Just when the hysteria over unintended acceleration died down for lack of any evidence, Toyota has a real problem on its hands...a huge recall of a million and a half vehicles worldwide for brake fluid and fuel pump issues.
All too often, advertising is better than the product.
The advertising is great. I love the whole "Swagger Wagon", "Mommy Like" and "Daddy Like" thing.
The product is better.
You see, to me, minivan haters have it wrong. At least from a standpoint of timing. 15 years ago, minivans were dreadful. The original Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth vans were expanding...and not gracefully. GM and Ford didn't have a clue and the Japanese were trying to be unique...and succeeding all too well. That would have been the time to rebel against them.
But now? There are some very, very good minivans out there. And the new Sienna is at the top of the list.
I had three different trim levels of Sienna over the summer. There are five. But the Swagger Wagons on loan to TireKicker were the one-step-up-from-base LE, the next-step SE and the top-of-the-line Limited.
The Limited? Well, let's just say that exposure to it caused one die-hard minivan-hater I know to go into a spasm of "Oh my God"s...and in a good way. Reclining captains chairs with footrests in the second row with which to enjoy the split screen entertainment system will do that to you. And the Limited is decked out very nicely. It's the Lexus of minivans. And ours had the $4,025 LTD Premium package.
Base price? $39,770. As tested? $45,890.
Yeah...that's a lot for a minivan. But it's good enough that if I was looking at family vehicles (SUVs, wagons, minivans) with a max budget of $50,000 (have you priced vehicles that seat seven lately), I'd pop for the Sienna Limited in a heartbeat.
But if you listen to your inner CPA, stepping down to the SE is by no means trading riches for rags. It's a wonderfully solid piece, with the same engine and transmission as the Limited, but less weight, resulting in a boost from 16 miles per gallon city, 22 highway to 18/24. And it's hard to argue with the savings...base price drops to $30,550 and our tester topped out at $33,518.
However, my favorite (no surprise to regular TireKicker readers) was the second-from-base LE. The 3.5 liter V6 is replaced by a 2.7 liter 4-cylinder which is more than adequate and bumps the EPA numbers up to 19/24. Base price drops down to $25,345 (ours had the LE Preferred Package, adding power sliding doors and driver's seat, backup camera, sunshades, upgraded audio system and Bluetooth) and the as-tested was $29,703.
Well-equipped minivans under $30K are not everyday things. But then, neither is the Sienna. I'd happily make the LE my daily driver.
The Feds aren't going out of their way to talk about it, but the Wall Street Journal says after analyzing dozens of alleged unintended acceleration incidents, the U.S. Department of Transportation has found that the drivers were standing on the gas and never applied the brake.
The only exception...the San Diego area Lexus crash that killed a California Highway Patrolman and his family. In that one, the gas pedal was trapped under a floormat.
All that bulk goes straight to the driving experience. As Casey Kasem said in his most famous outtake, "Ponderous, man...ponderous". 270 horsepower feels no more than adequate in overcoming the inertia of this 4400 pound machine...and the EPA estimate of 17 city/22 highway? Let me know when you see that, okay? Here at TireKicker, we get surprisingly close to, and on occasion exceed EPA estimates...but the best this one would do for us was 16 in a mix of urban streets and freeways. Without the freeways, 13-point-something or 14 would have been about it.
Even the interior is set up to convey size, heft, bulk...almost as though the idea were to transform the 4Runner into a junior version of the Land Cruiser. But we like the Land Cruiser....mainly because it is what it's supposed to be. Oh, and its EPA is 13 city/18 highway...which is about all the 4Runner will do, based on our week's test.
Ours was the SR5 4X4...base price a reasonable $30,915...optioned with an audio system upgrade ($585), backup camera (a necessity in this vehicle at $525), a convenience package including moonroof plus front and rear AC power outlets ($1050), leather and power sliding rear seats with extra airbags ($3570) and floor mats and cargo mats ($204). With $800 for destination charges, the bottom line was $37,649.
Not outrageous for this level of equipment. If it had been on the '09 4Runner, I wouldn't have batted an eye. But this strikes me as a chunk of change for a vehicle that appears to be going the wrong direction at the wrong time.
A four-cylinder Highlander would have been considered a great leap backwards just a couple of years ago. Now it looks like an inspired move.
187 horsepower turns out to be adequate to move this mid-size SUV, and the resulting gas mileage (20 city/27 highway) is nearly identical to the much smaller 6-cylinder RAV4, which gets 21 city/27 highway.
Not only that, but the 4-cylinder Highlander I drove for a week was optioned sensibly (upgraded audio system, cold weather package, convenience package, manual rear air conditioning, the third row seat package, the towing prep package, cargo and floor mats and a tow hitch with wiring harness added less than $4,000 to the $25,705 base price)...resulting in a bottom line 2 grand lower than the V6 RAV 4.
More SUV...less money...essentially the same gas mileage. In this economy, that sounds like a strong package.
UPDATE: The polar opposite of the brilliance of the 4-cylinder Toyota Highlander is the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Seven miles more per gallon in the city, true...but two fewer on the highway (27 city/25 highway)...with a base price $16,000 higher. That's right...the starting price is $41,020. And Toyota loaded our tester with enough options to hit $49,086 (an Extra Value Package discount brought the final number down to $48,386).
That's 20 grand more for the same vehicle with a different powerplant, a higher trim level and more options. As with so many hybrids, the Highlander is fine to drive, makes you feel good about your relationship to the environment and all that....but can't win the value argument.
When I wrote the first drive impressions of the 2011 Ford Fiesta and promised a full review soon, I had no idea that TireKicker would be taking an unexpected two week vacation...but we did and now we're back and item one has to be to fill in the blanks left by the early look at this very significant car for Ford.
The basic first impressions (a quantum leap forward for American small cars, a serious threat to future Focus sales until we get the Euro-spec model of the Fiesta's bigger brother) all hold true.
But I see I used the word "roomy". I was so eager to get behind the wheel that I neglected to sit in the back seat. After I posted the first drive, my 5 foot 11 son sat back there...or tried to. It wasn't pleasant. And it wasn't much better for my 5 foot 4 daughter. That large trunk that I mentioned came at the expense of rear seat legroom. And while none of the cars in this class (Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Chevy Aveo) are limos, some of them...especially the Yaris and Versa...are better.
Coincidentally, I had a Yaris sedan the same week, and was able to drive them back-to-back. While the Fiesta dazzled with its newness, edginess and content, the Yaris had more rear and front-seat comfort, a quieter cabin and a smoother ride. And it was a few hundred dollars cheaper, too...staying under $19,000 ( The Yaris had the Sport package, a $3500 option that adds alloy wheels, spoilers, foglamps, leather trimming, power everything and an upgraded audio system) while the as-tested price of the Fiesta hit $19,600 (base for the SEL sedan is $16,320).
Gas mileage was a wash....the Yaris delivering 32 miles per gallon in an even split of urban street and freeway driving, the Fiesta 31.
Honestly, both the Fiesta and the Yaris are way out of the target zone when their stickers get that close to $20K. You can get Corollas, Sentras and Civics (not to mention the 2011 VW Jetta) for that kind of money.The base Yaris sedan starts at $13,365...the base Fiesta at $13,320. That's where the battle in entry-level sedans is likely to be fought.
But will the sedans be the main focus? The Fiesta that makes the biggest splash visually is the five-door hatchback...and the base price for that is $15,120...a big step up, especially when you consider the Yaris 5-door hatch starts at $12,905 (lower than the Yaris sedan price).
The Fiesta leads the class in style...leaving the frumpy Yaris in the dust both in terms of exterior and interior. But these are entry-level vehicles. And while Europeans have a keen understanding of the term "premium compact", the Fiesta's going to have to make a value argument to drivers from the land of Wal-Mart. That could turn out to be a very tall order.
