Tell me about your minivan

[plugboots]

^^^yer describing a Sienna. Which exists.

[bodywhomper]

Just returned from a four hundred mile round trip excursion to retrieve a kid from college in our awd twenty-one hybrid sienna. I slept in the van at a local campground. A chunk of the drive was on 2-lane windy highways. I kept the 2nd row seats in place. I dug it. And the hypercritical college kid was into the passenger cockpit. The car has the higher end stock sound system, which sounded great to my worn out ears. The engine/transmission is fairly loud when pushing climbing steep grades, which is a known characteristic. Mid-30’s mpg on the way up and 32mpg on the way back, which included a bike on a roof rack. On the same drive, our o-six fwd sienna would get ~18-20mpg.

I’m concerned but faithful that the electronic tech that controls the e-awd, e-cvt, and hybrid system holds up.

[MarcusBrody]

^^^yer describing a Sienna. Which exists.

Not quite. The hybrid Siennas are substantially longer (over a foot), while actually having less maximum cargo area with the seats folded. The Transit Connect has a super low load floor that's flush with the giant square rear door. The whole cargo/passenger area of the Transit Connect is basically a big square edged volume. The rear hatch of the Sienna is 36 inches high, while the Transit Connect's is 45 inches (the full height of the rear cargo area. That makes a big difference when loading gear. I roll my XL Ripmo into the back of the Transit Connect all the time. leaned up against one of the middle seats while the other and the back are folded. No chance with the Sienna save sliding it in on its side, just due to the rear hatch size.
I actually really like the Sienna's, looked at one as a potential Transit Connect replacement, and think they are much, much more refined passenger vehicles and likely better people haulers on road trips, while being more efficient. But they also feel notably longer while having less accessible cargo space. That matters a lot for a gear hauler.

[Name Redacted]

Those transits are such junk dude. I can't imagine Ford figuring out a way to do them right. Better off just getting a regular transit in awd, even thought those are junk too.

[gravitylover]

The single biggest beef I have with minivans, other than the Transit Connect, is the hatch opening height. I need 4 feet! Having to pull mt bike front wheels is a pain in the ass, I wanna be able to just roll them in.

All told I am really liking this Sienna I am about to put it through a bunch of deferred maintenance because it is obvious that a few suspension bits are tired, drivetrain fluids have never been changed, coolant and spark plugs have over 100k so they are due too. I am trying to wear these tires out because I have a hard time appreciating mushy tires but I deal with it by driving slower

[4matic]

Just did a 4K mile national parks camp tour in the R. I really like the car. Just swapped out the pixelated cluster lcd and the tattered front center vent.

[singlesline]

Those transits are such junk dude. I can't imagine Ford figuring out a way to do them right. Better off just getting a regular transit in awd, even thought those are junk too.

That is why they should just throw a van body on the Maverick platform (and drop the ride height a bit…but let people use Maverick parts to bring it back up)

[riser4]

The single biggest beef I have with minivans, other than the Transit Connect, is the hatch opening height. I need 4 feet! Having to pull mt bike front wheels is a pain in the ass, I wanna be able to just roll them in.

All told I am really liking this Sienna I am about to put it through a bunch of deferred maintenance because it is obvious that a few suspension bits are tired, drivetrain fluids have never been changed, coolant and spark plugs have over 100k so they are due too. I am trying to wear these tires out because I have a hard time appreciating mushy tires but I deal with it by driving slower

Poop chute too tight.

[gravitylover]

That's cuz I live in the NY suburbs :shrug: