A two-week test drive in two minivans – the 2010 VW Routan and the 2011 Toyota Sienna – reconfirm that minivans have a lot to offer
Baby Boomers - Online Magazine
By Jeff Rundles
… Seems strange really, in that I am a man and not a soccer fan, so I am neither a mom nor have anything to do with soccer, and yet I am, indeed, a soccer mom.
… [The] whole thing about being a soccer mom was really only manifest in one aspect: the minivan. …
The evil aspects of the minivan got so ingrained in the psyche of this generation of women that they will lumber around in a Chevy Suburban or some other large, kid-toting, 7-passenger vehicle – even to soccer practice and games – but never in a minivan. …
Yet, over the last couple of weeks I have had the great pleasure of driving the 2010 VW Routan minivan and the Toyota Sienna minivan, and in spite of my singing their praises – often to women who ask my opinion on vehicles all the time – all I got from women was snickers. …
Another woman, a neighbor, and her husband and children came over to see the Sienna, and to drive it, as the man of the house really wants one and the Sienna is the only minivan left on the market with an All-Wheel-Drive option. … She snickered. “Wouldn’t a SUV be better?,” she asked, obviously harboring soccer mom visions. I pointed out that a minivan is so much easier, that the doors open themselves and the kids can just hop in from school, and if there are friends they can all pile in and you’re good to go. The mom reacted as if this was sound advice, but I believe we’ll be seeing a new 7-passenger SUV in their garage soon.
… My children’s grandfather, who can afford any vehicle he wants, has been driving a minivan for years. He and his wife travel all over and they like the flexibility of a minivan for its gear room and guest-rider spots, and this grandfather says he just likes the way they drive. Good visibility, much easier to get in and out of than a SUV, comfortable, all the bells and whistles, easy to park, loves the sliding doors and the automatic-opening/closing side doors and rear hatch.
That’s me, too. That’s why I am a soccer mom. I love driving minivans. I love driving them around town, to work and on errands, and I think they are the very best highway road vehicles on the market.
VW Routan
The first one I got into was the 2010 Routan from VW. I am very impressed overall with VW, because after a few years of trying things very un-VW-like … they have gone back to what makes them what they are – solid German vehicles with great performance, great looks and a real distinctiveness that is lacking in most lines that aren’t German (re: Japanese cars).
The Routan is an odd duck, however, in that the minivan isn’t exactly a German thing. … [This] is a vehicle made exclusively for the North American market. By saying it is an odd duck, though, I do not mean to cast aspersions: like most all VWs, this is well made and a solid competitor.
What sets the Routan apart from every other minivan I have driven is its heft: this vehicle feels … very solid, much more than anything else. I looked up the weight of this and the Toyota, which felt less heavy, only to discover it is an illusion: the Routan weights 4,621 lbs., while the Toyota Sienna comes in at 4,735 lbs. Nevertheless, the Routan felt more substantial.
I enjoyed driving the Routan right from the start. Equipped with a 4.0-liter V6 engine putting out some 251 hp, the Routan is no speed demon, but neither is it lacking in oomph. … [If] anything it lacked the kind of torque that would make it quick off the line. Until, like most German cars, you figure out how to drive it: the Routan needs to be revved up, and then it really can go.
In the way back of the Routan, behind the automatic liftgate (I love that feature; the side doors were automatic too), the floor is sunken, quite a bit, which makes storage for groceries and the like a breeze. Plus, the rear, third seat folds down into the cavern, so you can make the back of the van perfectly flat for storing things like ski and luggage for a trip. Then there are storage bins in the floor around the second row of seats, and cup holders all around. It’s … all American minivan – but it is a great vehicle. Really liked it.
And the Routan I drove was quite equipped. Great stereo, a navigation system – all the bells and whistles, except that it didn’t have a sunroof (I am sure you can get one).
The Routan comes in 10 trims, ranging from the base model S with a 3.8-liter V6 with 197 hp (rated at 16/23), with a base price of $25,900, to the SEL Premium with the larger engine, carrying a base price of $42,500.
I drove the SEL w/RSE & Nav – the RSE standing for Rear Seat Entertainment system, and like most German cars it took a little while and an education, and the help of my 12-year-old, to figure out how to make the movie play in the rear seat. Then I couldn’t figure out how to play the movie back there and listen to the radio, …
Anyway, with the navigation and the RSE included in the base price, the Routan SEL carried a MSRP of $33,500, and it was pretty loaded at the price. They only added on the destination charge, so the bottom line was $34,300 – a great price in this minivan marketplace, especially for what you get here.
Toyota Sienna
…A few years ago I drove the Sienna and said I thought it was getting dated, …
They have changed that. This is now in a class by itself. … It is beautiful, inside and out but especially on the inside where the leather is perfect, the wood grain on the dash, steering wheel and doors is stunning, and where the driving is effortless, yet has great feel. …
I had the top-of-the-line Limited with the 3.5-liter V6 engine, but even though it was a smaller engine than the Routan, it was more powerful: 266 hp that felt like more (mileage rating: 16/22). …
Our test-drive model had everything: all the bells and whistles, the automatic doors, navigation, one of the finest stereos and sound systems on the market, and all that. But it had extras that made it special. First, the rear-seat entertainment system featured a wide-screen television screen that my son proclaimed the very best on the market. It was easy to use, easy to set up – it took me no time at all to figure it out – and the front seat passengers could listen to the radio while the kid was in back on wireless, and quiet headphones.
It also has two sunroofs – one over the front seats, and one over the middle seats, both of which open up, a real nice touch. The Sienna also has the cavernous rear storage area, and fold-down-flat third row seating, plus the middle captain’s chairs can slide way back or far forward, swivel, and they are easy to remove so the entire rear area can be an open van. Very intelligent design.
But the one thing that separates the Sienna from the minivan pack is the availability of AWD, and my test-drive model had it. …
The Sienna doesn’t come cheap, however. There are 12 trims available, beginning with a front-drive 4-passenger model with a 2.7-liter I4 engine with 187 hp (rated at 19/26), with a MSRP of $24,260 going all the way to this Limited model. Somewhere along the line you can configure the Sienna for 8-passenger seating, in both FWD and AWD models. … My fully-loaded test drive model included a $4,025 Premium Package that had the entertainment system, navigation, upgraded stereo (wonderful), a backup camera, hands-free Bluetooth, an iPod connection, voice commands, and a few more things. They also added $890 for High Intensity Discharge headlamps, automatic high beams, and rain-sensing wipers, and $185 for a roof rack. Add in $800 in destination charges, and the bottom line is $45,670.
…
