It was finally time for my wife to part with her beloved 2010 black Sienna LE with 235K on it. We were on a waiting list for a black 2022 XSE for 9 months, and finally got ours 2 months ago. Ours came with the entertainment package; we didn't want it but didn't have a choice unless we were willing to wait for one without.
Due to the demand for these vehicles and relative praise they received, my expectations for this vehicle experience was very high, not to mention that it was our first time ever owning a brand new car in my 30 years of owning cars. My initial expectations were probably too high.
We have loved our 2010 over the years, so I have a good basis for comparsion.
Things in it I really like or may have exceeded my expectations:
Things that met my expectations, didn't particularly disappoint or wow me.
Things that are, at least so far, a disappointment:
These are my experiences after two months. If anyone has any comments or suggestions on the above, would like to know your thoughts.
Due to the demand for these vehicles and relative praise they received, my expectations for this vehicle experience was very high, not to mention that it was our first time ever owning a brand new car in my 30 years of owning cars. My initial expectations were probably too high.
We have loved our 2010 over the years, so I have a good basis for comparsion.
Things in it I really like or may have exceeded my expectations:
- Automatic high beams- don't think I will get another car without it. Never use high beams in our other cars because I too often forget to turn them off for opposing traffic.
- Dynamic cruise control- the three distance settings are also a lot more useful than I would have expected
- Seat upholstery- love the material used in the XSE; looks great, is very comfortable and is easy to clean
- Kick sensors to open trunk and side doors- major convenience for us, as we snowboard every weekend for three months and have our hands full at the end of the day. While I can get the trunk to open fairly reliably, closing is a lot more finicky, when unloading the trunk.
- EV mode- I like how quiet it is, but the conditions where it can be enabled are so uncommon that it feels more like a gimmick than a real fuel saver. Not done evaluating it, willing to accept my view may change over time with more experience.
- Sport/Normal/ECO mode- I barely notice any difference between the three modes, whether driving highway or local; we just leave it in ECO
- Ignition- for the first month this was a negative for me. Because the engine doesn't start right away, it was confusing; is the car ready to drive or not? I've gotten used to looking for the 'READY' light on the dashboard so not as much of an annoyance anymore. I do however still have the opposite problem- I sometimes forget to turn the car off when parked because it switched to EV mode on the way to the spot, making me think the car was already off.
- Jury not out yet for me on the center console, as to whether I like our lower 2010 console which made things feel more open- or the higher new one. Perhaps over time I'll like it better.
- Mirror blind spot indicator- I think my expectations might have been too high for this feature. It works fine and as designed, but doesn't make changing lanes as effortless as I had anticipated.
Things that are, at least so far, a disappointment:
- Remote start- this has been a major letdown so far. It simply does not work reliably. After lots of practice, I still need to try three or four times to get it to work with the key fob, starting with all doors locked. I really also don't like that you need to observe the tail / mirror light flashing patterns to know if the start actually worked. Seems that you need to be within 30 feet of the car for it to work at all.
By comparison, I can start my 2018 Ford Fusion while sitting on a moving train coming into the station from at least 120 feet away- and I know when it has started because the key fob itself lights a green indicator upon success. The button presses themselves are also much simpler to execute. Even our 2012 F150's remote start works super reliably and from a long distance.
Remote start is an important feature for us because we regularly need to start the car in sub freezing temps throughout the winter to warm it up before the family boards.
I'd love to know how this was implemented this so poorly on a current generation vehicle.
-and don't get me started on the connect services (toyota phone app). That also never works the first time, even after remembering to completely lock the vehicle first. Incomprehensible that this requires a pay-for subscription. - Multiple seat position memory- my 2018 Fusion Titanium has this feature, allowing multiple settings. I was very surprised to find out the XSE trim level doesn't, given Sienna is a more family oriented vehicle.
- Entertainment system- beautiful display that folds down from the ceiling, set at a perfect viewing position for all rear passengers. Pretty close to zero practical use for it. IPhones cannot natively screen cast to it without some type of wired connection and adapter. Without an internet connection, which is 90% of our regular trips because we don't have a consistent hotspot signal, nothing to stream to it. Our kids can download movies ahead of time from our streaming services to their IPads, but then- why not view on those screens?
- Strangely un-useful alerts- last month on a below freezing day after snow, upon starting the car an audible and visual alert popped up advising me to be careful- the roads may be icy. Same alert pops up at seemingly random times, like over the weekend when it was sunny, dry and 45 degrees out during mid-day. That takes it from not useful to annoying in a hurry.
These are my experiences after two months. If anyone has any comments or suggestions on the above, would like to know your thoughts.
. I am gonna go on my usual suggestion. 
