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The good: The 2011 Toyota Sienna Limited breaks new ground with a 16.4-inch rear-seat entertainment system. Adaptive cruise control and a dial-by-name Bluetooth phone system contribute to this minivan's advanced features.

The bad: The iPod interface immediately plays any music shown, and the stereo does not mute for navigation voice prompts. Adaptive cruise control cannot stop the car, and blind-spot detection would be nice.

The bottom line: The 2011 Toyota Sienna Limited offers comfort and entertainment for rear-seat passengers, and a reasonably tech-filled driving experience, with some limitations.

No matter how much minivans suffer from a negative family car stigma, people often come to a time in their lives when they realize that this type of vehicle is the best option for hauling kids, groceries, pets, and other accouterments of a settled life. With the updated 2011 Sienna, Toyota has foreseen and used technology to address a few of the challenges facing the modern, overburdened parent.

Practicality often dictates design, and such is the case with the new Sienna. Although the front incorporates some of the latest Toyota styling language with its ... Expand full review

No matter how much minivans suffer from a negative family car stigma, people often come to a time in their lives when they realize that this type of vehicle is the best option for hauling kids, groceries, pets, and other accouterments of a settled life. With the updated 2011 Sienna, Toyota has foreseen and used technology to address a few of the challenges facing the modern, overburdened parent.

Practicality often dictates design, and such is the case with the new Sienna. Although the front incorporates some of the latest Toyota styling language with its angular grille opening and curved hood, the sides are dominated by large, power-operated sliding doors. A beltline shoots straight back from the fenders, adding a little more style, but ultimately the Sienna is a large box on wheels. It looks modern and will fit unassumingly into grocery store parking lots.

Automatic entry
Our Limited trim model Sienna made a good case for the harried parent with its smart key system. Keeping the key fob in a pocket, we merely needed to touch the front door handle to unlock it, or give the sliding door handles a light pull for them to power open. We imagined a mother, arms loaded with grocery bags and two young scamps underfoot, benefiting greatly from this effortless entry.

Toyota's six-speed automatic comes up to modern transmission standards.

Similarly, it just took a push of a button to start the car, with no need to rummage through pockets or bags for the key. Toyota's reliable 3.5-liter V-6 sat under the hood, an engine that is more than adequate for moving the Sienna. Its 265 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque, working through a six-speed automatic transmission, got us quickly off the line at traffic lights, let us merge on freeways, and powered up hills without losing steam.

During passing maneuvers, flooring the gas got the transmission to kick down and stirred up an awful racket from the engine, as if it were complaining about the effort we asked of it. But it still provided the push we needed to pass trucks and other slow traffic.

Toyota also offers a 2.7-liter four-cylinder, which makes 187 horsepower, but we can't see the point of this engine. The EPA rating for the V-6 is 18 mpg city and 24 mpg highway (16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway for the all-wheel-drive version), while the four-cylinder gets 19 mpg city and 24 mpg highway; not much of a gain, and a big loss of power. In our V-6 version, we turned in a final fuel economy of 19.7 mpg.

Maneuvering around parking lots, we found another feature of the Sienna that should please parents: the overpowered steering makes low-speed turns very easy. We could turn the wheel with a single finger. Combined with its good turning radius, we drove through the most treacherous parking garages incident-free.

The steering wheel takes a very light touch to turn.

Further enhancing our parking lot prowess, our car came with a backup camera showing distance and trajectory lines. The camera is invaluable for reversing the Sienna, as a rear cabin filled with rough-housing children can destroy rear visibility. Given the bulk of the vehicle, it could also benefit from the type of around-view camera system we saw in the Infiniti EX35.

At speed, the steering lacks much road feel due to its tuning, but that is to be expected. The few times we put the Sienna through some fast corners, it showed a lot of body movement, the suspension designed more to handle speed bumps than apexes. But the ride could also have been a little smoother; it seemed to jounce around a little too much over some harsher road surfaces.

A more stable platform would have been nice, as the middle-row seats proved very inviting. In our car's seven-passenger configuration, two captain's chairs made up the second row, and each had an integrated ottoman and reclining back that put us in La-Z-Boy heaven. A massage feature would have completed the picture.

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The rear-seat entertainment system's ultra-wide-screen LCD made for one of the best movie-watching experiences we've seen in a car. Made of two LCDs, this screen measures 16.4 inches and can show a single video across its expanse or two separate images from different sources. Some movies can take advantage of this screen width for a very nice visual experience, or little Johnny can watch a movie while Janie plays a video game. Wireless headphones keep the audio private.

Recliners with ottomans make the middle row the best seats in the house.

Sitting in the front seat, we chose to play music as we drove, the Sienna offering satellite radio, an iPod jack, and Bluetooth streaming audio. The touchscreen LCD provided a usable interface for selecting channels or browsing an iPod music library. But the iPod interface is problematic in that it automatically starts playing any entry that shows up on the screen. For example, while browsing the albums category we hit the button that would make it show the next screen, and the music selection immediately changed to the top entry on that screen. This operation is very annoying if you want to browse the library while continuing to listen to a selection.

The audio came out loud and clear through the 10-speaker JBL-branded system, a feature of the Limited-trim Sienna. This system had surprisingly good clarity, probably due to a design geared toward the rear-seat entertainment system. But it wasn't the best for music, as midranges sounded a little hollow, and bass wasn't particularly strong.

One odd and annoying quirk of the Sienna's cabin tech is that the stereo would not mute or pause when the navigation system issued voice prompts for route guidance. With the music turned up, any route guidance was completely drowned out. And we could find no setting to fix this issue.

The navigation system shows traffic on maps with good resolution.

The navigation system itself is something we've seen in Lexus and Toyota models for some time, but despite its age, the maps still look good, and it incorporates some advanced features. The maps are strictly 2D, but the resolution is quite nice. Voice prompts for route guidance pronounce street names and graphics for turns, and freeway intersections are easy to read.

It shows traffic information on the maps and will dynamically change the route for bad traffic ahead. Further, the system used a voice prompt to warn about slow traffic, which typically means cars moving from 20 to 40 mph, on a programmed route. But this warning was not accompanied by a detour button, making it informational rather than actionable.

The car's navigation LCD also came in handy for the Bluetooth phone system. Along with showing an onscreen keypad to complement the voice command system, the phone system also ingested our phone's contact list, showing names on the LCD. The system falls short of offering dial-by-name voice commands, which many other automakers have adopted.

One final piece of tech helps for an effortless driving experience: adaptive cruise control. As in other cars we've tested, the adaptive cruise control let us set the Sienna's speed and following distance. As we approached slower traffic, the Sienna hit its own brakes and matched speed with the car ahead. Unlike adaptive cruise control in cars such as the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid, the Sienna's only works above about 30 mph, and won't bring the car to a complete stop if traffic ahead is stopped. Although adaptive cruise control is nice, we would really like to see blind-spot detection on the Sienna, as it has large blind spots.

In sum
Although the 2011 Toyota Sienna brings in some innovative cabin tech, especially considering the segment, its power train remains fairly run-of-the-mill. The 3.5-liter V-6 doesn't represent much of an advance on engine tech from five years ago. The six-speed automatic keeps the car up with current technology. Design is also mostly average, tending toward practicality more than flair. The onscreen interface remains usable but could do with an aesthetic overhaul.

The Sienna mostly shines for its cabin tech. Although the navigation system is old, it still works and looks good. Odd quirks aside, we appreciate the traffic alerts and iPod connectivity. Adaptive cruise control is a surprise in this segment, and the backup camera is essential. There are a few other cabin tech features we would like to see, but the movie theater qualities of the Sienna made our day.

DVD-based navigation system with trafficMP3 compatible four CD changerUSB drive, Bluetooth streaming audio, satellite radio, auxiliary inputAdaptive cruise control, rear-view cameraPrevious page

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The good: Lexus includes an excellent-sounding audio system with the 2010 GX 460's navigation package. The car can download destinations selected from a home computer. Side and frontview cameras are available.

The bad: Even with its new engine, the GX 460 has poor fuel economy. Different suspension modes make only small changes. The iPod interface can be annoying.

The bottom line: Although it sports some modern touches, the 2010 Lexus GX 460 is an old-style large SUV that can hold many passengers and tow heavy loads, but it burns a lot of gas.

Big SUVs may be out of favor because of their generally low fuel economy, but the 2010 Lexus GX 460 reminds us how comfortable it can be to cruise around in one of these behemoths. Lexus fits the GX 460 cabin in leather, soft plastics, and wood trim, and its third-row seats fold out of the cargo floor, letting the big vehicle transport seven people.

The 2010 GX 460 is the successor to the 2009 GX 470. With the GX 460, Lexus uses a more advanced variable-valve timing to downsize the engine yet increase

... Expand full review Big SUVs may be out of favor because of their generally low fuel economy, but the 2010 Lexus GX 460 reminds us how comfortable it can be to cruise around in one of these behemoths. Lexus fits the GX 460 cabin in leather, soft plastics, and wood trim, and its third-row seats fold out of the cargo floor, letting the big vehicle transport seven people.

The 2010 GX 460 is the successor to the 2009 GX 470. With the GX 460, Lexus uses a more advanced variable-valve timing to downsize the engine yet increase horsepower and fuel economy. However, don't expect a dramatic difference in fuel economy. Weighing in at 5,305 pounds, the engine has a lot of metal to move. Mated to its six-speed-automatic transmission, the engine turns in EPA fuel economy ratings of 15 mpg city and 20 mpg highway. In our driving, we averaged 16.2 mpg through city, freeway, and mountain roads.

Connected navigation
Putting our green concerns aside, we climbed into the cabin, and we literally mean climbed, as the height necessitated using the running board to get in. The GX 460 is pure SUV, with a ride height above most modern crossovers. The GX 460's body-on-frame construction is how they built trucks and even cars 100 years ago.

Lexus adds Destination Assist, part of its Enform telematics service, to the GX 460's navigation system.

However, its navigation system comes from this century. We recognize the look of the maps from previous Lexus models, but unlike those DVD-based navigation systems, the GX 460 stores its maps on a hard drive. Given the extra storage space, we would have expected Lexus to include 3D maps, but this system remains 2D-only.

Likewise, the navigation system's touch-screen interface has the same icons and onscreen keyboard as previous Lexus models have, except it now has a feature called Destination Assist. Part of Lexus' new Enform telematics service, Destination Assist dials an operator who can look up business addresses and send the information to the navigation system. More intriguing is the eDestination feature that lets Lexus owners log in to the Enform Web site, find and save various destinations, and then download them to the navigation system from within the car.

Under route guidance, this navigation system uses its XM NavTraffic feed to show traffic problems on the maps and route around potential problems. However, that information didn't stop it from guiding us into some nasty stop-and-go traffic. In its defense, the system did give an audible warning about bad traffic on the route.

The car also has external data for weather, stock prices, and sports scores, the latter two new features for Lexus. When we selected a stock symbol in the configuration menu, it pulled up the stock screen, and we were able to see the current price and how much it had dropped during the day. Touching the entry on the screen made the GX 460 read out the current price and point change, a feature designed to help drivers keep their eyes on the road.

Drive modes
As our vehicle had the Premium trim, it came with an adjustable air suspension, along with a set of controls on the console suggesting the GX 460 could handle serious off-roading. Along with ride height adjustment, these controls engaged descent control, switched between four-wheel-drive low and high, and changed the suspension setting from Comfort to Sport.

Switches on the console engage four-wheel drive modes and change the suspension setting.

Using the latter, we only noticed minor differences in ride feel. In its Comfort setting, the suspension remained firm and did not allow much travel. Going over rougher pavement, we wouldn't call its ride luxurious. Its damping was good, but we certainly felt the bumps. There's only so much you can do with body-on-frame construction.

Shoving the switch into its Sport position, we noticed a slightly firmer feeling to the suspension, but it was far from dramatic. Trying it out on a few corners, the GX 460 didn't give us the confidence to really throw it around. The Sport mode lowers it a little, but it is still a tall vehicle with plenty of weight, and the air suspension does not actively counteract roll.

The power steering is also tuned more for the parking lot than mountain roads. In typical Lexus style, it takes little effort to turn the wheel. Although a boon for cranking the wheels around in a parking garage, this steering tuning rules out road feel.

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Given the character of the GX 460, we were surprised to see a Sport mode on the six-speed transmission. In this mode, the SUV might hit Lexus' reported 7.8 seconds to 60 mph, as it lowers the shift points. But it didn't downshift aggressively in turns. Given this vehicle's poor fuel economy, using its Sport mode will just burn more gas without delivering much benefit.

Ignoring the various sport settings, the GX 460 proved easy to drive in most circumstances. The big engine gave it enough power for passing maneuvers and its turning radius was reasonable for such a big vehicle. A backup camera and side mirrors that automatically dip down when the car is put in reverse helped us while parking. The image from the backup camera is crisp, but it doesn't show any distance or trajectory lines.

Lexus also offers adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, and side and frontview cameras, although these were not included on our test vehicle.

Stellar sound
In one way, the GX 460 really stood out: its stereo had excellent audio quality. With the navigation system comes a Mark Levinson audio system using 17 speakers and a 330-watt amplifier. This system goes deep in even compressed audio tracks, bringing every tone to the surface. We are always pleased when an audio system surprises us with sounds in a track we hadn't heard before.

However, the Mark Levinson system not only finds these sounds, but also makes them real. It recreated tambourines and other percussion instruments, placing them clearly in the cabin. In one track that fades out to the sound of a car driving away, it seemed like a Chevy had just driven through the GX 460's cabin. The sound is also well-balanced, keeping highs from getting too shrill or bass from rattling door panels, yet still producing a chest-felt thump.

Browsing an iPod library causes any album at the top of the list to start playing immediately.

Unlike most other automakers with hard-drive-based navigation systems, Lexus doesn't let you rip CDs to the car. That leaves iPod integration, Bluetooth streaming audio, satellite radio, and a six-disc CD changer as audio sources. For iPod integration, we had the same complaint as in the Toyota Sienna: land on any album or artist while viewing the library with the touch screen, and it starts playing immediately, ruling out any idle music browsing.

Another thing we found annoying is that the navigation system would not mute or pause the stereo when it issued route guidance voice prompts. With such a good audio system, we frequently had it turned up loud, drowning out the next turn directions.

Lexus uses its latest Bluetooth phone system with the GX 460. Not only does it download a phone's contact list, but it also makes the names available through the voice-command system.

In sum
The big 2010 Lexus GX 460 has some interesting design quirks, such as a side-opening rear door. Stylistically, its side graphic, the window, and pillar arrangement, is nicely sculpted, but the whole vehicle hardly cuts a unique figure on the road. The cabin tech interface looks good, but iPod integration is difficult to use.

Although Lexus fitted it with a new engine, variable-valve timing is nothing new, and the six-speed automatic transmission is pretty standard these days. The only things giving the GX 460 a bump in performance are its off-road systems, which could be useful if an owner were to take this $60k vehicle into the back woods.

The GX 460 really stands out for its cabin tech. Although we would like to see richer maps, the ability to pick destinations from a PC then download them to the car is very cool. The stereo sources are pretty standard, but the audio quality from the Mark Levinson sound system is superior to most other factory offerings. The availability of driver-aid systems such as adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, and cameras all around boost its tech credentials.

4.6-liter V-8 engine, six-speed automatic transmissionUSB drive, Bluetooth streaming audio, satellite radio, auxiliary inputNine speaker system standard, Mark Levinson 330 watt 17 speaker system optionalAdaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, driver attention monitor, rear view camera, side and front-view camerasPrevious page

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The good: An all-wheel-drive system and tight suspension give the 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD excellent handling, and its manual transmission is a pleasure to shift. The ELS audio system produces excellent sound.

The bad: The Acura's iPod interface is inconsistent with other audio interfaces in the car, and the big controller looks out of place in an upscale brand.

The bottom line: The 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD drives like a sports car, but it works as a daily commuter. Its cabin tech is all very good, but Acura doesn't break any new ground.

Acura's lineup of sedans all seem to blend together, kind of like the latest crop of young actors gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly. The cars, not the actors, have a midlevel of luxury and fit into the midsize sedan segment. Since Acura gives them names such as TSX, TL, and, RL, anyone would be forgiven for mixing them up.

However, there is one model that stands out. A variation of the TL that lives loud and can be favorably compared with a BMW 3-series. We are talking about the 2010 Acura TL ... Expand full review

Acura's lineup of sedans all seem to blend together, kind of like the latest crop of young actors gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly. The cars, not the actors, have a midlevel of luxury and fit into the midsize sedan segment. Since Acura gives them names such as TSX, TL, and, RL, anyone would be forgiven for mixing them up.

However, there is one model that stands out. A variation of the TL that lives loud and can be favorably compared with a BMW 3-series. We are talking about the 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD, which gets a bigger engine than the standard TL, along with an excellent manual transmission and a high tech all-wheel-drive system.

The TL SH-AWD that rolled into our garage came with all the extras, which Acura rolls into a single trim level. Its Technology package added GPS navigation and the ELS audio system, and a High Performance Tire package set the tone for a good bit of our testing.

With its last update in 2009, the TL SH-AWD embodies current Acura design. The car has a very strong belt line and front fenders that protrude upward. The front and rear of the car are the most controversial elements, both forming a center point. We like the small number of openings up front, minimizing grille aperture, but the beak-shaped grille surround is a bit harder to take.

Inside the car, the Acura's main interface controller is a very prominent, big knob/directional controller in the center of the stack. We like the controller's ergonomics and usability, but it's unsightly and doesn't exactly evoke feelings of refined luxury. Acura designers have also notoriously been button happy; and although the dashboard is a little cleaner in the 2010 TL SH-AWD from previous models, a field of buttons still covers the stack and steering wheel.

The Acura's navigation interface is easy to use and it lets you enter destinations while driving.

The main controller makes entering a destination into the navigation system easy to do while driving, which is something Acura does not prevent you from doing. The car also has a very capable voice command system for destination entry.

The hard-drive based navigation system's maps look good and have decent resolution. However, the maps are strictly 2D, with the normal direction of travel and North-facing options. The car's navigation system receives traffic data that shows traffic flow and incident information on the maps. It also uses that data to calculate routes free of traffic jams where possible.

Two things stand out about the Acura's navigation system: the route guidance and a special scenic roads feature. Along with having voice prompts that speaks street names, the system's route guidance graphics give lane guidance and show you upcoming junctions in a perspective view to help you prepare for the turn.

The system also has a neat scenic roads feature that lists picturesque drives in every state but Hawaii. We chose the Big Sur Highway, which is down the coast from San Francisco, and the system guided us to a central point on the route.

The Acura that roared
Rather than letting us enjoy the scenery, the TL SH-AWD made us want to drive fast. Its 3.7-liter V-6 engine makes a delightful growl when given throttle, and the six-speed-manual transmission is just about perfect with a precise gate and a solid feel.

We wouldn't say this engine is the stuff of legend. It uses a single overhead cam and Honda/Acura's tried and true VTEC system to wring out 305 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, but that is plenty for this 3,889-pound vehicle.

The Acura's manual transmission made us very happy.Hide Review Next page

Coupled with the close ratio gearbox and its short-throw shifter, banging through the Acura's gears on a run to 60 mph is a lot of fun. Also, the precision of the gate makes shifting in even stop-and-go traffic painless.

Setting the TL SH-AWD apart from similarly engine sport luxury cars is its all-wheel-drive system, which Acura calls Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive. By shifting torque not only fore and aft, but also across the rear axle, the system aids the SH-AWD in cornering by pushing extra torque to the outside rear wheel in a turn, rotating the car. The effect is very good, minimizing understeer.

When we first pulled the TL SH-AWD out of our parking garage, the steering gave a telltale whirring sound as we cranked the wheel, indicating an electric power steering unit. While initially worrying, Acura proved to us that it knows how to tune this type of steering rig as we got the car into some corners. The car dials down the numb electric power feel, letting the feel of the road come through.

Likewise, the suspension system kept this car's sport intentions pure. In normal city and freeway driving, the ride was a little stiffer than you would want in a luxury car. However, the car's stiff ride paid off in the corners where it maintained excellent stability, helping keep the tires planted on the pavement.

You can get the TL SH-AWD with a five-speed-automatic transmission, but we think opting for that gearbox would be a mistake. For sport driving, Acura's automatic transmissions are notoriously weak, and the TL SH-AWD is not a car to leave in the garage on weekends. However, the standard TL works fine as a commuter car.

The sound system also roars
Not that the TL SH-AWD can't handle the daily commute as well as fast drives over good roads, it is just a little stiffer than its more sedate counterpart is. The ELS audio system, which uses 10 speakers and a 440-watt amp, delivers excellent audio quality and adds to the car's interior comfort. We enjoyed the system's bass response, which came through strong with little distortion, as well as its clear, warm vocals. While the system's highs didn't sound as distinguished as we would like, lacking really fine detail, overall we were satisfied with it.

The Acura's iPod interface does not have the same interface design as other screens in this cabin tech system do.

With a hard drive in the car for map storage, Acura reserves space for music storage. We particularly like the interface to browse music on the drive, which uses the same design as that for satellite radio and the navigation system, with big icons for album, genre, artist, and playlist. Strangely, the interface for browsing a connected iPod's library is nowhere near as nice, putting the same categories in an ugly little list. It is an odd inconsistency.

Acura rounds out its cabin tech with a Bluetooth phone system. It does a nice job of presenting the phone's contact list on the car's LCD, but the voice command system does not support dialing by name.

That LCD also shows an image from the rearview camera, with an overlay of distance lines. But Acura has not included any other driver aid technologies, such as blind spot detection.

In sum
Everything about the 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD is very nice, and we looked forward to taking it out for test drives. However, none of its tech, barring the audio system, reaches for the stars.

In particular, the car's engine and transmission, although nicely refined, are standard. However, the all-wheel-drive system and suspension tuning raise the car's level of handling significantly, and we give it credit for that.

All of the cabin tech systems are very usable and modern. We like the navigation system, especially the route guidance, but there is nothing here we haven't seen in other cars. The stereo includes the usual audio sources, and we like the audio quality of this system. Where the car really falls behind the competition is in driver aid technologies.

The exterior design of the TL SH-AWD might be controversial, but it is certainly distinct from other brands, if not other Acuras. The car's electronics interface is very usable, and some of the onscreen menus look good, but Acura hasn't embraced the notion of simplicity when it comes to buttons.

SH-AWD 6-Speed Manual with Technology Package and High Performance Tires3.7-liter V-6, 6 speed manual transmissionHard drive-based navigation with trafficMP3 compatible single CD/DVD playerBluetooth streaming, onboard hard drive, USB drive, satellite radioELS 440 watt 10 speaker surround sound systemPrevious page

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