If you haven’t heard, the Toyota Venza is back! But if you didn’t know that it was gone or that there was even one before I wouldn’t blame you. The Venza, which first appeared from 2009 to 2015, was somewhere between a station wagon and a crossover. Based on the Camry, it offered both 4-cylinder and V6 power, in front or all-wheel drive. It was positioned as a more premium offering than the Camry or RAV4 and, fun fact, was the first Toyota to offer factory 20″ wheels. It was something of a budget version of the Lexus RX, good entry height and seating position for older drivers, but not a minivan. Sales were good in the first year, but quickly trailed off thereafter.
The new Venza doesn’t share much of anything from that previous generation other than the name, it doesn’t even offer 20″ wheels anymore that are fairly commonplace these days, although I’m not sad about that. Position wise it does find itself billed as something more premium than RAV4 again. It has elevated style and premium interior features that set it apart in the Toyota lineup. Big change is that it’s now exclusively sold as a hybrid with all-wheel drive. With regard to price, it’s generally a few thousand dollars more than the RAV4 Hybrid.
One missed opportunity for the Venza, in my opinion, was the size. It’s generally very similar size wise to the RAV4 Hybrid. The Venza is a few inches longer on paper, but it shares the same wheelbase (length between the wheels) and are nearly identical in width and height. Venza is actually smaller than the RAV4 when it comes to cargo capacity, due to its tapered and raked/stylish lines. I think the Venza could have done better to be a true tweener for the lineup between the RAV4 and the 3-row Highlander Hybrid. That would have put it more squarely against the other 2-row mid sizers like the wildly successful Jeep Grand Cherokee and Subaru Outback, the Honda Passport, Nissan Murano, Chevy Blazer, Ford Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento (the last two which now come in a multitude of hybrid/electrified offerings as well).
When Venza was announced for the U.S., I thought Lexus dealers might be livid. Pedestrian cousin Toyota would now have the RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, RAV4 Prime PHEV, and a Venza, all on the new global architecture, while the Lexus NX was getting pretty aged and out of place. Well after riding in the Venza and a quick spin recently in the brand new NX (now arriving at dealers) I don’t think the Lexus dealers have anything to worry about. The Venza, while a bit stylish compared to the RAV4, doesn’t come close to what Lexus has done with the new NX.
But I get it, the Venza was an easy added model to bring over to the United States from the international market product portfolio. And there’s no doubting that the Venza is relatively successful in its own right. Even in an COVID and supply chain strapped 2021, the Venza has outsold that initial sales year of the first generation model. Sales have nearly matched the dated Lexus NX, which I thought this could potentially steal sales from. But are there really buyers for the Venza that wouldn’t have just gone with a RAV4 Hybrid that had offered the larger infotainment screen and a few nicer interior material touch points?
Don’t get me wrong, the interior is definitely where the Venza makes the strongest case for existence. Where the RAV4 has gone chunky and rugged, the Venza goes sleek and modern. Some of this to good effect, like the 12.3″ infotainment screen, at least at first glance. While it retains the wanted touchscreen capabilities, it loses physical controls for the volume and tuning functions for the radio and the ventilation system, which now use touch sensitive buttons. These were generally tough to deal with while driving, but at least Toyota spaces out each button’s real estate, although they could have made the font larger as well. Back to the screen, it offers a wired experience for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but it won’t allow the system to use the full width as on some other brands, it gets relegated to a max 2/3rds split. There is a wireless device charger in our Limited trim, but it was tucked away in this bin forward of the gear selector and crowded by the push button start control.
Our Limited also came with a standard 360 top down parking camera view, front and rear parking sensors and even a digital rear view mirror. That’s a LOT of stuff on top of Toyota’s standard Safety Sense 2.0 system. The Advanced Technology package added further goodies like a head-up display and rain sensing automatic wipers. Full sticker price on our tester was a not outrageous $43,525. This is basically where the 2022 Lexus NX350h starts pricing wise, and rockets up from there.
Other nice features found on the Limited include touch sensitive door entry and lock points on all 4 doors and the rear lift gate (super convenient when you have kids that you load in the car first), heated and ventilated front seats and a heated steering wheel. One missing bit for Venza would be the lack of available heated rear seats, which are available on the “lesser” RAV4 Hybrid. Venza does have one unique (optional) party trick, and that’s the $1,400 Star Gaze Panoramic roof. This uses electrochromic technology to dim the giant fixed (so unfortunately it doesn’t open) glass roof. It doesn’t go dark like the windows on a Boeing Dreamliner, but it does get a frosted look. There’s also still a powered shade to completely block out the light. Conveniently, the car turns “on” the frosted mode when you park and turn the car off to help keep the cabin from getting too hot presumably. Would’ve been a bit nicer if it could remember if you had it “clear” when you last drove.
Driving the Venza is typical Toyota hybrid. That is to say, it can be a bit buzzy and coarse sounding, due in part to the CVT-like transmission and the 4-cylinder engine. There’s plenty of power for day to day needs, and the Venza doesn’t try to assert itself in anyway as a sport/dynamic vehicle, so consider it true to its mission in life. One area where it could improve on that mission would be in ride quality. Potentially due to the still fairly large 19″ wheels, the ride was a bit bumpier and let more impact harshness into the seats and cabin than I would have expected compared to other TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) products. Perhaps it’s to remind you that despite some snazzy style, you didn’t opt for the full Lexus experience (or price tag though!). Steering and handling again favor those of the relaxed, cruising lane speed in life. Nothing bad there as that’s the way the majority of drivers do lean.
Fuel economy is likely the biggest draw for Venza customers, where it achieves an impressive 39 mile per gallon combined rating. But so does the RAV4 Hybrid, which even with its blocky exterior is rated at 40 miles per gallon. And the RAV4 also is offered in the terrific Prime, Plug-in Hybrid variant, which the Venza doesn’t have at the moment.
So where does that leave the Venza? It has great fuel economy and a little bit of added style (although somewhat subjective) and star gaze sparkle. You have to pay more than the RAV4 Hybrid, but lose some of the SUV practicality. I suppose you could say the same of the SUV Coupes (X2, Q5 Sportback, etc) that are now on offer. Venza also doesn’t offer the luxury badge or experience that similar size cousin Lexus NX quickly comes in with. Does Venza really help Toyota grow its overall SUV pie in this market? Perhaps, but I think it could’ve carved out a larger piece with something a half bit larger and more premium to better separate from the RAV4 under the Toyota umbrella. But even that might not be the ticket. The Avalon, Toyota’s full-size sedan, is now scheduled to ride off into the sunset, seemingly squeezed in the sedan realm by the Toyota Camry and the Lexus ES. Will this Venza see the same fate and fizzle again after one product cycle? Probably not as Americans are gobbling up any and every SUV out there and the Venza is based on the overseas Harrier, so it is pretty much a bonus vehicle for the U.S. market to offer. And maybe there is some value to not being one of the millions of RAV4’s on the road and in the parking lot.
