10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Toyota Sienna Casts Shadow Over Toyota Corolla

Whether to go quietly into that minivan night or rage, rage against the dying of … your swag, is a decision with which every American adult with multiple progeny must contend at some juncture. Cars.com Managing Editor Joe Bruzek recently drove himself to this crossroads — in his 2021 Volkswagen Atlas, pointedly — to determine if the 2024 Toyota Sienna could convince him to trade his pride for pragmatism on a test run with his wife and two car-seat-age kids. He recounted this trial by family in Cars.com’s most popular article of the past week.

Related: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: Chevrolet Trailblazer Jumps GMC Canyon

Bruzek brood favorite features include the Sienna’s objectively awesome remote opening and closing sliding doors; available fold-down widescreen entertainment display; easy and effective child-safety seat installation; eminently accommodating cargo room in any seat configuration; long-sliding second-row captain’s chairs; Atlas-eviscerating 35 mpg fuel economy; and gang of convenient stowage spaces and all-around families-first versatility. On crossexamination, however, the SUV defense counsel presented as evidence the Sienna’s second-row captain’s chairs that don’t fold flat; the as-tested Sienna XSE’s ear-wigglingly stiff ride quality and $47,000-plus price equaling that of the Atlas; and the unintended expectation-setting implication that more vehicle space means more Bruzek babies.

To learn whether Bruzek was ultimately swayed to the dork side by his family’s quality time with the Sienna, follow the link below to the No. 1 news story of the week.

Elsewhere on the sensible spectrum is another Toyota model prized for practicality: the Corolla. Except for the return of the dark-themed Nightshade edition, the 2024 version of the compact sedan and hatchback lineup carries over from the outgoing model year. Pricing for the new model year goes up across the lineup, though nothing likely to cause sticker shock. Including a destination charge, the gas-only sedan ranges across its four trim levels from just over $23,000 at the base up to a little over 28 grand at the top; the hybrid across four trims from $24,595 up to $28,345; and the hatchback across a trio of trims from $24,600 to just shy of $28,000.

For full trim-level details on the 2024 Toyota Corolla lineup, follow the link below to the No. 2 news story on this week’s countdown of most read articles.

Beyond all that, we’ve got headlines on the Kia EV9, Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, GMC Canyon, Kia Sorento, Cadillac XT4 and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:

1. I Drove the 2024 Toyota Sienna Hybrid to See What I’m Missing in My 3-Row SUV

2. Because the Nightshade: 2024 Toyota Corolla Regains Trim, Priced From $23,145

3. 2024 Kia EV9 Review: The First, Best and Only Semi-Affordable 3-Row Electric SUV

4. We Broke Our Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Trailhawk Off-Roading, and It Cost $7,000 to Fix

5. Electric Cars With the Longest Range

6. Which Electric Cars Are Still Eligible for the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit?

7. Is the 2024 GMC Canyon a Good Pickup Truck? 5 Pros and 5 Cons

8. 2024 Kia Sorento: Fresh Face, Fresh Trim, Fresh Price

9. 2024 Cadillac XT4 Review: Increase Your Screen Time

10. Do You Really Need to Change the Transmission Fluid?

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.