I really do question some of the feedback on here. The Venza has some key features that makes it stand out in the Toyota line up. The Rav4 cost’s about $4,000 CND less than the Venza, but does have nearly as much room as the Venza and it’s swing arm door would be a pain. Driving up to a curb to drop off something and have to walk around the door to get to the curb. It’s just not practical. Why have a bigger vehicle to haul around stuff, just to have it’s door get in the way when offloading?

The Highlander cost’s about $4,000 CND more than the Venza. If the Venza is so much more expensive than the Rav4, why is the Highlander being compared? With the third row seating folded down, it does seem to have as much rear cargo space as the Venza. But it can only take four people. The Venza can take five, and have as much room.

The Sienna also burns more gas than the Venza. Plus the mini van family vehicle is really played out. The Venza offers something different.

If your looking for a roomy vehicle that’s good on gas. The Venza wins hands down in the Toyota line up. I don’t understand how people question Toyota marketing. As far as styling, I understand, different strokes for different folks. But I have has so many people come up to me and ask me about our Venza. They love the styling, room and big rims. When I tell them the gas mileage they are floored.

The 4cyl engine is smooth and has more than enough power for city and highway driving. From owing and drive a Venza in the heart of downtown Toronto, just stupid crazy traffic sometimes, well all the time really lol, changing lanes is on par with my Civic. It’s a bit longer, but every car has a blind spot. Changing lanes in a Venza is not difficult.

For the ladies, a nice feature is that my wife was able to put her purse in the centre console. Her purse is not small. For the guys, four gold bags can fit in the rear no problem.

The main reason I’m looking at the Venza is because my wife really likes the styling. Right now I’m driving a 2007 Honda Pilot which I love. She doesn’t because she thinks it’s like sitting in a truck. The Pilot has great visibility and the handling is decent considering it’s an SUV. I put in a Pioneer navigation shortly after we purchased it. The mileage is way better than I expected, about 19 to 20 city and 24+ on the highway. It has cylinder management which brings it down to 3 cylinders on freeway driving and it’s hardly noticeable.

I don’t like the Venza based on the several reviews I’ve read. I’ll compromise and go for a test ride but I’ll admit I’m soured on the what I’ve read so far.

I’ve owned Ford, Chevy, VW, BMW, Audi, AMC Rambler (ashamed to admit it), Toyota (car and pickup truck). I’m older, maybe not wiser but I have no qualms about saying the Pilot is the best vehicle I’ve owned. Age has a way of moderating one’s views.

Of course this is combination of passenger car and SUV. Excellent rear access, but this no tuck. Three in one? almost, and I adore this setup. Interior top edge.

Bon voyage!

The Venza is a somewhat unique vehicle. It has small to medium SUV type room but wider, without the boxy look of one. Being lower it’s easier to enter and load items into the back, and likely handles better than a tall SUV. It’s not a station wagon, since it’s slightly higher and not just a car with an extended rear end and hatch back.

So it has more room than a typical station wagon, without the ungainly look of an SUV. It you have to categorize it I suppose it could be considered a sort of lowered crossover SUV, or perhaps a cross between an SUV and a station wagon. Whatever it is, I think it hit a good target.

The last thing that Toyota needs to do is add another CUV, SUV, crossover to their list.

What color do you all like?

Our reasons for buying the Venza: tired of getting less than 20mpg on our vehicles, need someting easy to park, run errands in, good backseat room and comfort (reclining back seats for travel) Our son plays college golf and soon pro golf– lots of trips. A hatchback for access to clubs, groceries etc, something more carlike than the SUV. So the Venza was exactly what we needed- The RAV? Are you joking?- cramped and not appealing to 40 somethings….Highlander too expensive. WE are tired of paying 30 to 45k for vehicles- America needs to take a hard look at what they are spending their hard earned cash on- we actually WANTED the 4 cyclinder- Im not racing anyone for gods sake….we are getting an avg 27 mpg with this Venza and 30 on the highway. We bought this FWD, 4cyl for 23K out the door…nuff said on the economics of it…And dont come back and say I dont know the SUV/truck market…..I have a 120 acre farm – Tundra land and 4runner was great– but the Venza DOES fit a demographic that Toyota needs- what they need to do is cut down on some of their Highlander versions and RAV versions. Im sure this car will be a reliable runabout and golfwagon to beat up for years to come…man some folks on here must really get into this car thing….venom flowing and all…its just a freakin car…I want certain functions, fuel economy, dependability, muti purpose and a little roominess- all for half what we would have paid 3 years ago when everyone was better off financially….

I love TTAC for bringing contant that is not afraid to tell it like it is. This review seems to bash the Venza more then review it. I have driven both the Venza V6 and 4 cylinder models and enjoyed the drive. It is a niche vehicle without a doubt.

Toyota developed this vehicle with mostly parts they already on other vehicles. That makes it a relatively cheap vehicle to develop. To say Toyota is becoming like GM is a stretch. Toyota has superior quality to most GM products and is a leader in hybrid technology. It is hard to argue with their success. GM has been struggling for over 40 years now. Sure GM made profits, but the lemons they pushed onto consumers created the generations of Americans who will not trust American brands again. If Toyota starts more brands or buys others like Mazda or Nissan, then I would be more willing to say they are getting to be like GM.

The Venza is attempt to appeal to more people. It is a wagon and Toyota marketing blew it by not just saying it is one. Modern wagons can be impressive. I would have issue driving an A6 Avante, 3 series wagon, or some of the other wagons on the market today.

The Venza is more like a 3 out 5, not 1 out of 5. Only time will tell how truly good or bad the Venza is, but for a niche market vehicle it is fine in my opinion.

The base model is around $28k CND, about the same as an Accord Ex or an Impreza “one step up from the base level” (forgot the trim name, probably = base US model). The Venza AWD model is a little bit less than $30k. A great value, considering Fits usually sell for $20k+; CX7 is about $2.5k more expensive.

The interior was nice enough, and definitely better than the impression I was left from pictures (remember, optioned to the gills). Also, the exterior dosen’t come across as R-classish at all to me, even though that was my impression from photos. Instead, the combo of montrous freaking wheels, hatchback and a high ride height made the car appear aggresively stubby. If I’m going to really compare this to Mercedes styling I’d say that the Venza is the offspring of a Gwagon and R350 who was then abandoned at an orphanage run by Flava Flav, where it picked up zero good taste.

Ultimately I don’t think it was heinous, even though the person who penned that monster grill needs to be culled from the gene pool. I didn’t however, see any possible market for it styling wise that isn’t already completely dominated by 24″rim Magnums and 22″rim Impalas. Too ghetto, too much wheel, and no standout utility argument to make. This was the pre-ghetto’ed loaded version though, so maybe without some options it looks tamer.

Patrickj :
March 20th, 2009 at 8:05 am

Slit windows and crappy gas mileage. Two main reasons I’m not in the car market right now. You can also add in overwrought styling.

Add in bland generic derivative styling, huge oversized tires, bloated shapes, ugliness taken to the extreme, cost cutting taken to new heights(no glovebox lights, no trunk lock cylinders, no floor or puddle lights, no bodyside moldings, one rear seat map pocket instead of two, no rear seat armrest etc), lack of choice in both options and model offerings,too many FWD/SUV/truck offerings and you make up the majority of the vehicles we have been offered(shoved down our throats) this dreadful decade so far.

As for your choice of words in your review: brilliant!

Can I get a clarification on the term ‘Bangle butt’? I was pretty sure it applied to the incongruous melding or overlapping of two different lines into a kind of goofy bulge, like an old-fashioned skirt bustle (as seen on the 7- and 6-series, then on the Acura RL). In contrast, I don’t think the 5-series has a Bangle butt, even though Bangle drew it. But now I see the term applied to any busy over-styled rear? Maybe you just wanted to say ‘Bangle butt’ just for fun?

Paul Niedermeyer: “How is this anything other than a low-content Lexus Rx 350?”

Well, it has a different grill.

But, other than that, I suspect that’s the whole point – the Venza is the poor-man’s Lexus RX 350 and is aimed squarely at that market of people who aspire to own one of those but can’t quite yet afford it.

While I’d prefer a Camry wagon over the Venza, there is a market for it, and a niche in the Toyota line up.

In all honesty, the modern minivan is the original station wagon. They were flattened much later. The original ones resembled a very spartan combination of a minivan and a Suburban (in fact, they were sometimes called suburbans). All we’ve done in the past 80 years or so is experiment with a proven design just to go back to it.