I don’t get the comparison to a Sienna. They are totally different vehicles. Totally different power levels.

Obviously it would be cheaper. but so would a Elantra wagon and if you factoring the lower starting prices.

 

Because that's what she drove before. Ok, it's cheaper to drive than our Camry, and it's cheaper to drive My IS350, and it's cheaper to drive than my Corolla I owned. Satisfied?

 

This should probably be a seperate thread, but here goes. I decided just for the heck of it to test drive a 2021 Toyota Sienna, it's definitely on my list when the Ioniq's lease is up . As everyone knows, for 2021, gone is the 3.5L V6 replaced by a 2.5L 189 HP 4 cylinder and 56 hp electric motor. I would say it's a bit of a mixed bag. It's premium, roomy, comfortable, has a very smooth ride and 36 mpg for this size vehicle. What's disappointing is the loss of that beautiful 3.5L smooth as silk V6. In my 2013 you put your foot down and the V6 not only gets you going pretty fast, but it sounds awesome doing it. The 2021 Sienna is pretty slow on take off, and the 2.5L 4 sounds really buzzy when accelerating. On the hwy it's a lot noisier than the previous gen Sienna's. If you are used to turbocharged or hybrid 4 cylinders, it probably won't bother you. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't bother my wife either.

Anyway the comfort and great gas mileage will probably win over most people. For me, I'm still on the fence if dropping from 268 hp to 245 hp is worth the 36 mpg

 

Check out the new Kia Carnival coming out.

https://www.kia.com/us/en/carnival-mpv

It looks like it may be a better alternative. I'm not too thrilled about the wimpy hybrid powertrain on the Sienna. When I do family trips, its up big mountains and don't want to hear a crappy 4 cylinder the whole way up. Maybe they will make an EV version

 

I'm not too worried about the loss of 23 hp, but I would not enjoy the sound of a coarse 4 cylinder all of the time. That drivetrain, slightly scaled down, in my parents RAV4 is not coarse or noisy at all, but it's pulling such a smaller vehicle. I have my parents' RAV4 right now and it'll actually push you back in the seat on sport mode, but again, so much less weight than in the Sienna, especially loaded with people. I still want to drive one for myself, but we are not interested in one anyway.

 

We do as well. We go to Sequoia National park a lot, and my aunt lives in Three Rivers, maybe 5 or 6 miles from the park entrance, so we visiter her a lot. We also go to SoCal, and Hwy 152 as well as the Grapevines are pretty steep, I'm not sure how this one will handle those inclines. That new Sienna drives really well, don't get me wrong, it's just really disappointing in the power department. Sound dept as well. Hopefully they do make an EV version, that would probably seal the deal!

I'll definetly check out the Carnival. Thanks for the link

 

that loss of 23 hp makes a big difference with a van the size of the Sienna. The current engine suits the RAV4 perfectly, even the non-hybrid version is Ok for daily. Also, I've owned two Siennas (my wife totaled our 2004 Sienna), the first one had the 3.3L V6 and my current has a 3.5L, getting into one with a 2.5L it feels like something is off. That's the only way I can explain it

 

Thanks for the real-life feedback.

When the day comes to part with our Highlander, I have no idea what we'll get. My wife only wants to go with a hybrid, but we specifically bought the 19 Highlander Hybrid so we could have it with the V6. My lady's going to be out of luck next time around! I think we'll keep this one for a long time as we've been super happy with it.

 

Yeah, I would say hold on to it. They last forever. My brother in law has a Hybrid Highlander, I think it's maybe a 2013 with plus 200K. Still runs great. It's downsized engines from here, either turbocharged or hybrid. Toyota/Lexus are using hybrid tech as a bridge to full EV

 

Bitkahuna just got a new '21 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy (which competes with the Highlander, although the Palisade also does, to an extent), and appears happy wth it.

 

Thanks, but that won't work because it doesn't have a third row and it's not a hybrid, both of which are must-haves. But in any case, we are going to hang on to the Highlander Hybrid for quite some time. Good room and tech, lots of great features, fabulous mileage, and over 300 hp. We've had our current one for almost 2 years and it only had 6000 miles on it.

 

The Kia Sorento--their version of the Santa Fe--has a 3rd row and is available as a hybrid. But it sounds like we're a long way out, so I'm sure the lineup will change dramatically before you're ready to switch.

 

Hi, congrats on Ioniq! Here in NJ they can be had for <200$ to lease 0 due at signing.
i just leased 2020 Kona EV Ultimate trim, for only 268$/month x36months (10Kmiles x3 per year lease). Zero due at signing. So <10K on total lease for 3 years. That is insane rebates they have, 17000. Anybody qualifies for. I will sell that Kona in 2 years I think and replace with something new like Ariya, have to wait until Ariya issues possibly resurface after 1st year of people's using it. Always lease, never buy. You can always buy out your leased car at any time OR sell it to carvana.com or vroom.com any time (without buying it out). Why would you dump a lot of money upfront into depreciating car?
Have to call electrician to add 220v outlets with 40 amp fuse to charge it 5,6x faster than this current 12amp 110v one.

 

I recently saw a special for Costco members where they can lease a new Bolt for $110 a month with no upfront fee. This was in California but just thought I'd throw that out there.

Also, some manufacturers lease terms are horrid so it doesn't make sense to lease. Tesla lease terms for the Model 3 were terrible and there was no option to purchase the car after the lease ended (they really wanted you to purchase the car). Fortunately, the resale has been good.

 

Congrats on the Kona! The Kona EV is definitely on my list when the Ioniq lease expires. I didn't lease the Kona because I had to make a compromise and keep our Sienna, and the Ioniq lease made it possible. Hyundai has the most amazing lease program. 3 months before the lease expires I can get into another car and skip the last 3 payments. For EV's, leasing is the way to go because as I see it, the money you save on fueling/maintenance costs is almost your lease payments, especially if you drive/commute as much as my wife does. Also you don't have to worry about wear and tear, and every 3 years you'll have a new vehicle. As you said, you can buy out the lease if you want