2024 Toyota Sienna Price Slashed by Up to $3.5k!

On the eve of the Beijing Auto Show on April 23, the 2024 Toyota Sienna was officially launched in China, with the official guide price of RMB 284.8-395.8 thousand. Compared with the old model, the 2024 Toyota Sienna's official price reduction of RMB 25 thousand across the whole series, is equivalent to 3.5k USD. A total of 9 sub-models were launched, including the introduction of models equipped with the E-Four electric four-wheel drive system, further enriching the product lineup to meet different consumer demands.

Review of Sienna's Exterior and Interior

On the exterior, Sienna adopts the latest design concept of Toyota, which is officially stated to be inspired by the Shinkansen "bullet train" in Japan. Therefore, the overall design is bold and aggressive, and shapes multiple large surface "muscles". The irregularly shaped LED headlights on both sides have a narrow and aggressive design, and the "unrestrained" silhouette is vividly displayed through a chrome-plated strip. In addition, large air diversion slots are set on both sides of the surround, which effectively improves the aerodynamic performance of the entire vehicle.

Unlike Alphard's "tall and thin" figure, Sienna has a "robust" figure to ensure the lateral seating space inside the car. At the same time, the side design has complex line designs, especially near the end, a muscular curve is formed, making it hard to believe that this is still an MPV.

In terms of the rear part, the new car creates a rich sense of layering through the interweaving of multiple lines. The integrated spoiler on the top could be described as the finishing touch. The LED taillights on the sides show the outline through the LED light strip, and cleverly extend the light base design, blending with the rear fender. And the rear bar at the bottom echoes the front bar, with the large area of honeycomb middle net and smoked black decoration, which is full of sportiness.

Just like the exterior, the interior of the Sienna also continues the global model design. This interior design style is very similar to that of the Camry, which is under TNGA, and it can be said that TNGA has unified Toyota's interior design. However, compared to some common MPV models, this interior design has added a few dynamic and personalized elements, especially the layered design in the co-pilot area, which breaks the rigid design atmosphere of other MPVs.

The overall design, configuration, and space performance of the 2024 Toyota Sienna are not very different from the old model. The new car has three major changes.

8155 chip on board

The first change is the upgrade of the vehicle system, which uses the 8155 chip and deeply cooperates with Huawei on the vehicle system.

This set of vehicle systems has been seen on the ninth-generation Camry in China before. This time GAC Toyota has installed this currently latest vehicle system on the 2024 Sienna, which aims at further improving the intelligence of the Sienna vehicle system.

The hardware of this set of vehicle systems is the 8155 chip matched with 12G running memory, so the whole user experience will be very smooth, and it can realize continuous voice dialogue function. This voice interaction system is developed in conjunction with Huawei, which supports 30 seconds of continuous listening, no need to wake up repeatedly, and supports multi-language mixed instruction recognition. In addition, the vehicle system can import a lot of APP functions through its self-built application store, expanding the vehicle system ecology. This system also supports voice control smart home functions which are linked with HUAWEI HiLink. Hence, if there are home appliances that support HUAWEI HiLink functions at home, they can be controlled remotely by voice through the vehicle system.

At the same time, this system supports CarPlay, CarLife, and HiCar, three major mobile connection platforms. The 2024 Sienna has achieved a higher dimension of interaction in terms of intelligence, providing the driver with various information through three screens across the vehicle. The 12.3-inch central control big screen, coupled with a 12.3-inch liquid crystal dashboard and AR-HUD head-up display system, has raised the intelligence of the new Sienna a step further.

Introducing Alphard's Same-Model Integrated Seats

If the comfort of the old Sienna is not enough, then the 2024 Sienna has made targeted upgrades. The upgrade method is to introduce Alphard's same-model first-class cabin seats and corresponding upgrades have been made for interior color matching and NVH.

The first-class cabin seats in the second-row support 16-point massage, which use Bavarian high-end leather to enhance the touch of the seats and the high-end texture of sitting. The seat can provide zero gravity lying posture to the passengers, and around the seat provides electric adjustment buttons for the seat, mobile phone storage slots, a flip cup holder, an integrated small table, a Type-C interface, and so on. The seat itself also provides heating and ventilation functions.

At the same time, the movable distance of the second row of seats is longer, which can provide a more relaxed space experience for the passengers in the second row. The sliding distance of the second row of seats reaches 470mm. Additionally, the width of the central aisle is 225mm, and the wide aisle facilitates the entry and exit of passengers in the third row.

Moreover, the new Sienna has improved its interiors and NVH. Firstly, the new car has added a second row of double-layered glass to enhance noise isolation. Regarding the interior, the new car largely uses a beige interior, which enhances the warmth inside the car and allows passengers to easily create a relaxed atmosphere. The leather coverage of the whole car has reached 85%, and the lower part of the center console, the door handle, the leg contact part, etc., all use delicate leather wrapping.

Newly added HEV+E-Four power system

The addition of this power system makes the 2024 Sienna the only fully electrified drive system in a joint venture MPV. The E-Four system adds a rear axle motor that can independently drive the wheels to the Sienna.

Compared to conventional four-wheel-drive systems, the E-Four electric four-wheel-drive system does not have a traditional transmission shaft due to an independent rear axle motor. Therefore, its system weight does not increase much, and there is not much transmission loss, making the power system highly efficient. In addition to this, the strong power provided by the electric motor is crucial for the MPV, which can enhance the overall power response of the Sienna, improve the acceleration performance of the vehicle, and exhibit more nimble performance during city road start or highway overtaking. This agility can directly and effectively help enhance passenger comfort.

This power system can provide a wide range of torque distribution from 100:0 to 20:80. The benefit of this is that it can handle different road conditions. For example, on slippery roads, the power system can distribute torque to all four wheels to enhance the stability of the vehicle during acceleration and cornering, thus reducing potential loss of control. On the other hand, during situations requiring acceleration for overtaking or uphill start when fully loaded, the fast response from the rear motor makes the whole process safer.

Editor's Comment

The overall changes to the 2024 Toyota Sienna are not particularly significant, but for a normal facelift model, its changes are very targeted. On one hand, it is crucial to provide the latest intelligent experience to the Sienna. This is becoming increasingly important for Chinese consumers. The inclusion of first-class seats and the E-Four electric four-wheel-drive system, in my opinion, enhances the comfort and safety of the vehicle. For the Sienna, the main function of E-Four is to provide more stable control, not necessarily to achieve a more intense driving experience. The new car can handle more complex road conditions and further enhance the comfort experience for rear passengers, all of which I think are very necessary.