Can't you give us exactly what we want just one time?

 

[krendico2000]

Regarding the 2nd row - is it possible that with the 'extended sliding seats' they have greater fore/aft adjustment? Maybe they have significantly more 'slide' than current gen - thus no need for removal?

I agree - having 2nd row that is not removable is a huuuuuuge bummer for anyone doing camping/hauling/etc.

It seems like an absolute mistake by Toyota's engineering team.

 

[jmmaxus]

This is what I found. Could be they are the ottoman seats but they are flat. View attachment 46231

I read somewhere or maybe it was Alex on Autos video that the only folding into floorboard seat is the middle seat on the trims that have it. The other seats are fixed in place.

 

[adksienna]

I read somewhere or maybe it was Alex on Autos video that the only folding into floorboard seat is the middle seat on the trims that have it. The other seats are fixed in place.

None of the Siennas will have a “fold into floorboard” second row. They will all have that feature for the third row.

Possibly you are talking about the middle seat in the second row of 8 passenger Siennas. That seat looks like it still can be removed and stored in a special compartment in the rear hatch area.

 

[jmmaxus]

None of the Siennas will have a “fold into floorboard” second row. They will all have that feature for the third row.

Possibly you are talking about the middle seat in the second row of 8 passenger Siennas. That seat looks like it still can be removed and stored in a special compartment in the rear hatch area.

Yes I meant the middle seat in the second row. According to Motortrend it is stowable in the floor. No mention of it also being removable or stored in rear hatch.
These Are the Coolest Features in the 2021 Toyota Sienna - MotorTrend

 

[mschoenhals]

While they didn't show one, I'm really hoping for an Adventure version of the 2021 Sienna. A Sienna Adventure could be the utilitarian version versus what we saw at the reveal. Here's what I'd like to see in a Sienna Adventure
-removable 2nd row seats
-rotating driver/passenger captains chairs like in the Previa...which were awesome with kids and would be even better as we retire and want a way to hang out with friends at an event or concert.
-Adventure paint scheme: white roof/flat black lower panels
-spare tire
-2" receiver hitch
-lifted a bit for more ground clearance
I'm hopeful because they certainly staged many pictures offroad...maybe they just needed to introduce the 'normal' models first and will come out with an Adventure as we get closer to release. I just hope it's 2021 and not 2022 so we can make another Toyota minivan transition ('95 Previa, 2006 Sienna, 2021 Sienna Adventure)

 

[saidiadude2]

I would like to see an Adventure version as well but I would be surprised if they released one for 2021. Toyota would have announced it at the reveal to get max exposure.

While we are creating a wishlist, I would love to see a version along the lines of a high roof, longer wheel base, mini-motorhome ala Sprinter but at a reasonable price.

Unfortunately, I don't think either will happen soon.

 

[Psabby]

Just curious, but what do you think a gas V6 would offer over the hybrid? The previous-gen Sienna and it's 3.5l V6 had more horsepower, but the hybrid setup on the 2021 gives more torque.

This van needs more power, not less.

 

[Pappy]

We’ll see how well the hybrid sienna perform soon.

 

[KGT]

I just thought of something. Uber is supposed to be using these new Siennas in 2021 for self-driving. Self-driving tech currently uses a lot of power, which is why Waymo/Google uses the Pacifica PHEV and Uber is currently using the Volvo XC90 PHEV.
Both have much larger battery packs (more than 10kwh) than any regular Toyota Hybrid. Toyota regular hybrids have battery packs less than 2kwh.

This would infer that Toyota MUST step it up with a large battery pack for the Sienna Hybrid, if only to support Uber's self driving efforts. This bodes well for a Prime version of the Sienna next year. I don't think Toyota will come out and say this, because they do not want to cannibalize sales of the new regular hybrid Sienna.

Any opinions on this?


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[Geezer1]

Self-driving tech currently uses a lot of power,

Does it really? Toyota has for some years sold vehicles that can accelerate, brake and steer on their own and have electric air conditioner compressors, electric power steering and electric brake boosters. The microprocessors needed for full self driving might not draw all that much more power.

I'm giving up on trying to get my wife into a 2021 Sienna hybrid. She might reluctantly agree to it but she thinks our current Sienna is too big for her to handle and I don't want to deal with her griping. She was planning to buy a 2021 RAV4 Prime PHEV to replace her 2012 Prius v but she'd much rather have the new Venza hybrid after I showed her videos and articles about it. The plan now is to wait a year or so to see if a PHEV Venza becomes available. If not, she might buy a "regular" Venza hybrid or maybe other PHEV's or longer range EV's will become available by then.

It's not as if we "need" to buy new vehicles anyway. We're not going anywhere until the COVID-19 infection rate gets to near zero. Her Prius has been driven less than 10 miles since February and the Sienna has been driven only once since March 14 and that was to run it in a circle around our cul-de-sac to prevent its tires from flat spotting. I'm not even going to install the summer wheels and tires this year on our vehicles.

 

[KGT]

Does it really? Toyota has for some years sold vehicles that can accelerate, brake and steer on their own and have electric air conditioner compressors, electric power steering and electric brake boosters. The microprocessors needed for full self driving might not draw all that much more power.

I was mentioning about fully autonomous driving, where the car starts out with no driver and comes home with no driver, while acting as an Uber driver all day. These systems use multiple lidar, radar, and camera systems, along with high power processors capable of deep learning. It's an order of magnitude different than any current Toyota safety sensing or smart cruise control. A few years ago, these systems were using up to 4000 watts to keep the processors and all the sensors working. Today, I believe the best systems may be using a little less than half of that. Even at 1500 watts, that is quite a large continuous electrical load on a vehicle. I may very well be wrong, but I can't see a normal hybrid Siennas small battery being able to handle and buffer that load, along with powering the motion of the vehicle and all accessories.
Anyway, my reasoning is all a best guess, and there's still a lot to be known about the new hybrid Sienna.

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[adksienna]

The press release noted there will be an optional 1500 Watt inverter available for the 2021. Maybe they have already stepped up the charging/battery capacity.