2018 Toyota Sienna Review
Pros & Cons
- Refined ride quality imparts comfort and confidence
- V6 provides class-leading acceleration
- Still the only minivan to offer all-wheel drive
- Second-row seats are bulky, heavy and awkward to remove
- Offers fewer features than some newer competitors
Other years
Get More For Your Trade-In
2018 Toyota Sienna appraisal values can range from $19,379 - $24,233.
Find out what your car is really worth in minutes.
Which Sienna does Edmunds recommend?
Although a midgrade model, the Sienna LE has most of the minivan essentials (tri-zone climate control, power driver seat and easy-clean fabric upholstery) and optional all-wheel drive. But unless you absolutely need wet-weather capability, go for the SE. It has worthwhile upgrades, such as sportier styling, leather upholstery, a power liftgate and firmer suspension tuning. The latter makes the SE the best-handling Sienna. There is a small trade-off in ride quality, but we prefer the SE's more in-control feel.
Edmunds' Expert Review
Driving
7.0A strong V6 makes the Sienna the quickest minivan on the market. The engine isn't terribly responsive in normal driving, and ample body roll reveals itself on curvy roads, but most minivan drivers should find it tolerable.
Comfort
7.5The seats are initially comfortable and supportive, but long stints reveal pressure points. The ride is serene, though considerable levels of road and wind noise disrupt an otherwise relaxed experience. The climate controls work well to keep the entire cabin at a pleasant temperature.
Interior
7.5The Sienna offers great visibility and, unsurprisingly for a minivan, excellent points of entry and exit for all seats. There's a surprising lack of headroom in the second and third rows due to the tapered roofline, but the most egregious oversight has to be the Sienna's poorly arranged controls.
Utility
8.0The Sienna's cargo capacity behind the third row is expansive. The power-folding seat controls are located on a panel just below the top of the hatch; it's easy to knock your forehead against it while loading cargo. The front door pockets are low and hard to reach.
Technology
6.0The user interface is intuitive, although the touchscreen interface is unappealing. Upgrades such as more USB ports and standard driver safety features for 2018 are welcome.
Scorecard
| Overall | 7.1 / 10 |
| Driving | 7.0 |
| Comfort | 7.5 |
| Interior | 7.5 |
| Utility | 8.0 |
| Technology | 6.0 |
Consumer reviews
Read what other owners think about the Used 2018 Toyota Sienna.
Most helpful consumer reviews
Royals4630,05/31/2019
XLE 8-Passenger 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
I have owned a Honda Odyssey, Dodge Grand Caravan, and now the Toyota Sienna. The Sienna definitely has some quirks that take getting used to.
1) the new drive train they installed in the 2018+ is good and bad. The engine has plenty of high end power and will have no problem getting you up to speed. The engine how is not torquey like most Toyota engines but when paired with the new transmission, it can be a bit annoying. People think their 2018 Sienna is not shifting right when they hit the gas, there is a delay, then a downshift or abrupt take off. This is just the design and is something you need to get used to.
2) The infotainment is pretty bad. Trying get Scout GPS to work all of the time and connect your phone is problematic at times. You do get used to what works and what doesn't but out of the box it is cumbersome.
While those seem like deal breakers to some, they aren't for me. My 2012 Odyssey blew out its transmission at 100k miles, my 2017 Grand Caravan needed new lifters, injectors, and new struts by 30k miles. It was all under warranty but crazy it needed that much work. I buy all my vehicles a year or two old from reputable dealers. The Odyssey I felt went before it should of but I did get at least a decent run out of it. My caravan was just a hot steamy pile of garbage. That brings me to my Sienna. It is reliable, it is strong, and it is problem free. I will gladly take some quirks that take getting used to in favor of having a problem free van that I can keep for the long haul. So many vehicles out there remind me modern Range Rovers. So perfectly functional and nice in the beginning, then you spend the following years pouring in money for maintenance. Do yourself a favor and get a Sienna not because it is better than the Pacifica or Odyssey, but because it will give you far less problems and never let you down.
A. L. Campbell,05/23/2018
Limited Premium 7-Passenger 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
This is our 2nd Sienna Van. The 2018 model is a great, good solid van, but miss all the nooks/crannies our 2010 had for storage, big drawback...it had door arm rests that lifted up for storage within, it also had a smaller console for nick nacks, and this new model has no extra storage spaces like that, and none under the 3rd row seats when the seats are in the down position. The a/c is not powerful enough. The driver’s vent can’t be positioned directly on you. The turning radius is even better than our previous van. The rear window is a bit smaller though, so we bought one of those panoramic rear view mirrors to help see what is around us. That helps a lot. The front seat head rests are set at a very uncomfortable, awkward angle, especially for long drives. We recently took a total of a 22 hour drive, by the end my neck was in total spasms. All the new safety features are a big plus. Absolutely, not a fan of the black carpet. We ended up removing the black floor mats and replaced them with grey rubber mats (Weathertech) that hide the dirt better and are easier to clean. The center console is too deep, plus the black interior of the console make it difficult to find things. We ended up using tall, white plastic cups to store things in them, then labelling the cups. All-in-all, we are pleased with our 2018 Sienna Limited Premium, Toyota makes great cars, but there is room for improvement. I’ve been buying Toyota’s for 45 years!!! Sure do wish the Hybrid was available when we bought this one...SAD!!! They we’re available the year after our purchase. ☹️
P.S. When we drove off the lot with this van we didn’t notice it was missing the roof rail crossbars. We confronted the dealer about it later. You would think a top of the line Toyota Sienna Limited Premium that costs almost $50,000 would have the crossbars included!!! I had a nice in person discussion with the manager of the dealership’s Internet Sales. She was kind enough to agree to add the roof crossbars at no charge.
Our biggest gripes are...
-The a/c vent for the driver’s side can’t be directed on the driver
-Toyota needs to bring back the many storage areas the 2010 model had
-More storage is needed under the rear seat when in the flat position
-Positioning of the front seat head rests need to be redesigned…they are terrible
-Sometimes the second row seats get stuck in a jammed position
-There is no hook to hold a trash container like there was on the 2010 model
-The center console needs to be redesigned as it is too deep and dark
John Egan,04/17/2018
XLE 8-Passenger 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
Writing this review 3 months and 3500 miles into owning a 2018 Sienna XLE. I am very impressed with the safety features. In fact the automatic assist braking helped save me from an accident when the vehicle in front of me came to a sudden stop on the highway because they missed their exit! The radar proximity alarm sounded and brakes were applied before I realized that the car in front of me was coming to a complete stop, without any cars in front of it. Lots of compliment son the comfort of the interior, especially the seats. I live in Florida, but ended up buying the car in Virginia, because apparently Toyota is separated into three regions: Southeast, Gulf Coast, and everything else. The Sienna was about $3k less in Virginia than in FL. Well worth the drive! I wish Toyota would have have rounded dials for the air conditioner, similar to an ipod, rather than push buttons. You have to look down each time to adjust the buttons. If you had a dial, you could spin it without having to look down. I hate Toyotas Ensuite. I wish I could have bought the car without it. Your phone is more powerful than anything Toyota can provide. I dont think any car company has grasped this yet. Overall I am very happy with the purchase, esp considering the great price I got for it. The Odyssey was its biggest competition, but the 2018 Sienna seemed like a better value; and I can confidently say that I made the right decision.
KAvery,11/13/2018
LE 7-Passenger 4dr Minivan AWD (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
We love Toyotas, but this is my second Sienna. First was a 2007. Loved it, but had a lot of miles on it. Purchased the 2018, and was so happy driving off the lot. My hubby had a 2017 Rav4. Love it too! Almost immediately had problems with the Sienna. When I have slowed to make a turn, then accelerate, I get a hesitation with a whip-lash effect that is dangerous! At first the dealership didn't have any answer as to what was causing the problem. Now I am told that the problem is "the throttle by wire design in vehicle and the vehicle trying to select the proper gear when you go full throttle from stop or driving down the road." This is DANGEROUS when you don't have control of your accelerator!!! I also have to keep the key turned much longer than I have ever had to with any vehicle that I have ever owned. Dealership says that this is normal. MPG was anywhere from 15-16, but bumped up to 18 during the summer when the gas changed. On long highway trip, did go over 23 MPG. My old Sienna did much better. Scout GPS stinks! Doesn't show a picture of a road, just arrows! And not reliable either! The sliding doors squeal frequently, and when I take it into the dealership to be greased, it comes back, the paperwork showing that the problem could not be duplicated. But the doors still squeal. There are also times when my passenger front seat airbag indicator is not working properly when I have a passenger. It shows that the airbag is not on. I have also had this checked several times. The center dash screen also dims at times when the headlights go on when it is raining during the day, and I can't see what is showing on the screen. It was repaired once, and it reverted back to it recently after a recent download of some sort. Now the customer service man said that there is no such setting to adjust. I had to go find my old paperwork and now will have to go and call and have him look up to show him that I am not making things up. When they had to do the recent download, they told me it took the shop guy 8 tries to get the download to work. If this vehicle weren't under warranty, I can only imagine what that bill would have been!!! And I have never been in the Toyota dealership with a vehicle as much as I have been with this 2018 Sienna!
Safety
Our experts like the Sienna models:
- Pre-Collision System
- Mitigates or helps avoid a potential crash via audio and visual alerts and brake assistance.
- Lane Departure Alert
- Sounds an audio alert when you unintentionally start to drift out of your lane.
- Automatic High Beams
- Switches on and off the headlights' high beams when the system deems appropriate.