Fast Facts | 2025 Toyota Sienna Hybrid Platinum AWD
⚡ Power: 245-hp hybrid system with a third electric motor on AWD models
🔋 Efficiency: EPA-rated at 36 mpg combined, with real-world numbers consistently near 30 mpg
📏 Space: Roomy cabin with reclining second-row bucket seats and pop-up footrests
🚪 Doors: Sliding side doors make tight garages and crowded parking lots surprisingly easy
🚙 Ride: Long wheelbase and tall tire sidewalls deliver a smooth, stable, road-trip-friendly feel
💸 Value: Delivers lower long-term fuel costs than most three-row SUVs while offering more usable interior space
🛠️ Tech: 12.3-inch touchscreen, wireless phone mirroring, and robust driver-assist suite baked in
What Sets the 2025 Sienna Hybrid Apart
The Toyota Sienna is the ultimate do-it-all vehicle. Sure, it’s not perfect, and many buyers write it off simply because of its sliding side doors. But it's remarkably versatile, and the numbers back that up. Sienna sales jumped a hefty 50 percent during the first three quarters of 2025. The secret seems to be out.
During my week testing the Toyota Sienna, I saw exactly what makes this vehicle so great. Here's why it should be at the top of your family’s shopping list instead of a bulky, thirsty SUV.
A Low-Compromise Three-Row Vehicle
Don’t call it a minivan, even though that’s what it is. The Sienna is a true multi-purpose vehicle, with big sliding doors that won’t get in the way in tight parking spots or a cluttered garage. At about 204 inches long and nearly 79 inches wide, the Sienna is big on the outside and shockingly spacious inside. Its footprint is about the same as Toyota’s Grand Highlander crossover SUV, but the numbers don’t lie: the sliding-door Sienna has way more interior space for passengers and their cargo.
It’s also a heck of a lot more comfortable, especially in top Platinum all-wheel-drive trim like my $59,565 test vehicle. It started with an MSRP of $57,510 but was loaded up with accessories like a rearview mirror camera, all-weather floor mats, and wheel locks.
Cross-shopping other hybrid family haulers? Here’s another standout worth comparing: 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid Review
While base Siennas can seat eight thanks to a three-piece second-row bench, most of these vans can handle seven passengers. Top Platinum versions get heated reclining bucket seats that include a pop-up footrest, plus they have more fore-and-aft movement than the bucket seats in other trims, opening up executive-style comfort. There’s even a mini fridge within arm’s reach for those in row two. Forget calling “shotgun;” you want to ride in the second row here.
Getting to the third row is easy since the second-row seats angle forward in any version. Only kids will find the pass-through between the middle-row seats adequate, though that’s typical for any vehicle with second-row captain’s chairs. The third row folds to the floor in two sections for passenger-cargo flexibility. Unfortunately, the Sienna lacks the Chrysler Pacifica’s second-row seats that tumble into the floor. Instead, its second-row seats collapse and slide forward to maximize cargo room.
What about up front? The Sienna has a terrific view forward and decently comfy seats with power adjustment, heating, and cooling at the top of the lineup.
To be fair, many of those features require shelling out big bucks. Stick with the mid-range Sienna XLE at around $46,000, and you’ll still get a power driver’s seat, heated front seats, and easy-clean synthetic leather trim. No fridge, but you’ll have room in the budget for a few Owala water bottles.
Toyota Packs in a Lot of Tech
Base Siennas have a fairly small 8.0-inch touchscreen, which quickly gives way to a wide 12.3-inch touchscreen in virtually every configuration except the base LE. Either way, you get Toyota’s relatively intuitive software with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. The cloud-based navigation system uses some of your phone’s data to display a crisp, Apple Maps-style interface that integrates nicely with the digital instrument cluster for turn-by-turn directions.
There’s also a wireless device charging pad, conveniently located on a wide shelf running across much of the dash. It even has little bumpers to prevent your phone from zipping across said shelf as you round a corner.
Toyota bakes in just about every crash-avoidance and driver-assistance tech it offers, which makes sense given the Sienna’s family-oriented design. In addition to adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, active lane control, and blind-spot monitors, the Sienna offers what you might call “loose hands” driving at highway speeds. You’ll need to monitor the road ahead and keep a hand on the wheel, but the system handles braking, accelerating, and lane centering particularly well. This may be the ultimate road-trip vehicle.
Oh, and the top Platinum has a built-in vacuum, which may seem like a gimmick until you or your little one makes a mess in row two.
The Family Hauler That Doesn't Guzzle Gas
The Sienna is fairly quiet and certainly adequate for city driving and moderate highway passing, but it's no speed demon. Its hybrid powertrain starts with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine and adds two electric motors and a nickel-metal hydride battery pack. One electric motor aids propulsion, while the other mostly generates electric power.
All in, the system sends 245 horsepower to the front wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). All-wheel-drive versions, which cost $2000 more, have a third electric motor to power the rear axle.
The result is decent acceleration, to a point. The Sienna starts to run out of steam when you need highway passing power or when climbing steep hills with a full load of passengers. If necessary, the Sienna can tow up to 3,500 pounds, though that'll likely zap a lot of power.
Surprisingly, the Sienna was fun to drive. Its steering responded quickly, and its suspension was fairly taut without being overly stiff. The long wheelbase and tall tire sidewalls (most versions of the Sienna roll on 235/60 rubber around 18-inch wheels) resulted in a very comfortable ride. Those tall sidewalls shrugged off small bumps that would definitely unsettle the 20-inchers on many rivals, not to mention the sporty-looking Sienna XSE trim.
I noticed a fair amount of tire rumble in the cabin, and I wasn't impressed with how the plastic trim rattled over bumps. My recent experience in a Chrysler Pacifica was almost the opposite; I could barely hear its tires and was impressed with how few rattles there were. Then again, my test Sienna’s interior was assembled quite nicely with perfectly aligned trim, something I can’t say for the Pacifica, with its door panels that didn’t exactly line up with the dashboard, creating a strangely large gap.
A Frugal Choice
The Sienna tops all-wheel-drive minivans when it comes to fuel economy. While I didn’t quite match its EPA test ratings of 34 mpg city, 36 highway, 35 combined, anything this big and spacious that gets 30 mpg no matter how it is driven is downright miserly.
The front-wheel-drive version of the Sienna is rated at 36/36/36 mpg; realistically, it probably returns nearly the same real-world fuel economy as the all-wheel-drive version.
Either way, the Sienna easily tops the Kia Carnival Hybrid’s 34/31/33 mpg combined with front-wheel drive (there's no all-wheel-drive version).
A more challenging comparison comes with the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, which features a plug-in powertrain that unlocks up to 32 miles of all-electric driving before the gas engine kicks on. After that, the EPA test pegs it at 30 mpg combined. However, there’s no all-wheel-drive Pacifica Hybrid, and getting the best efficiency means plugging it in at just about every opportunity. If you routinely drive 32 miles or less and can plug in every night in your garage or driveway, the Pacifica Hybrid will basically operate like an electric car. To be fair, it'll turn on its gas engine if the EV powertrain can’t warm up the interior on its own. But if that doesn’t describe you, the Sienna Hybrid is likely the more efficient choice.
🔍 More Smart-Driving Reads
- How Hybrids Work
A clear, quick tour of how electric motors and gas engines team up for smooth, efficient driving.
Read More ➜ - Maintaining Your Hybrid
A simple, practical guide to keeping your hybrid healthy for the long run.
Read More ➜ - 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid Review
A fresh look at one of the Sienna’s closest competitors and how it stacks up in real family use.
Read More ➜
