It's official: the i7 test drive is back on! This coming Tuesday! Pictures and review will be posted in the i7 thread

 

I'm looking forward to it!!

 

I've been really thinking about this, and I absolutely need to get rid of one of my cars. The vehicle we use the least is our Sienna, but when we need it, we really need it! Also my wife is adamant that we need a minivan. When one of our friends offered to buy it for a good price, my wife gave them a hard NO!

In 2025, two of my cars will be at the end of their leases, the Polestar and the Ioniq 5. I'm probably going to replace the Polestar with a Model 3 (base RWD) and replace both the Ioniq 5 and our 2013 Sienna with a Sienna Hybrid, which my wife will drive for her commute.

Now hold on a minute there! No, it doesn't mean I'm going back to ICE! My reasoning here is that there are currently no BEV's on the market today that can match the utility of a Minivan. Toyota Sienna hybrid or Pacifica Hybrid are it! Secondly, although the Sienna Hybrid has a pretty weak drivetrain, it's damn efficient! When we went to Tahoe this summer, my brother in law rented a Sienna hybrid for his family, and he was hitting nearly 36 mpg. My Sienna with it's 3.5L V6 was barely averaging 22 mpg. The entire trip, he made one less fill-up than I did. My wife, who would be the main driver, her work commute is mainly in stop and go traffic, where the hybrid's electric motors will do most of the work. So we would probably be talking two fill-ups a month. And she loves Costco gas, doesn't mind the lines, so we would be saving money there.

Lastly, I would be able to replace two cars and get rid of our gas guzzling minivan, all with one stone. And I would save on registration and insurance costs, as I wouldn't have to insure or register an extra car that mainly sits. Another thing I want to add is my wife doesn't care about the lack of power or the weak drivetrain. She was totally happy with driving our 2020 Hyundai Ioniq EV with only 138 hp for 3 years, and would have driven it another 3 years with no complaints. She also loves the higher seating position of minivans.

This is not a static plan, things could change in the next two years. Maybe Toyota will finally come out with that SSB that can go 600 miles and build a BEV Sienna. I'm also hearing that Hyundai will be releasing a fully BEV Carnival version of their minivan. Another possibility is a Rivian R1S, but I'm not sure if my wife would be happy replacing our Sienna with an SUV, we would have to see it up close to make that decision.

Anyway, we have two years to decide and with the EV marketing evolving quickly, we will probably have lots of options by then

 

sounds like a plan. as i understand it, the 4 EVs are for you (Y), your wife (Ioniq 5), your son (Polestar), and your daughter (Bolt). is the minivan only for trips / big loads? how often do you use it? and for what purposes?

i think you only got the ioniq 5 what, 5 months ago or so? that would be very end of '25 at least most likely to trade out?

sounds good. you bought the Y so would you buy the new 3 to replace the leased polestar?

so your trip cost you $100 more maybe, so not really a great potential saving. plus he paid for that rental.

definitely a win simply having 1 less vehicle. but if you buy a new Y and Sienna (hybrid) that's definitely a pretty big outlay for those 'savings'.

hey i love new cars too and i could have spent a lot less on them than my 'mad' lexus purchase and leased new ioniq! but where would the fun in that be?

 

Learn to live without a mini van.

 

If you owned a minivan, it would be easier to understand. There is a reason why they are so popular

 

That's a lot to answer. I'll post a response tomorrow!

 

I did own a Sienna (1998 model) a long time ago sometimes I miss not having it.
When you have young kids it's a must.

 

Keep the minivan! We regret selling ours. We kept an Odyssey for the times we needed it, and there are times we still wish we had it.

 

A minivan is more useful than a pickup truck. I can fit 8 passengers and their luggage. Fold down the seats, and I can load it up with all kinds of stuff, all the way to the roof. I even fit a 8 piece reclining sofa set I bought at Costco. I've helped people move, and used it for camping trips. Friends borrow it all the time. You can not underestimate the utility of a minivan until you get rid of it. Sure we don't use it a lot these days, but as I mentioned earlier, when we use it, we use it!

 

That's why I'm thinking of getting the Sienna hybrid...my wife can use it as a commuter, as it's fuel efficient, and it will do minivan duties when needed, and we can bring our car numbers down from four to three vehicles. As it is, our current Sienna just mostly sits, which is not good for it

 

Well, if you want to sell the Sienna at any point between now and then please do let me know!

 

Depends on use case. For me I'm often hauling around engines and transmissions it's harder to put this stuff in a van.

 

I will definitely let you know, but it won't be until at least mid 2025! Also it's hitting nearly 170k. That's nothing for this engine and transmission, but just thought I'd mention that

 

Absolutely a pickup is better for that, although if you lay the rear seats down, take out the rear captain seats and lay rubber mats, you'd be surprised