One thing to love about minivans are the second row seats. They are easy to access thanks to the large sliding doors on each side. And every minivan offers at least a second-row design with some sort of party gimmick. The Chrysler Pacifica’s non-hybrid Stow ‘N Go seats fold into the floor. The Honda Odyssey’s outboard seats not only slide forwards and backwards, but also inwards and outwards, while its middle seat can be easily removed. The Kia Carnival has luxurious VIP Lounge seats or what we have called “Captain Kirk chairs”.
You can read more about all of the Sienna’s available second-row seat configurations in our 2023 Sienna review, but let’s dive into the ultimate option: the Super Long Slide second-row seats with integrated legrest found in our long-term 2023 Toyota Sienna Platinum. They make very comfortable passengers. When you don’t have passengers, they allow you to make the most of cargo space without having to remove the seats entirely.
Let’s check them out.
These seats can slide forward and backward a total of 25 inches. Above I have the seat in a normal position, a good balance for second row comfort while still allowing third row passengers. If you look closely you will see three handles on the side of the seat. This can be confusing. The lower one unlocks the seat to slide freely. The lever above this adjusts the angle of the backrest, while the one higher up on the seat cushion itself deploys the footrest.
Here, the seat is slid as far back as possible, providing plenty of leg room, perfect for pulling out that ottoman and putting your feet up.
The bottom of the seat is designed to partially slide past the wheel arch intrusion, allowing for this wide range of motion.
This is as far as the second row seat will move forward in its normal position. There’s more trail he could go on, but he’s blocked by the driver’s seat.
If you really want to push it forward to provide more cargo space behind it, you can fold the seat cushion with the same lever you use to fold the seatback forward. This gives you as much space as possible behind the seat.
Another feature that allows such mobility of the seats is the integration of the seat belt in the shoulder of the backrest. Be careful, though: that case can give your skull a serious kick as you fold the seat down. Yes, at least one forehead was hurt while doing this review.
Super Long Slide seats are standard on all Sienna trims except the base LE, and ottomans are available in 25th Anniversary Edition, Limited and Platinum trims. You can take a closer look at the Sienna’s sliding second-row seats in this video, or, for much better production quality, in Editor Greg Migliore’s round-up from our long-running feature, below. . The seat discussion begins at 5:17.
