Do you regret buying a limited?

[naturoses]

Guys: please let me know whether anyone of you regret buying a 2011 limited.

I felt the Nav screen is not that sharp. I heard that we cannot input new address while driving.


Please let me know more of your thoughts

Thanks all

[advan24r]

I regret spending all that money on a minivan (TOYOTA) but I guess we all need to grow up now that we have families and kids. So no I don't regret it...it's VERY PRACTICAL and I'M KEEPING IT FOR A LONG TIME.

I just bought our LIMITED AWD w/Premium Package and Convenience Package 2 days ago. Coming from a 2011 MB GL 450, I miss the luxury of a Benz but getting a fully loaded minivan and for the price that I paid vs. the GL450, it's the best bang for the buck.

I agree that the NAV SCREEN is not sharp, there's no leather covered sun visors (felt), no SD card slot, no lane assist (for those blind spots), no 3rd row power seats (I got the AWD version), plastic dash, no functionality on the NAV while driving, hate the widescreen entertainment screen (but daughter still loves it whenever it plays her cartoons) i would imagine the passengers going crazy watching 2 shows at once (actually prefer the dual monitors like the ROUTAN), and the tinny feel driving a japanese car, compared to our GL450 but other than that, it's definitely very practical for kids and passengers. It is much much easier to get in and out from the 3rd row, and you can't beat the lazy boy lounge 2nd row seats. Basically I'm still getting used to myself actually buying a minivan, never thought I would but the time has come when you have #2 expecting early next year.

[skinny2]

Kinda like Advan24r I wish it had some more luxury features....$45k is a big number on a minivan. I certainly wouldn't want LESS features so no regrets here. Wish there was a nice SUV with as much space/room...but not much choice without going to a Suburban.

NAV is ho-hum but it's the same on the XLE or Ltd. If you don't the NAV don't buy it on any model. You can buy this http://www.prestigioussociety.com/ and run the NAV while moving (and watch movies).

[Biggoldfish]

I actually upgraded from my previous vehicle. And the Sienna is our first "new" car. Love the convenience of power side doors especially when our #2 is fast asleep! LOL! The ease of moving around is great too. This coming from a 6' 1" 300 pounder. Lots more cargo space and cup holders. Even though we got the LE AWD, we don't regret getting a minivan. Oh, and congrats advan! You'll find the power sliding doors very helpful too!

[kps_desi]

Nope, dont regret it at all based on how much I paid for my Limited. But 45k for a brand new minivan is a little steep but the Honda Odyssey is about the same price. I got a really great deal for mine ( 2011 Limited, 12,500 miles with nav, RES, Auto everything for $35,000 + tax). But if I had to pay 45k for a brand new one then Id have to think twice about it. Its a great van overall.

[Arkay402]

We've been very satisfied with our choice of the Limited AWD since picking it up 6 months ago on a 36 months lease. Similar to advan24r, we have both a 2010 GL450 (my car) and my wife's Sienna in our garage and while the Toyota lacks the Teutonic feel of the cars I've come to be used to, it is a significantly better minivan in our opinion than the 2008 Odyssey Touring we had leased before and the new Odyssey Touring Elite that we compared to the Sienna.

We're about the experience our first winter with the Sienna and I'm wondering how the revised AWD system will be compared to the full-time AWD (permanent 50/50 torque split) system compared to my Mercedes-Benz 4matic in terms of traction if we don't get winter tires on this one.

But with the full features including the Premium and Convenience packages, we really have similar features compared to my GL450 including smart key, HID headlights, memory seats, and the power tailgate.

As for the nav system, we've found it to function well for what we've needed for local and long distance travel and while it was annoying not being able to use the touchscreen input while the car is in motion at first, we've become slowly adept at using the speech recognition hands-free feature to input destinations.

[naturoses]

Originally Posted by Arkay402

We've been very satisfied with our choice of the Limited AWD since picking it up 6 months ago on a 36 months lease. Similar to advan24r, we have both a 2010 GL450 (my car) and my wife's Sienna in our garage and while the Toyota lacks the Teutonic feel of the cars I've come to be used to, it is a significantly better minivan in our opinion than the 2008 Odyssey Touring we had leased before and the new Odyssey Touring Elite that we compared to the Sienna.

We're about the experience our first winter with the Sienna and I'm wondering how the revised AWD system will be compared to the full-time AWD (permanent 50/50 torque split) system compared to my Mercedes-Benz 4matic in terms of traction if we don't get winter tires on this one.

But with the full features including the Premium and Convenience packages, we really have similar features compared to my GL450 including smart key, HID headlights, memory seats, and the power tailgate.

As for the nav system, we've found it to function well for what we've needed for local and long distance travel and while it was annoying not being able to use the touchscreen input while the car is in motion at first, we've become slowly adept at using the speech recognition hands-free feature to input destinations.

Thank you for taking your time to write. This is very helpful and makes me feel great that I purchased a Sienna. I am also getting used to the Nav unit as well. I need to learn more but lack of time. I am coming from 2010 Highlander to Sienna. I miss my Highlander. There is some kind of feel to it and I am unable to explain what it is. I must get used to my Sienna feel. Anyways, I love my Sienna. It will help the family a lot. I do not regret buying at all.

[Biggoldfish]

I too came from an SUV to a minivan. So I know how you feel. The sense of being able to go anywhere you wanted because of the 4X4 capabilities and the ride height. Almost feeling like nothing can touch you but you can do almost anything. And no, I don't regret getting the Sienna either. LOL!

[blizprl1]

No regret at all with LTD, FWD Sienna. That's what we wanted. Already compared pluses and minuses of Sienna with Elite Odyssey. Yes, on the inside Odyssey looks more luxurious than Sienna (to me). Oddy has hard drive navi with a big control button (because of non touch screen) that works when vehicle is moving, while Sien has DVD navi with touch screen (what my wife & I like) that doesn't work when vehicle is moving. I can't do anything about this drawback, except installing $300 prestigioussociety device to enable the navi when moving, since there is no way to hack into the navi system to make it work (still thinking about it).

The inclination angle of seat back on 2nd and 3rd rows are better in Oddy than Sien, so you can lay down more. But Sien has ottomans (2nd row) and power folding seat (3rd row) while Oddy doesn't. You don't expect to pull seats down to stow them, and pull them up to use them in $45k minivan, do you? Outside, for me and my wife, clearly Sien looks better than Ody from front, sides, and rear.

Engine-wise, Oddy has cylinder deactivation system. Sien has none. But after looking at real, everyday data, it's hard to impossible to achieve 28 mpg highway on Oddy. My real life city mpg of Sien is between 20 - 21, when Toyota says 18 mpg city. I don't know yet for highway mpg. That will have to wait 2 more weeks. Sien uses relatively new 3.5L, DOHC engine while Oddy uses old tech 3.5L, SOHC engine.

Plenty of other things that I can type here to show why we decided to choose Sien over Oddy, but it'll take a lot of space and time. I just post things that we can clearly and feel right away here.