Next family vehicle: is a plug-in hybrid the answer?

Now that there's a plug-in Prius, do we think that a Sienna will follow? 

Yes, eventually we will probably see a PHEV Sienna. The Pacifica Hybrid's battery is about twice the capacity of the Prius Prime, and you lose stow-and-go seats. 

With the Sienna you'd probably lose AWD. 

In reply to Erich :

I'd trade AWD for plug-in.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Erich :

I'd trade AWD for plug-in.

Yes, I imagine you would, Florida Man. 

For what it's worth, I'm not positive about the Sienna, but Toyota's other hybrids with AWD (Rav 4 hybrid and PRIME) don't have a mechanical connection between the ICE powertrain and the rear wheels. They just power an electric motor on the rear axle to drive the rear wheels when necessary. So a PHEV variant might not eliminate the possibility of AWD.

David S. Wallens said:

Now that there's a plug-in Prius, do we think that a Sienna will follow? 

Now?  The Prius plug in is 10 years old.

I think we will see one, but I think the packaging will be difficult.  The Sienna gets such excellent mileage for a minivan I'm wondering how many people will want to pay extra for the added complexity.

STM317 said:

For what it's worth, I'm not positive about the Sienna, but Toyota's other hybrids with AWD (Rav 4 hybrid and PRIME) don't have a mechanical connection between the ICE powertrain and the rear wheels. They just power an electric motor on the rear axle to drive the rear wheels when necessary. So a PHEV variant might not eliminate the possibility of AWD.

Yeah, Toyota has always been clever about this.  I wanted to see more manufacturers do this.  Maverick would be a great opportunity... did Ford do that on the Hybrid Escape?

99.9% of AWD buyers just want some snow/don't get stuck capability.  No need to send anywhere close to 50% of the power to the rear wheels.  I'm sure 10% would do the trick.  Maybe 5%.

Would the hybrid system plus battery add enough weight or change the weight distribution enough that it would make a two-wheel drive vehicle okay-er in snow?  An F150 and an E150 can have the same engine, trans, diff, and tires with rear-wheel drive but the van is very capable in snow that the pickup has no hope of negotiating and it's all down to the added weight and how it's distributed.

My wife's car for the past 2 yrs has been a 2017 Volt. It replaced a 2010 prius. It's a really nice driving car on all electric, when burning gas it's less refined but still nicer than the Prius. It recently got totaled by some fairly light damage from a tree. My wife, who is not a car person, listed plug in hybrid as her number 1 criteria for a replacement - she likes the EV feel that much. I think PHEV is a great formula for a car that mostly does in town driving but needs to be able to do longer trips without the full EV charging stops/logistics.

So, to the original poster, I think you'd appreciate a PHEV SUV or minivan for a family vehicle.

On the other hand, I had a Sienna hybrid as a rental car this past week, and I was impressed. Averaged 35mpg in hilly Duluth Minn. Certainly not fast, but had plenty of power for the job. It's AWD too. I actually googled what the gas engine was, because I thought it must be a 4 cylinder, but it was not obvious it wasn't a v6.

Definitely hear everyone on the hybrid Sienna, it sounds like a really sold choice on paper alone (Side note: A hybrid minivan makes a heck of a lot of sense, why are there so few options?).

If it were just me, I'd jump on getting a hybrid Maverick, but since this is going to be a vehicle that my wife will be going to drive more (to and from work) it's going to have to get her mark of approval–but there's always the chance I could convince her.