Toyota Sienta Hybrid

The 3rd Generation Sienta is a quiet conversation starter. Your family would either appreciate the quirkiness and practicality this car presents or be curious to your courage to be different, probably based on their long standing mental frames of how a car should look like. Having driven this gentle whale on local roads, it feels like the cozy comfy feeling of my plush sofa on wheels.

The expansive windscreen is generous, watching the other cars and people go by like viewing through a loft's tall windows. The drivetrain is buttery smooth, and the pedals need only a touch for the Sienta to carry on his journey.

Many a time, the Sienta doesn't seem want to stop at the lights, even after releasing the throttle much earlier in anticipation to a gradual stop, thanks to efficiency of the drivetrain. A moderate puff on the pedal and it overtakes or changes lane with grace. The drive feels planted and nimble given the dimensions of the car.

Having driven five other cars previously, I can appreciate this new Sienta for what it was designed and built for, the loving family or the romantic couple. Meaningful conversations with your loved ones in a quiet cabin, watching the world go by on a big screen together.

Toyota's popular Sienta is back with hybrid power, a new more practical cabin, and a funky new look.

Have driven for a week and I must say it is pretty impressive. Very smooth and quiet . More powerful than my previous 2nd gen. It's really very cosy inside as the interior is done up very nicely. Love the comfortable feeling and driving experience. What's lacking is the back row air con vents. Will be perfect if that's provided.

Overall many won't regret this purchase. I for one am happy with it though bit expensive.

The New Sienta is marvellous. It has got all the features of the Lexus such as speed controlled cruise , collusion and lane departure indicator. The pickup is very good for a 1500cc. Parking and front sensors are standard . Infotainment is advance with apple air play . Arm rests for the front seat with a nice space for ladies handbag . Lots of storage place including a big front box in front of the steering wheel on the dash board .

Only set back is no rear aircon . But the front is sufficient for front occupancy. Consumption is very Low and has got power mode even beside the ev mode and Econ mode . It will be a best seller . Super quiet, typical of toyota . Little or no road tyre noise . Excellent car !

The new Toyota Sienta looks like some kind off futuristic space craft, with its alien eyes, and strange lines and accent pieces all over. Thankfully, its all down to earth where it matters in a compact MPV: In the cabin.

Truth to be told, I was never interested in a Sienta before until I saw the launch photos of this new gen. I mean, to go into this interesting route of design was never going to be a Toyota thing.

To satisfy my curiousity, I went to the showroom today to take a look and test drive with my wife and kids. First look inside and I can see the same funky fabric as the seats on the dash like a Citroen would do as well but otherwise functional and usable layout with many cubby holes as what a family MPV purpose should be.

Seats are comfy, 2nd row space is good and in fact my 1.3m tall son can nearly stand straight inside! It also has row-up sun shades, good for sunny days and sleeping toddlers. I got the kids to test the 3rd row and it seems fine. It also folds neatly under the 2nd row when it's not in use.

I wasn't expecting anything from the test drive as I don't believe that it will be good or anything but I was so wrong. As this is my first time in a hybrid, I was very wowed by the silent car start. Once I moved off, the switchover from EV to ICE was seamless. However it was the pickup from zero which stunned me.

I can't believe that a 7 seater MPV with a 1.5 engine can pick up so well. I believe the electric motor helped a lot. The CVT also seems to have came from a long way from the Lancer GLX days. The speed does seems to pick up along with the acceleration but without the whining. I was truly impressed.

The ride is all right, insulation is quite good throughout the test drive but I can't comment about the handling as it's just a short route.

I also don't have anything to say about the equipment or anything but TSS is standard, big infotainment screen, digital instrument cluster is on board.

Overall, I find it a good and sincere finished product from Toyota whom I believe the main target audience would be for young families who are sick of looking at the usual same old MPV that are trying too hard to look futuristic or trendy when it should be funky with character.