Time Machine: The 2020 Toyota Sienna SE Premium

The 2020 Toyota Sienna SE Premium.

Let's just get this out of the way right now---a minivan is not an aspirational object. It is a purely rational, practical purchase, arrived at usually by a process of elimination of vehicles that don't suit the family's needs.

New Car Review: 2012 Mazda 5 Sport

The 2012 Mazda 5. The last "mini" minivan?

You've probably noticed, but the "mini" has been gone from most minivans for a decade or more now. The Honda Odyssey is only 7 inches shorter than a 1964 Chevrolet Impala...and those were big cars.

Mazda's been bucking the trend all along...the vehicle once called the MPV and now the Mazda 5 has never suffered from mission creep. Sales, however, have suffered, as buyers shell out for the ever-bigger not-so-minivans.

For 2012, there's an all-new Mazda 5 and....Mazda's stuck to its guns. The 5 is 22 inches...almost two feet....shorter than the Odyssey...20 inches trimmer than the Toyota Sienna.

The 2012 Mazda 5 has smoothly flowing lines that look even better in person.

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Now, don't get us wrong. We love the Sienna (the Odyssey? Beats us. Honda hasn't put one in our hands in three years of TireKicker). But not everybody needs that much minivan.

The 2012 Mazda 5 is about the size of the minivan as it's known in Europe. How well does that work here? Well, we arranged to borrow one for a week from Chapman Mazda in Phoenix so we could see for ourselves.

The answer? It's terrific. Small size and lighter weight help make the new 5 a joy to maneuver in city traffic...and Mazda's commitment to building vehicles that are fun to drive doesn't have an asterisk after it that says "except for minivans".

157 horsepower from a 16-valve DOHC four is more than adequate to move this lighter machine, and even with a 5-speed automatic (as opposed to 6 or more), the mileage estimates are very good for a minivan (EPA says 21 city/28 highway).

The styling? Love it. There's character, fluidity, a sense of playfulness merged with purpose that promises you will have fun driving it. Take a glance at the picture below. That's a six-speed manual gearbox sticking out of the console. Yes, a minivan with a manual.  Just order the Sport model. It'll cost you $1,000 less than the automatic.

Oh, yeah....price.

The 2012 Mazda 5 minivan interior with 6-speed manual transmission.

The big minivans start within a stone's throw of $30,000. The top-of-the-line Sienna we tested last year topped out at $45,000 and change.

The Mazda 5 Sport?

$20,195. That's with the automatic. $19,195 with the six-speed.

That's for three rows of seats (two seats per row...total of six), 16-inch alloy wheels, power mirrors, halogen headlights, rear wiper with washer, captains chairs, a fold-out table for the second row, automatic climate control, a 6-speaker audio system, tilt & telescoping steering column, power windows and locks and remote keyless entry.

$795 for delivery and handling and the one we borrowed from Chapman rang in at $20,990. It was absolutely stock...zero options. And it was terrific. If it had been a stick, it would have stopped ten bucks shy of 20 grand.

There are people who need every inch of room in the sumo-class minivans. But you might not be one of them. The Mazda 5 is the first of a new wave of smaller minivans (Ford's on the way with the C-Max, though that will be sold in hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions only, and there will be others), but there's no need to wait. The 5 is here now and it's very, very good.

Toyota Recalls 870,000 Sienna Minivans Spanning 13 Model Years

The recall is in effect in 20 states and Canada. The problem is corrosion of cables that hold the spare tire in place...likely from road salt.

Full story from Automotive News (free registration required).

NHTSA Investigating Lexus GX 460

Two days after Consumer Reports called the Lexus GX 460 a "safety risk" because it can go sideways in an emergency maneuver before the electronic stability control kicks in,  two days after Toyota imposed a halt on sales of the GX,  one day after Toyota announced it would test all of its SUVs, and (sources say) one day before Toyota announces a fix, NHTSA says it's launching an investigation into the matter.

Ever since NHTSA got raked over the coals in a Senate hearing last month, they've been trying too hard. Big talk, big fines....all designed to send a subtle-as-a-neon-sign message of  "We got this."

No, NHTSA...you don't. Consumer Reports did your work for you. Toyota took it seriously and the fix is hours away. But you'll whip up an investigation anyway...it will take months, it will cost millions (like your $3 million, 15 month investigation with NASA into unintended acceleration that's just now starting)...and we'll be astonished if it contributes anything that Consumer Reports and Toyota didn't in 72 hours.

Toyota Sienna Minivan Plunges Off Houston Parking Garage, Killing Driver

Raw video from CBS affiliate KHOU-TV

At 8:45 this morning, a man drove his Toyota Sienna minivan off an upper floor of the Honeywell parking garage....landing upside down and killing him.

The Sienna isn't involved in any of the Toyota recalls, and the driver isn't here to claim unintended acceleration, admit to stepping on the wrong pedal, confess to blackouts or suicidal thoughts or any of a dozen possible reasons the van might have gone forward with enough force to snap the safety cables that keep cars from taking the steep dive, but authorities will be poring over the evidence attempting to determine a cause.  Full details from The Houston Chronicle.

Dodge Grand Caravan SXT Review

Ignorance is bliss.

During my week in the Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, I was won over...the user-friendliness, utility and ease of driving erased misgivings I had about the materials inside being a cut or so below that of a Honda Odyssey.

It was delivered without a window sticker, so I checked the Dodge website. Base price $27,825. Reasonable, bordering on a bargain.

I knew it was loaded...but I didn't realize how loaded until I asked for a copy of the sticker. This minivan had more than $13,000 in options...jacking the bottom line all the way up to $41,385. No longer reasonable nor a bargain.

So what could I live without if I were playing with my own money?

Chrysler/Dodge Minivan Airbag Recall

312,000 model year 2005 and 2006 Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans are being recalled.

The airbag sensors can crack, water can get inside and then the airbags don't work as designed.

Read the recall notice here.

Not too comforting...the actual recalling and repair doesn't start until June.

Volkswagen Routan Review

By now, the word is out to the extent that there are Amish who know that the Volkswagen Routan is a re-badged Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country minivan.

So was Brooke Shields lying to us about that "German engineering" stuff?



Not really.

See, VW did go in and re-work the suspension...so technically, it's German engineering.

And while it's not engineering per se, we'll give thumbs up to the VW crew who gave it a more attractive front and rear styling treatment.

They also ripped out a ton of cheap interior materials and put in the good...well, decent...stuff for the Routan.

So, from a handling, appearance and interior quality (or at least "niceness") standpoint, you really have to say that the VW Routan is what Chrysler should have built in the first place.

I drove the mid-pack SE model with Trim Pack 2 (sunroof, adjustable pedals, roof rails and an auto-adjustable rear suspension. It also had heatable front seats and a remote starter.

Bottom line: $32,720. Much better than the over-optioned Dodge Grand Caravan that started with a base price 2 grand cheaper than the Routan but ended up at 41 grand and change.

The EPA says it's good for 16 miles per gallon in the city, 23 on the highway (the 6-speed automatic helps).

And it's five stars on all the crash tests (four on rollover).

So, if you want a Dodge Grand Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country, the best one might be a VW Routan.

That's fine, but I'd prefer for Dodge and Chrysler to build them right themselves and for VW to build...VWs. Like the VW Microbus concept they teased us with at the beginning of the decade.

If you agree, let VW know. Given that only 5,000 or so Routans have found homes so far this year, they're probably considering options.


UPDATE: With both GM and Ford out of the minivan business and the asian minivans fairly long in the tooth, I thought it was time for another taste of the Routan.

Everything above still stands...and until Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia show up with their new ones (2011 and later), the VW Routan (equipped as above) would be my choice, playing with my own money.

Ford Transit Connect Review

Is this the future of small business vehicles in America?

It is if enough florists, caterers, handymen, plumbers and electricians decide they don't really need full-size pickups and vans.

The Ford Transit Connect has sold 600,000 copies in 58 countries since 2003. Now, Ford brings it to the USA.

Selling points?

A low base price...starting at $20,780.

Fuel economy....EPA estimates are 22 city/25 highway.

Innovative technology....more on which later.



The interior is more Focus than F-150...but it's roomy and especially well put together.

In work vehicles, it's what's in back that counts...and thanks to a low load floor and tall roofline, the Transit Connect has a surprising amount of room for tools of whatever trade you're in.



The innovative tech? In-dash computing which allows internet access, scheduling, invoicing and more....right from the driver's seat with a wireless keyboard. It's a $1,395 option.

Add another $1,220 and you get Tool Link. Put radio frequency tracking tags on your tools and Tool Link keeps track of them. Leave the office or a work site without your full complement of stuff...and you get an alert on the in-dash display before you can drive away...saving the cost of return trips for forgotten items or replacements for things lost.



Ford is even offering a wagon version that seats five (base price $21,135) to sell to consumers who like the cargo space. There's also a strong possibility that these will become the next-gen taxicab as the Crown Victoria ends production.



Ford hosted a Transit Connect event for journalists, dealers and small business owners on Monday (7/13) at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix. And that's where we learned the other selling point: Maneuverability. The Transit Connect handled the slalom course like no E-Series van ever could (except, perhaps with Firebird's next-door neighbor Bob Bondurant at the wheel).

As we took the course, we noticed that one of the group had actually knocked over one...but only one...of the cones. Arizona Driver photographer Randall Bohl actually caught the culprit in the act:



But tinted glass and the driver's side A-pillar conceals the identity of the culprit. That is, until Arizona Driver publisher Joe Sage spent a little time with Photoshop:



The object in mid-air would be ABC15's $4,000 video camera.

Thanks, Joe.

Here's the story as I did it for ABC15:

Chrysler Town & Country Review

Chrysler, which watched its domestic competition (now-defunct minivans from General Motors and Ford) wither away and die, still has competition in that arena...from itself.

You see, the Chrysler Town & Country is really just a loaded Dodge Grand Caravan. And that means it's also a slightly different-looking, differently outfitted Volkswagen Routan (and tragically for Chrysler, VW got the looks and the materials).

This doesn't even begin to address the threat from the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna, the Kia Sedona and the Hyundai Entourage (discontinued after this was written).

And given that the Town & Country Limited starts about nine grand higher than the Grand Caravan, the sell gets real tough real fast.

Loaded with what I hope was everything, the T&C I tested for a week bottom-lined at $44,205. If it's not everything, then Chrysler's way too close to 50 large for comfort.

The Town & Country is by no means a bad ride (you can read my review of the Grand Caravan for details...the vehicles are so similar), and if you prefer it to the competition, both within and without the Chrysler/VW alliance, then you should get one.

But do yourself and your bank account a favor and shop around...see if you can find one that came in from a newly disenfranchised Chrysler dealer at a fire sale price. Under $40,000, the T&C starts to look a lot better.

EPA estimates: 17 city/25 highway. Five-star crash ratings for all passengers, front and side impact. Four-star rollover rating.

Kia Sedona EX Review

I've got to hand it to Kia. While they're rapidly improving every single product they make, they made sure that their biggest achievement would be right in the heart of the market.

Kia benchmarked the best minivans in the business (Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Chrysler Town & Country) when designing the current Sedona...and it shows. The Sedona hits virtually every target, delivering 9/10ths of what Honda and Toyota do and arguably tying Chrysler, for a much lower price.

Minivans these days are $40,000 vehicles when you finish loading them up with the options. The Sedona EX I tested for a week started at $26,565...leaving a lot of room for a lot of options (The Luxury Package with leather, heated front seats, memory, adjustable pedals, three-zone climate control, sunroof, backup warning system, steering wheel audio controls and an engine immobilizer; The Premium Entertainment Package inlcuding a DVD player with 8-inch monitor, Infinity Audio system with mp3 and a CD changer and Infinity Surround Sound; The Power Package which means power sliding side doors and power liftgate; Cross bars and a tow hitch).

Bottom line for this loaded minivan? $33,000. A good five to seven grand less than the benchmarked competition. And the Sedona gets five stars in the frontal and side crash tests, four for rollover and packs an EPA estimated 16 city/23 highway mile per gallon estimate besides.

Minivans are bought on utility and value and the Kia Sedona aces both tests handily.

Mazda 5 Review

The other day in traffic, I pulled up next to a remarkably well preserved first-generation Chrysler minivan (from 1985 or so). What struck me, apart from its condition, was how small it was.

Over the past 23 years, minivans have lost a lot of their mini. They're mostly huge, heavily-equipped, thirsty beasts with sticker prices well into the $30,000 range. Get carried away with the options and $40,000 is within reach.

The lone exception is the Mazda 5...a minivan so small it resembles a stretched Honda Fit. The 5, based on the compact Mazda 3 platform, is a delight to drive in city traffic. Handling's a breeze, parking's a snap...snicking into turn lanes partially blocked by trucks and SUVs slopping over from the adjacent lane is no sweat.

And, with a 2.3 liter four-cylinder engine and a 5 speed automatic, the EPA says the Mazda 5 is good for 21 miles per gallon in the city, 27 on the highway.

5s come as cheap as $17,000 and change. Our tester was the top of the line Grand Touring...which still commands a base price of only $22,675, and is so well equipped (17 inch alloy wheels, rain-sensing wipers, third-row seating, leather, a second-row fold-out table, automatic climate control with rear vents, an AM/FM/6-CD audio system with six speakers, cruise control, a moonroof and a Bluetooth hands-free phone system) that ours had no options apart from a rear bumper step plate ($50). That and delivery brought the bottom line to $23,395.

Room for six people (though third-row passengers would be too close to the tailgate for my comfort), great maneuverability, decent performance and very good fuel economy make the Mazda 5 a sensible minivan alternative.