The 2021 Toyota Venza Limited Edition Crossover SUV
You Are What You Drive — A Bottom Line Review
The Bottom Line: Toyota has been without a midsize, two row crossover offering since it discontinued the Venza in 2015. Now that nameplate is coming back for 2021, in an all new model, that will once again slot between the RAV4 and the Highlander.
Toyota’s is resurrecting its Venza midsize CUV, crossover utility vehicle, this time with a broader vision to bring a premium on road experience. For small families and empty nesters, seeking the versatility of a CUV crossover utility vehicle, without the hulking size of a three row SUV sport utility vehicle.
The Venza is classified as a midsize CUV / SUV and this class has 10 tough competitors to choose from. They are, in no particular order, the: Subaru Outback, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Ford Edge, Chevrolet Blazer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Passport, Nissan Murano, Volkswagen Atlas Cross Country, and it’s very own stable mate, the Toyota 4Runner.
Toyota knows that the midsize CUV / SUV class is big in nameplates and volume. The more vehicles that you can offer in this size, the better your chances are to make a sale. The Venza stands tall in this crowded field, as all Venza’s are AWD all wheel drive and Hybrid models, and they start with a base price of only $32,450.
The new 2021 Toyota Venza is offered in three trim levels: LE Edition, XLE Edition, and the Limited Edition. The Venza is best appreciated by those who want a midsize CUV that can easily get 35+ mpg, and by brand loyalists who want a SUV more premium than the RAV4.
This week Toyota sent me a 2021 Toyota Venza Limited Edition model with a base price of $39,800 to test drive and review. The options on the test car are: the Advanced Technology Package for $725, and the Star Gaze Fixed Panoramic Roof for $1,400. The total MSRP manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including the $1,175 delivery charge, came to: $43,100.
This is a modest price to pay for an AWD Hybrid CUV that gets 37 MPG highway, 40 MPG city, with a combined fuel economy rating of 39 MPG overall. The greenhouse gas rating is an 8, and the smog rating is a 7, both out of 10. These are the best gas mileage and smog ratings in the entire midsize CUV / SUV class of vehicles for sale today.
To get these numbers the Venza starts with a 2.5L liter 4 cylinder gas engine with a Hybrid driveline with 219 combined net HP horsepower, mated to an ECVT electronic controlled variable transmission, coupled to an Electronic On-demand AWD All-wheel-drive train. This hi-tech engine, transmission and driveline is standard on all three trim levels.
Plus all Venza’s get the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 protection package with: pre-collision warning with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, lane tracing assist, lane steering assist, automatic high beam alert, and road sign reading assist.
Option number one is the Advanced Technology Package and that includes the HUD Heads Up Display, with speedometer and Hybrid System indicators projected up to the windshield in the drivers line of sight, and the rain sensing variable intermittent windshield wiper system.
The second option is the Star Gaze sunroof. This is a fixed panoramic roof panel that incorporates electrochromic glass that allows the occupants to switch between clear glass, or frosted mode. Instead of the roof panel opening, you get to choose from clear sunshine, to frosted glass, or push the power sunshade button to black out the roof panel entirely.
Once you experience this type of sunroof you start asking yourself why it took so long to put an electrochromic glass roof panel in a midsize car. It’s pretty cool to see it work, and it will never leak!
Then add in 8 airbags, push button start, blind spot monitors, parking assist with automatic braking, projector LED headlights, 19” multi spoke super chrome alloy wheels, a hands free power tailgate, and a JBL Premium Audio system with a subwoofer, amplifier, 9 speakers with Android Auto, Apple Carplay and Siriusxm radio, connected to a Bluetooth controlled phone and music system. The list goes on and on, but you get the drift. The Limited Edition has everything you need in a safe, comfortable and roomy SUV.
When you’re in the market for a midsize SUV you should put the new 2021 Venza on your checklist. So call, click or visit your local Toyota dealer for a test drive, and a Bottom Line price review, for the newest, and most up to date, AWD Hybrid CUV for sale in the midsize crossover class today.
A word to the wise is sufficient. Be Smart, Stay Safe, and Just Breathe. Remember “You Are What You Drive ©” And maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should “Drive one, Buy one, Today ©”.
This Bottom Line Review is provided by: Tony Leopardo © Autowire.net. “Tony the Car Guy” is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to tonyleo@pacbell.net or visit Autowire.net at www.autowire.net