Toyota’s Latest Minivan Keeps Eyes On The Road And Kids Quiet

Some of the most satisfying new updates to technology are devastatingly simple.

Take, for instance, Toyota’s 2015 Sienna Minivan, which will come with mic integration for the parents in the front seat to keep badly behaving children quiet in the back seat.

Instead of turning around and shouting (or rearranging the rearview mirror and swinging wildly into the backseat, as my parents did), the Sienna will offer a feature called Driver Easy Speak, which lets the driver speak through a microphone to communicate with people in the back seats.

Users can toggle on and off Driver Easy Speak through the Sienna’s dashboard touchscreen.

It’s a smart feature, given how distracted drivers are these days by the various technologies in the car with us. And that’s not the only bit of front-facing technology built into the Sienna.

worry-bout-yourself2

The minivan will also come with an “optional pull-down conversation mirror” so that the folks up front can keep up with the conversations happening in the back.

Plus, the Sienna will have its dual-view entertainment system for the backseat passengers, letting them view two separate things at once.

2015 Toyota Sienna SE