2011 Toyota Sienna SE: Removing The Middle Row Seats

This is appalling. =P With today's technology and innovation, I fully expect seats to be motorized and fold fully flat on their own, losing absolutely no interior cargo room, and activated by the raise of an eyebrow.

Again, if one hauls a lot in their van then there is nothing more convenient than Stow-n-go, period. If one rarely hauls bulky stuff then the better comfort of the import vans is the way to go. BUT if one hauls mainly kids and not large adults then I would take the Stow N Goes any time. What a pain in the ass to take the seats in and out all of the time.

The fact is that minivans nowadays are used almost exclusively for hauling family around - not 4x8 panels.

And in those very rare times that you do, you can just fold the second row seat backs forward and still fit them in. You can also still fit a lot of junk for those dump runs with the second row seats folded as well.

Having very comfortable second row seats is much more important because humans sit back there way more than junk or 4x8 panels.

now imagine trying to slide a box or other cargo in there that wouldnt be fine resting on all of that mechanism. I can't remember the last minivan that left anything like that behind when the middle seats were removed.

See this comparison of the Quest seating system vs the Sienna:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhsCyx-J4zw&feature=feedlik

Wow. I didn't realize the seats were so heavy. My better half wouldn't be able to handle them (the larger seat weights 75% of what she does).

Let's hear it for stow-n-go.

The Nissan Quest seats since last gen have been better than stow n go.
The last gen Nissan quest seats kneel, and done. flat floor.
The current gen Nissan Quest seats do the SUV folding, for ease, but sacrifices cargo room.

The last gen Nissan Quest had the best seats. If only it had reliability and skilled craftsmanship to back it up haha!

I would choose the Nissan Quest if I need a minivan.

I like the center seat hole-thing, but would still choose an Odyssey over the Sienna, the interior seems much more refined.

That kind of scares me that the center seatbelts aren't bolted to the frame of the van...

I'm sorry, but there is nothing better than stow-n-go seating. When we take trips to Orlando, Montgomery and Springfield, the stow-n-go helps tremendously. We can take all of luggage with room to spare. The only thing that would make it better would be if Chrysler made the stow-n-go power operated for middle row. I'd take the new Chrysler/Dodge minivan over the competition because of stow-n-go. I currently own an 05 Grand Caravan SXT.

@uncanny_man: Try not to let it bother you. Nowadays nearly all seatbelt receptacles in all cars are bolted to the seat frame, which can slide relative to the car's body but is nevertheless connected to it on the other side of the sliding mechanism. The belt part of center seat belts are regularly bolted to seat frames, too, along with an increasing number of driver and outboard passenger seats. The Sienna and Odyssey's seat frames are removable, but you can see the extent of the hardware involved. And of course they have to crash-test this sort of thing.

"The fact is that minivans nowadays are used almost exclusively for hauling family around - not 4x8 panels."

The "fact"? If you can point to ANY studies or anything to prove that statement, I will believe you. Two of the friends I have with mini vans use them to haul things on the weekend, then haul kids around during the week. Being versatile is the best thing about a mini van. Heavy seats and all that crap on the floor after one removes them means the Seinna is poor in that aspect of versatility.

Just returned from San Diego where we rented a 2011 Town and Country from Thrifty. Stow and Go seamed neat, never used it never needed to. The seats were pretty comfortable, but less so then our 2011 Sienna.

Something disconcerting for a van with 2400 miles was the lower trim piece from the Chryslers seat had fallen off and was 'Stowed' in the below cavity. Ditto for the Plastic Trim on the bottom of the Back Door opening that was also was also loose on the right side. I simply lifted it up in the Middle, and it Tucked back in on the right side, but still I couldn't help but to think stuff shouldn't be coming off s easy on a new car.

I think its safe to say if you want a van for passenger and utility reasons, Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country have everyone beat. I have traveled a few times in the different generation of the stow n go system and for how easy it is for anyone to use make a world of difference.

@shawnandt, 2400 rental miles = 50k real people miles. Seriously, rental cars are notoriously beat to shit

I wonder why nobody talks about the Kia Sedona. There have been several recent cmparison tests of minivans, and the Sedona was not a part of either test.

My next door neighbor has a brand new 2011 Sedona, and I got a good look inside and out, sat in the front, rear, saw how the seats folded, etc. I was impressed.....

Impressed because they paid $19,995 for it-- and, it has the new 3.5 V6 from the Sorrento.

Since the Sedona is the lowest priced minivan, by far, I would be interested in seeing how it compares with the more expensive competitors.

Ed, The Kia is not the lowest priced minivan. The Dodge Caravan is priced at $23,995 and the Sedona is $24,495. The Dodge blows it away at that price point. The Sedona is nice but has nothing like Stow n Go or in floor storage.....

Just like my car, your friends got a great deal on their Sedona....but I was using published prices.

Taking seats out is a pain in the ass, I don't care how light the seats are. I agree with Sharpend in that minivans are purchased mainly as people movers, not work vehicles. What matters in a family minivan is ease of use. That's why stow-n-go was such a hit because you don't need to remove the seats. However, they aren't exactly quick and easy to stow without both hands and full concentration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yavRAkRVZMA

The new Nissan Quest has the best seating/cargo system because it's the easiest. It can be reconfigured with one hand from outside the van wherever you happen to be. That's convenience you can really use often. No seat-origami or seat-ectimies to perform. Plus, you get a HUGE underfloor compartment in the back to hide valuables or dead bodies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ZkLIMy92g

"However, they aren't exactly quick and easy to stow without both hands and full concentration."

Oh come on......it takes all of about three or four times to get the hang of it.

"Plus, you get a HUGE underfloor compartment in the back to hide valuables or dead bodies."

With stow n go you get two of the same things in the front......

@jukiemcjuke - this is exactly why I bought the Quest instead of the Sienna and Odyssey. I went to Ikea and bought a full size 3 seat sofa. All I need to do was to fold all the seats down with one hand and it fitted perfectly. I don't need to take the seats out and store at my garage before going, that's a very important benefit compared to the other two vans.

@ bodyblue - "With stow n go you get two of the same things in the front......"

you will not get the space once the seats being stowed.

In the Quest, you still have the underfloor storage after folding the seats.

Is there under floor storage up front in the Quest too?

J30....cool I did not know that......but what do you do with the seats if you do need to remove them for a bulky load? There are many different ways of doing things but stow n go is just the easiest if you haul a lot of bulky stuff....but the seats are not as comfortable for adults......just what you need I guess. :)

@ firstwagon - no storage under the 2nd row. They put the spare tire under there.

@ bodyblue - there is no way to remove the 2nd row seat without tools. Unless the load is unusually tall, I don't think i need to remove the 2nd row seats. Due to the tall boxy shape of the van, it has a very useful space when the seat fold down.

It can't compete with Stow and Go if you want the convenience and maximum cargo volume. And no vans can beat the value of Caravan and TC in the price department.

ed124c, cars.com said Kia wouldn't give them a Sedona when they asked -- it's probably happened with others.

It's a very strong buy, but it's not a great van. I recently wrote up a review of my own here:
http://www.examiner.com/cars-in-national/comparison-review-2011-minivans-fourth-place

bodyblue says:

07:13 AM, 06/ 6/11

"The fact is that minivans nowadays are used almost exclusively for hauling family around - not 4x8 panels."

The "fact"? If you can point to ANY studies or anything to prove that statement, I will believe you. Two of the friends I have with mini vans use them to haul things on the weekend, then haul kids around during the week. Being versatile is the best thing about a mini van. Heavy seats and all that crap on the floor after one removes them means the Seinna is poor in that aspect of versatility.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I'd just like to point out that, in the above example, it tells me that hauling family is still the only purpose for a minivan 5 days out of 7 (assuming they haul things every weekend). The Sienna has more cargo room behind the 2nd row seats than the Ford Flex has behind its 1st row seats, so I bet that the average American won't need to take out the 2nd row seats quite so often. Better padded seats win here for me anyway. I have hauled a lot of furniture without having to take out the 2nd row seats. In fact, we will be removing one 2nd row seat for the first time ever in a year, in anticipation for 3 carseats.

If only there was a minivan whose second row seats folded flat into the floor so you could easily and back-pain freely rearrange the layout from hauling people to hauling stuff and anywhere in between.

-oh wait...