2020 Toyota Sienna vs 2021 Hyundai Palisade

Since the second half of the 20th century, each decade has had a hot-topic family car, and, as we’ve noted in a number of reviews this year, the crossover is our current darling vehicle. Before the crossover, there were big, truck-based SUVs. Before that, there were station wagons.

And for the past 35 years, there's always been the minivan.

The Dodge Caravan has been widely considered the Patient Zero of the minivan segment. From there, seemingly everyone joined the party, including Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Chevy, GMC, Volkswagen, Oldsmobile, and more. Heck, even Mercury had a “Nautica Edition” version of the Villager.

The minivan was king once, the crossover is king now, and some other type of vehicle will likely dominate in the near future. But in all this, the 7- and 8-passenger minivans will always represent the ultimate in versatility. The crossover is an image-forward fad with a dash of usability, but the minivan continues to prove itself as the pinnacle of practicality.

The 2020 Toyota Sienna is neither the newest nor flashiest minivan out there, but when you absolutely need space for people and gear, there’s nothing better. Additionally, as of 2020 the Sienna is the only minivan to offer all-wheel drive (AWD), which is something specifically desired by many car buyers.

Critically acclaimed and selling well, the 2021 Hyundai Palisade enters its sophomore year with more standard equipment, expanded infotainment capabilities, and a new luxury-themed trim level.

The 2021 Palisade lineup includes Essential, Preferred, Luxury, and the new Ultimate Calligraphy trim, with pricing ranging from an MSRP of $41,399 to $54,899 Canadian—not including a destination charge of $1,925. For this review, we evaluated a Palisade Ultimate Calligraphy, which is priced at the top end of that spectrum.