2024 Toyota Sienna vs 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The 2024 Toyota Sienna, available in Canada in LE, XLE, XSE, and Limited trims, presented a distinctive appearance with its sleek front and rear fascias. It offered a range of cool colours, including deep blue, red, and bronze, making it a stylish choice for families. The Sienna featured standard LED lighting, with upper trims boasting Bi-LED projector headlamps. The XSE trim, known for its sporty appeal, included a black metallic mesh front grille, black heated side mirrors, and 20-inch dark wheels. Inside, the Sienna provided cloth seats, three-zone climate control, and seating for eight, with the XSE trim offering leatherette-trimmed sport seats and a heated, leather-trimmed power steering wheel. The interior design emphasized spaciousness with horizontal lines and a fixed centre console adorned with satin accents.

In contrast, the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport emphasized a sportier SUV aesthetic within the Range Rover family. Its taller stance and shorter wheelbase contributed to a more athletic appearance, although it appeared somewhat tall and narrow from certain angles. The SV Edition Two, the highest-performance model, featured 23-inch carbon-fibre wheels and a carbon-fibre hood with an exposed patch. The interior boasted red leather upholstery, sport seats with light-up "SV" inserts, and illuminated steering-wheel paddle shifters. The minimalist design included a touchscreen, stubby shifter, and engine start button, creating a cockpit-like feel. While the interior materials met luxury standards, the high console, dash, and door panels made the front seats feel slightly cramped.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna was equipped with a hybrid powertrain, combining a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with two electric motors, delivering a total of 245 horsepower. All-wheel drive models featured an additional electric motor for the rear wheels. Despite its sport-tuned suspension and Sport mode, the Sienna's performance was not particularly thrilling, with sluggish acceleration and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that contributed to a less engaging driving experience. However, it offered smooth acceleration and excellent visibility, making it suitable for city driving. The brakes were slightly grabby, and the steering was light and accurate. While the Sienna excelled in fuel efficiency, those seeking more driving pleasure might consider alternatives like the Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival, or Chrysler Pacifica.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered multiple powertrain options, all paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive. The Dynamic SE model featured a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six engine producing 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. The plug-in hybrid variant delivered 454 hp and 487 lb-ft, while the Autobiography model increased output to 543 hp and 590 lb-ft. The SV Edition Two, with a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8, produced 626 hp, making it the most powerful Range Rover model. It achieved 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and had a top speed of 290 km/h. The Range Rover Sport excelled in handling with sport-tuned air suspension, four-wheel steering, and brake-based torque vectoring, providing a luxurious ride and impressive agility. Off-road capabilities were enhanced by the Terrain Response system, hill descent control, and ascent control.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna offered practical interior features, including a lower storage pass-through for bulkier items, four cupholders up front, and a shelf above the glovebox with a wireless charging pad. The second-row captain's chairs could slide fore and aft, providing up to 101.5 centimetres of legroom. However, the slide function was complex, and the seats couldn't be removed, limiting cargo space. The third row was accessible for adults and offered 99 centimetres of legroom when the second row was pushed forward. The Sienna featured tri-zone climate control, with an additional zone for the front passenger in the XSE trim. The rear liftgate provided 949 litres of cargo space, expanding to 2,129 litres with the third row stowed and 2,860 litres with the second row folded.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, positioned between the Range Rover Velar and full-size Range Rover, offered a two-row, five-seater configuration. While front-seat headroom was comparable to other midsize luxury SUVs, the Acura MDX and Audi Q7 provided slightly more legroom. The sloping roof didn't significantly impact rear-seat headroom, and reclining rear seats were standard. The Sport offered 835 litres of cargo space behind the second row, expanding to 1,860 litres with the rear seats folded. Although it lacked a split tailgate, power operation and an "access height" setting for the air suspension facilitated loading and unloading. The Sport's towing capacity ranged from 3,000 to 3,500 kilograms, depending on the powertrain, surpassing some competitors.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna featured an older infotainment system with a nine-inch touchscreen, wired Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. While the system included physical buttons for common menus, the backup camera's grainy view was disappointing. The Sienna offered available SiriusXM satellite radio, a 12-speaker JBL stereo system, and an optional rear-camera mirror. USB ports were plentiful, and a 1500-watt inverter with a 120-volt outlet was available for the second row and rear cargo area.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport boasted a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch touchscreen for infotainment, with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa integration. The clean, minimalist design had functional limitations, as many functions required touchscreen interaction. Steering wheel controls provided limited alternatives. The Pivi Pro infotainment system was responsive, with natural-language voice recognition. The SV Edition Two featured "Body and Soul Seats" with embedded transducers, offering a unique but somewhat gimmicky experience.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna came standard with Toyota Safety Sense, including lane departure alert, automatic emergency braking, road sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert were also standard. The Sienna received four out of five stars from the NHTSA for frontal crash and rollover protection and five stars for side crash protection. The IIHS rated it "Good" in crashworthiness but "Average" in front crash prevention.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport included standard driver-assist features such as automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. A 360-degree camera system and digital rearview mirror aided parking, although parking sensors were overly sensitive. Safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available at the time of writing.