This is the All Wheel Drive, and the 7 passenger. "I think", if you get the AWD, then it has to be 7 passenger, of course, this can change any time. I like the 7 passenger. I really dont need seats for 8, and the 8th seat (between the center seats), is nice for it to be gone, because you can walk or store stuff between the center row seats.
Sienna's are rare, and I have only seen one other Sienna for sale. (It was a 2023 white Platinum). I think the XLE is the sweet spot, best value. It has the softex seats, and heated seats.
You can only get heated steering wheel in higher levels, tho. Im just not impressed with fancy wheels, or speakers. And, one person at the car wash said the "fold down" dvd player on her Platinum Sienna was awful. She said she could not get it to play anything, so she bought a portable dvd player. If Toyota does not fix this dvd player system, the they wont sell many Platinum's.
The XLE has power seats, includes power doors.
The downside to the Sienna is that the "foot activated" side and rear door never works for me. I wish I would not have bought it had I know its very glitchy. This said, no biggie.
Incidently, I saw a Utube race between 2016 Sienna V6 and a 2021 Sienna Hybrid. It was 1/4 mile. The 4 cylinder hybrid beat the V6 by 3 car lengths. To do this, you need it in SPORT mode, not ECO.
Further, a big complaint was you cant remove the second row seats. While that isnt even completely true, (You can remove the center seats, but need to unplug battery first so you dont discharge the airbags). And, when you re hook up the battery after removing the seats, you will likely get a light on your dash about the airbag. But, if you have to remove them, go ahead, even tho Toyota says not to do it. Im sure thats to cover their hiney, because if you dont unplug the battery you can discharge the airbags and this would cost you a bunch of money to fix.
I never had a problem with space even with the second row seats in. You push the seats way up, way back or even fold them toward front seats. For most purposes, this works well, as the center row seats slide probaby 24 inches, whch gives "living room" style room. Its very practical.
My complaints with the 2023 Sienna are: Infotainment. Finicky, like a cat. Works sometimes, sometimes not. Apple car play connects sometimes, even with a good cord connecting the phone to the car. Hands free door openers are also very, very finicky, even worse than the infotainment. I dont think I have been able to get my infotainment system to "call Rhonda" one time. I think Toyota has updated software, but they would rather we push buttons on our phone to make phone calls, wreck the car, and buy a new one.
The Pros are: Great gas mileage, lots of room, comfortable, mostly quiet (except when hard acceleration). Great sound. Looks great, runs great, VERY practical. Very flexible on the cargo/seat adjustments. Lots of storage and cupholders. Nice usable storage, such as sunglasses on a small shelf by driver. Several places to put your phone, too. Smooth. Well thought out interior, for example, a place to hang trash bag. The screen you pull up to keep the sun out of your eyes is great, too. Safety features work well: Adaptive cruse control, lane change Forward collision warning. It checks all my boxes!
