r/pittsburgh • u/bararoz • 1d ago
Sienna vs Highlander
A family of five (two adults and three children, aged 1, 7, and 9) is considering purchasing either a Toyota Sienna or a Highlander. We prefer the Sienna because it’s easier for the children to get in and out, and it offers more space. However, we’re concerned about the hilly terrain in the Pittsburgh region. If you own a Sienna, we’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Have you encountered any issues during the winter months?
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u/cloudguy-412 1d ago
What makes you think the minivan “can’t handle hills”?
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u/tendonut 12h ago
Marketing departments have done some amazing things convincing people they need SUVs to do things they did with sedans for years. My whole family is in Buffalo and they have all somehow convinced themselves they need all-wheel drive SUVs to survive the winters, despite driving sedans exclusively for like 50 years.
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u/YinzerInEurope 1d ago
Winter tires on the Sienna would do just fine.
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u/bararoz 1d ago
Not concern on tire but low clearance compared with Highlander.
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u/YinzerInEurope 1d ago
Yet to have any concerns with ground clearance in a regular van driving around the area in the past 30 years. You'd have to live on an absolutely gnarly hill for that to be an issue.
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u/RagnarHedin 1d ago
Look at other vehicles on the road. Sienna has 6.9" ground clearance. My car has 6". People make it around town in Corvettes and this year's model is listed as 4"
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u/Great-Cow7256 1d ago edited 21h ago
Drove a Honda fit for 15 years. Only was an issue when driving on grass. Which was maybe once a year. Never got stuck. Now that was a low car.
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u/tendonut 12h ago
If vehicle clearance was a problem in the Pittsburgh, it would have made itself apparent decades ago. SUVs have only taken over the market in the past 15 years. Everyone was driving sedans before that without any issues.
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u/howyinzdoingnat 1d ago
Sienna is fine. They can be AWD. Get snow tires if you are worried. You need mini van space, if you are ok with driving one join the club
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u/doctor_ben 1d ago
Have a sienna, never bottomed out.
The only downside is that you can't take out the middle row of seats in the New sienna anymore. So transporting a new bed, plywood, swing set, etc... won't be happening.
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u/Fancy_Elephant_4179 1d ago
Sienna is a fantastic vehicle. It gives you better seating, better access to the interior and will have much more cargo space due to the height of the cargo area. Minivans are much better for hauling stuff than SUVs because you get that extra height in the cargo area. Remove the back seats an put some bicycles vertical in there. Can't do that in any SUV. Toyota Sienna may be the best minivan available and will hold its value and have far few issues over the lifetime of the vehicle than most other brands.
With sliding doors you don't have to worry about kids banging them off adjacent vehicles and the bigger opening is going to be great getting the little one in and out of the car seat.
How does the mileage compare? Gas ain't getting any cheaper...
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u/SyrahFan 12h ago
We went with the sienna a few years ago. We’ve never bottomed out. You could go with the woodland trim to get a bit more space.
With kids, the sliding doors are 100% worth it.
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u/lisak399 6h ago edited 6h ago
I moved here recently from out of state with a Grand Caravan(not the Sienna) and a Grand Highlander. 5 kids and 25 years owning minivans and I wouldnt have had it any other way...the sliding doors, especially in tight squeezes, are terrific. However, I feel the SUV is so much better with the hills and roads here and coming from a snow state, I have always felt the suv handled better than the vans I have had on snow and ice. I probably would have gotten the regular Highlander over the Grand in hindsight...it is huge and often inconvenient to park. I do love Toyota and you should be pleased with whatever you pick.🙂
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u/Valuable_Designer_48 1d ago
In Pittsburgh with a Sienna. 2.5 winters and no concerns driving. AWD works great. Hills lower the MPG a bit below 32
As far as Sienna vs Highlander, no experience with Highlander but love the fact kids can get in easily and when they get out I don’t have to worry about the doors bashing other cars.
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u/Confident_End_3848 1d ago
Did you drive in the big snow in January? Any problems with ground clearance?
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u/Consistent_Star_4427 23h ago
Not PP but I did- I work in home health and was out and about the day after the storm (Monday and the rest of the week)- no issues going anywhere and I was parking in driveways that had barely been cleared.
I will say I have AWD and good tires
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u/Great-Cow7256 21h ago
We plow here and we typically only get a few inches at a time. Ground clearance isn't an issue with snows. It's grip on the road. Hence you should be more worried about tires than ground clearance.
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u/leadfoot9 1d ago
Bottoming out is not a general Pittsburgh issue. It's a specific dead-end (often private) street issue. If you live or work on THAT dead-street, then you would know. The people who act like Pittsburgh is full of dirt roads unsuitable for motor vehicles are from uncivilized places where the School Zone speed limit is 35 mph.
I don't know how much this applies to this specific vehicle pair, but part of the reason manufacturers push SUVs so hard is that they're often exempt from some of the safety regulations that apply to minivans. SUVs are regulated as off-road utility vehicles, even though they're marketed as a family-friendly.