The middle seats shouldn’t be removed because they have airbags inside of them. You will void the warranty if you remove them. Get the XLE better. The XLE is your best choice.

 

If I could get the XLE without the glass roof, that's what I'd do, but the extreme hot summer weather here makes any kind of glass roof in a car very undesirable.

 

Ignore him Laura-Ann. He thinks everyone should buy the most expensive, fully loaded vehicle you can, and we should all only buy brand new.
We cant all afford top of the line, and not all of us wants that, or needs it.
Removing the seats does void your warranty. Not sure where people get that idea but its not true.
You can remove them but you will trip a light on the dash unless you buy a dummy plug to bypass it.
I dont profess to know much about it but from what little I did, it isnt that big of a deal. Its called Brads Hacks, airbag dongle. Do a search on this forum to see what others think of it.

The seats you are talking about are called long slide captain seats. Probably not interchangeable and yes, it looks like only on higher trim models.
Hopefully someone else who knows for sure can chime in.
I'd say confirm the airbag disable thing is something you are ok with, and if you are ok with removing the middle seat and saving $5000 or more, go for it.
Get what you want and what works for you and your family, and not what someone else is telling you to get.

 

Ignore him Laura-Ann. He thinks everyone should buy the most expensive, fully loaded vehicle you can, and we should all only buy brand new.
We cant all afford top of the line, and not all of us wants that, or needs it.
Removing the seats does void your warranty. Not sure where people get that idea but its not true.
You can remove them but you will trip a light on the dash unless you buy a dummy plug to bypass it.
I dont profess to know much about it but from what little I did, it isnt that big of a deal. Its called Brads Hacks, airbag dongle. Do a search on this forum to see what others think of it.

The seats you are talking about are called long slide captain seats. Probably not interchangeable and yes, it looks like only on higher trim models.
Hopefully someone else who knows for sure can chime in.
I'd say confirm the airbag disable thing is something you are ok with, and if you are ok with removing the middle seat and saving $5000 or more, go for it.
Get what you want and what works for you and your family, and not what someone else is telling you to get.

I never suggested that everyone should buy a fully loaded Sienna or the most expensive trim Sienna. Also, if you look at the brand new prices on all trims and compare them with the used prices, the price difference isn’t much. The only reason why I recommend buying brand new is only because the used car prices for the Sienna on all trim levels is not much of a difference than the price of a new Sienna. Wouldn’t it be more logical to buy new with zero miles on the vehicle if the new price is a few grand more than buying used?

 

but I'll have to pay $5,000 more for the vehicle to get them, and I'll be forced to accept a feature that I absolutely don't want

Get the XLE better. The XLE is your best choice.

She said she doesnt want to drop another $5k but you said get it.
This isnt telling her to get something she doesnt want?

 

The only reason that I recommended her the XLE was because she didn’t like something about the LE. It was because the middle seats didn’t go back far enough to fit a wheelchair in the LE and she mentioned the XLE as an option because the middle seats in the XLE go back further to fit the wheel chair. But then she wasn’t sure about the XLE either because of the sunroof giving off too much heat inside the vehicle during the summertime. I mentioned to her that the sunroof has a sun shade that she can use to cover the glass so it doesn’t get hot in the vehicle. The sunroof shade should be adequate enough to keep the sun from going through the glass roof. Plus she can use the air conditioning in the summer to keep cool. You cannot survive in any vehicle without air conditioning during the summer time. That’s a given.

Between the two trims, she felt stuck with the LE because it didn’t have the space that she needed for the wheelchair. So I suggested her to not feel stuck with getting the LE and I suggested her to get the XLE instead. I don’t know what it is with some people, but if they don’t like one particular trim but like another particular trim instead, then they should choose the trim that they like the most which offers them the most. Also, is a +$5,000 price difference really a big deal for someone to get the trim that gives them the space or the options that they need?

This particular vehicle already costs around $50k to begin with. If spending an extra +$5,000 more for it is such a big deal to get the trim that has more space to fit the wheelchair, then this tells me that she cannot afford this vehicle to begin with even with the LE trim. I’m sorry but spending an extra +$5,000 on this particular vehicle in order to get what is needed for space or for any other options that one needs in it shouldn’t be a big deal or a deal breaker. The payments would only be an extra $100 per month for $5,000. Maybe she should be looking at the brand new Honda Odyssey instead where she can get $4,000+ off the MSRP price of the Odyssey. The local Honda dealer in my area has 9 brand new 2025 Honda Odyssey vehicles sitting on their lot that are all unsold. I’m sure that she can get $4,000 to $5,000 off the price on the Odyssey if she doesn’t want to spend the extra $5,000 to get the Sienna XLE. This would be the best solution for her if she cannot afford the extra $100 payment per month for the extra $5,000 for the Sienna XLE.

 

Maybe a different wheelchair would make more sense

 

I doubt that a different wheelchair will fit inside the Sienna. She’s better off getting the Honda Odyssey which she can remove the middle seats entirely so she can fit the wheelchair inside the vehicle.

 

Get an LE, and get rid of middle seats. Push comes to shove, if/when you need them back, you should be able to buy them. Hopefully, it will be few years from now and there will be plenty to pick out from cheap. I am sure it will be cheaper than $5K.

 

Toyotas usually don't leak. Sunroof on my 20 year old 4runner doesn't leak. The sun shade keeps the heat out and I really don't notice a difference. Sometimes the less stuff the easier it is to fix and clean. I also like fabric seats. I only regret not getting the XSE because that one actually has some handling improvements. I like my Audio system in the XLE, that's pretty important to me and I do use the sunroof sometimes. You'll get more money for an XLE if you ever sell it. Automatic parking brakes are nice.

 

I had a 2017 Sienna that I liked. The seats slid forward and back and were easily removed, leaving a huge space in the middle. We sold it because the payments were too high. I've thought about another used one but would probably go with the stow and go seats on the Grand Caravan or Pacifica because of the ease of making the seats disappear without having to store them. It you're open to buying a used van there are many options.

 

I concur. The feature in finding most useful in my new 2025 XLE is the automatic high beams that kick on and off automtically. I have a 2012 XLE and the sunroof has never leaked. Here’s another consideration: you’ll be waiting a while for that LE. Sienna’s are not like once were: it took me close to 3 months to get my XLE in, I’m hearing close to a year for the LE’s. All the lines except the XLE have longer waits. If I may ask, why is the rear out of the question?

 

We purchased a 2022 LE and traded for a 2023 XLE. While we enjoy the moonroof, I don’t care for the softex seats on the XLE. The main complaints I had for the LE were the lack of lumbar support and no integrated garage door opener. I did not notice a difference in how far the middle row would slide backwards. I want to say they are the same.

 

When we decided to replace our 2000 Sienna (which we probably should have kept) I ruled out the new Siennas due to their butt-ugly front end and total lack of ground clearance. Then I found out about the lift kits and decided to pursue a new Sienna despite the ugly grill. As I learned more about the new models I knew that only an LE would work since we dislike leather or leatherette seats. Cloth seats are the most comfortable for us. I also didn't like the idea of the non-removable center seats until I discovered the Brads Hacks dongle and simply accepted the fact that I would have to figure out how to cover the seat trollies. Seems like nearly a year went by and all I was seeing were very dark colored vans with very dark interiors. That's a turn off. Then before taking a spin to a nearby town I checked the local Toyota dealer website and saw 2 Siennas for sale. We stopped on the way and saw one in the lot. The other had just sold. We immediately agreed this year-old low mileage 2022 silver AWD Sienna LE was going home that night. I made it more expensive by installing a 2" lift and a spare tire. When it got home I removed the non-removable seats, plugged in the dongle and covered the trollies. MPG is great. With the rear seats folded down we have 4'x8' sheet goods capacity. Now I hope we get 20 more years and many hundreds of thousand miles of dependable drive time.

 

Congratulations on the find. They’re rare. Where are you stowing the spare? We had to give up the 8th seat to get the spare (it‘s storage is in the rear corner panel). The 2025‘s seem a lot higher than the 2012 it’s replacing (which is now my car). The 2012 Is silver so my wife decided to go with a midnight blue, which is really dark. So now we have 2 Siennas… (I didn’t keep it for any other reason that I expected it to last longer than my 2011 Nissan Cube even though the Cube had 50k less mileage plus my wife will actually drive it.) I WFH, so the car gets driven maybe once a month). Funny how you hated the grill, my exterior turn off was the foo manchu tail lights.. I thought they were gone but on a dark car they’re not noticable. Best of luck with it.

 

Our new Sienna was the dealer rental for those who were getting their car serviced. The dealer tinted the front driver/passenger windows to match the tinted rear side windows, installed all-weather floor mats and front seat heaters. Also applied clear film to the front end to prevent rock chips. I popped for the spare tire interior panel and a jack. The spare tire is a high pressure compact. It's a nice clean set up. Our new German Shepherd loves riding on the back seat.

 

I think that’s one of the reasons my Cube lasted so long. It was a runner/loaner for the dealer. Everyone else I know with a Cube had tranny problems at 50-75k miles. Mine was fine. Good luck with your car. We bought the weather proof mats and I want the dash cam and wife has vetoed so far.

 

So, the most viable solution is a minivan. There are only 4 models left in the US market - the Sienna, the Odyssey, the Carnival, and the Pacifica, and the Sienna....

There are a couple of other van options to explore: GMC Savannah, Chevy Express, Ford Transit and the much more expensive Mercedes Sprinter (gas or EV), Ford e-Transit, and Ram ProMaster EV.

These are marketed primarily as cargo panel vans but some (or all?) also come in passenger van versions.

These are limited production vehicles so you may have a hard time finding one to test drive and might require a special order. They are lightly reviewed but some digging might yield an attractive alternative. Here's a little info on couple of examples:

2025 Ford Transit Review, Pricing, and Specs

The full-size Transit van has relaxed handling and easy maneuverability, and it can be outfitted to carry cargo, tools, or people.

www.caranddriver.com

2025 Chevrolet Express Review, Pricing, and Specs

The aging Chevy Express van may be quaint by today's standards, but it gets the job done.

www.caranddriver.com

2025 GMC Savana Review, Pricing, and Specs

The affordable, old-school Savana heads for retirement at the end of this year after a very long life.

www.caranddriver.com

 

Larger alternatives are something to consider. Of those you listed, the Promaster is by far the most popular. It's relatively cheap to buy and maintain (although not particularly reliable long term). It is also the widest which is very important for a camper conversion. However, most of the vans listed are too tall to fit in a standard garage is a nonstarter for me. You left out the Metris. Although it is no longer in production, they were such slow sellers due to the high price a few new or very low mileage units are still out there. The Sprinter is the most expensive van to buy and maintain long term and also relatively unreliable. (In spite of the rabid following they have.)

 

After dealing with wheelchairs for the last 30 years, I recommend buying a used wheelchair minivan. If you want the wheelchair bound person to be able to ride next to the driver, buy a manual side entry. The downside to a side entry is you need at least 8 feet of space to the right of the van to get the wheelchair into the van. If you don’t mind having the wheelchair bound person riding behind the driver, buy a manual rear entry. The rear entry van can use any parking spot except a spot requiring parallel parking.

A wheelchair minivan has the ramp built in so no ramp to store. Since you are worried about the sun roof have bright white car wrap installed on top of the sunroof glass.

I am currently driving a rear entry 2024 Sienna.

 

Laura-Ann C, not sure where you are at financial wise purchasing a handicap accessible van, and not sure it is my place to say, but DaTank, who is a member of this forum, advised a couple of weeks ago??? that he was selling his 2022 Sienna with a handicap package. You may want to reach out to him for more details.
On another note, in retrospect if I could go back in time, I would have purchased an Sienna LE instead of the XLE and built it out the way it should have been instead of Toyota's way. I much prefer cloth seats over the softex and would prefer no sunroof and manual opening doors - van has already been in the shop due to the rear hatch getting stuck while opening. But a leather wrapped steering wheel was a must which starts on the XLE and all the other bells and whistles sure sounded good.

 

My choice of XLE over LE was the inclusion of parking sensors and rear cross braking (not sure if they are std on LE in latest models, but were not in 2023). A big vehicle can be nasty to parallel park, so they are needed, not really optional in modern cars. Can't retrofit, I believe. Once you ding the LE parking, you may as well have gone for the XLE.

 

Backup camera is the only thing I need for tough parallel parking spots. The front I can gauge pretty well. Rear cross traffic is standard on 24 models. But I turn off all that when I get in the van

 

You’re better off getting the hybrid Sienna. You will save lots of money on gas.

 

Carnival has a brand-new powertrain for 2025, which means there's no history as to how reliable it is (or isn't)

From what I've read of the actual driving experience of the Carnival hybrid, it's a freak show. You have the following complications:

• The turbo, whether you're on boost or not, affecting power delivery
• The hybrid system affecting power delivery
• The conventional automatic transmission gear-hunting and affecting power delivery

I would not want to experience it. Nor am I particularly fond of Kia's reputation for reliability in engines, transmissions, or especially turbocharged engines. Then there's the ongoing ICCU issues on the Kia/Hyundai EVs so I have some concerns with regards to their high-voltage electronics...