2012 TOYOTA SIENNA XLE

It’s not as flexible as some minivans, but the 2012 Toyota Sienna is large, safe, and still has options for four-cylinder power and all-wheel drive.

One of the Big Four among minivans, the Toyota Sienna was revamped last year to give families more choice in drivetrains and in features. The Sienna’s now the most diverse minivan, in terms of power and features, but it’s not quite the most flexible big box in the parking lot.

You won’t encounter any flash mobs thronging around the Sienna for its looks alone, but it’s a little more dynamic-looking than the domestic and Korean minivans. Honda’s gone astray with a lightning-bolt motif and Nissan’s mimicking the Ford Flex, but Toyota was satisfied finessing the Sienna’s details, adding some more pronounced forms on the nose and down its side windows. It’s not quintessentially boxy like the Chrysler vans or the Quest, and the Sienna tapers softly from windshield to tail. The dash wears a big, dramatic arc like other new Toyotas, one that divides driver controls from secondary knobs and switches. The swoopy theme gives the impression of greater interior space, and seats and trim pieces have been slimmed down for the same effect. Unlike other Toyotas, the Sienna’s interior looks a bit better than in the last-generation minivan, but there’s still grainy plastic on the dash. Some plastic trim is swapped out in higher grades for woodgrain trim, and gauges go electroluminescent, like those on a Lexus.