Orlando Sentinel's view

Unaccustomed to being one step behind arch-rival Honda, as Toyota has been in the minivan market for years, the company has pulled out all the stops with the new 2004 Sienna. Is it finally better than the Honda Odyssey?

Maybe, maybe not. But given the level of sophistication of the top-of-the-line test vehicle, a Sienna XLE Limited with all-wheel-drive, Toyota has certainly upped the ante at the high end of the market.

The test van carries a pretty healthy sticker price of $36,930 base, $39,207 out the door with two options and delivery fees. But the list of equipment is staggering.

Such as “Dynamic Laser cruise control,” which uses front-mounted lasers to determine the distance of obstacles, such as slower vehicles, in front of you while you have the cruise control set. It will automatically slow the minivan down as you close up on a slower car, then automatically speed up as you pull out to pass.

And there’s front and rear sonar parking assist. Air bags for all three rows of seats. A tire pressure warning system. Xenon headlights with fog lamps. A 10-speaker JBL stereo with a six-disc CD changer and separate rear controls. Dual power sliding side doors, and a power-opening rear door. A power glass moonroof. Leather upholstery with wood trim. Heated seats. Seventeen-inch alloy wheels with “run-flat” tires. Antilock brakes. Electronic stability control. A rear-seat DVD player with flip-down screen and a pair of wireless headphones.

And, as mentioned, all-wheel-drive; standard Siennas have front-wheel-drive. Given Toyota’s reputation and the presence of the all-wheel-drive and multiple electronic safety features and all these air bags, this must certainly be the safest minivan ever offered, and likely one of the safest vehicles ever built, period.

That said, it works mighty well as a minivan too. The 3.3-liter V-6 has 230 horsepower, 10 less than 3.5-liter V-6 in the Odyssey, but 20 more than the Sienna had last year. The engines and five-speed automatic transmissions in the Honda and Toyota feel very similar – plenty of power, smoothly delivered.

The Sienna’s rear seats fold flat into the floor, making for plenty of luggage space. Leave the seats up, and there’s still a very healthy 43.6 cubic feet of space available. The test van had seven-passenger seating, but eight-passenger seating is offered. The 2004 Sienna is 6.5 inches longer than the 2003 model, and it shows inside.

Toyota has covered the waterfront with Sienna models, starting at $22,955, if you can do without all-wheel-drive, leather and some of the other deluxe appointments. Even so, the base Sienna model, called the CE, has a lot of standard equipment, including antilock brakes, air conditioning, power windows and locks and a six-speaker stereo with CD player. Plus, you still get the 3.3-liter V-6 and five-speed automatic transmission.

The LE model has more equipment than the CE, and the X LE has even more. The XLE Limited, the test model, has all the bells and whistles, and then some.

The ball is in Honda’s court. We await the next Odyssey with interest.