It’s been about seven months since we took delivery of a long-term 2023 Toyota Sienna test van. Since then, the odometer has climbed up and over 9,000 miles, and it continues to be our long-term vehicle of choice when it comes to long road trips. With this amount of miles comes a reliable source of real-world fuel economy, and while the numbers are generally good, it’s not all roses for this hybrid minivan.
Being the all-wheel-drive version of the Sienna, our test van is rated for 35 mpg city, 36 mpg highway and 35 mpg combined. So, right around 35 mpg is where we should expect our average to land. Unfortunately, we’re sitting at 31.2 mpg so far in our test, which puts us a little off the expected efficiency numbers.
We’re not shedding too many tears over the missed target, though, as 31 mpg in a vehicle that can carry as many people and their things as this Sienna can is downright extraordinary. Plus, we expected to take a slight hit due to our van being the fully-loaded Platinum, adding weight and hurting efficiency.
Every editor who’s been behind the wheel so far has seen their mileage vary, too. Interestingly, there hasn’t been much correlation between long road trips and around-town duty, but that’s as it should be with the Sienna’s official highway and city ratings being as close as they are to each other.
Some editors clearly have a heavier right foot than others, but even the worst tanks of fuel returned figures in the high 20s, nearing 30 mpg. And try as we might, we still haven’t been able to match the EPA-rated figures, coming as close as 34 mpg in one particularly efficient tank. At least it’s nearly impossible to get truly poor fuel economy, no matter your use case.
We’ll continue to track this data as the months roll on to see if the Sienna’s efficiency perks up at some point.
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