Toyota Venza roomy and easy to handle
Niche vehicle pleasant to drive, critic says
It seems we are constantly trying to rightsize things in life. This innate need to match our wants with the perfect size is reflected in cup sizes at Starbucks, TV screen sizes, calorie counts, and the number of rooms in our abodes, to name but a few examples.
The automobile industry caters exceptionally well to this idiosyncrasy with a vast array of vehicle sizes, shapes and configurations from which to choose. To borrow from Led Zeppelin, the endless range and diversity often leaves buyers “dazed and confused.” When such is the case, Toyota’s Venza may be the antidote.
With its notably large 20-inch wheels, the Venza plugs the gap between typical sedan-based wagons and taller SUVs. Frankly, I’m surprised more manufacturers haven’t jumped headlong into this niche. After all, it blends SUV-like capability and cargo capacity with sedan-like driving dynamics.
Dropping the Venza’s second row seats is a simple two-step function that instantly provides 1,985 litres of capacity behind the front seats. To put that into perspective, Ford’s compact Escape SUV supplies 1,920 litres of space behind its front seats. I easily slid my road bike through the Venza’s rear hatch without having to remove a wheel, which is often the case with hatchbacks and smaller vehicles.
When cargo’s not the priority haul, five adults can comfortably cruise in the Venza. The spacious cabin is well thought out, with numerous cubbies and clever storage receptacles to carry the sundries of modern life, be it smartphone or phone book.
Along with practicality, the Venza’s stylish cabin features a variety of finishing materials and trim appliqués to catch the eye while imparting pleasant tactile feedback. Despite its leather-lined seating surfaces, my V-6-equipped front wheel drive XLE tester — which rang in at $36,604.45, including $1,690 freight and PDI — was not equipped with a navigation system, even though it came with a 6.1-inch touch screen.
This omission would annoy me as a potential buyer. This isn’t an inexpensive ride and the screen’s already in place — yet serving very little purpose otherwise. Including navigation should be a no-brainer in a vehicle with a price tag in the mid-$30K range. That coin does, however, net a powerful engine.
My tester was exceptionally well powered, thanks to its optional 3.5L V-6 engine, which smoothly developed 268 horsepower and 246 pound-feet of torque. The base engine is a 2.7L four, churning out 182 horsepower and 182 lb-ft of torque. In both cases, power is harnessed by a six-speed automatic transmission. A key feature of the Venza is the availability of allwheel drive with either engine.
Toyota’s AWD system is of the slip-and-grip variety, which means that the rear wheels kick-in when the front wheels encounter slippage. This is not the most effective setup for maximum control and grip in low traction encounters, but it’s far better than solely relying upon front-wheel drive to ascend the “Highway Thu Hell” in a snowstorm, as featured on Discovery Channel’s reality show of the same name.
The punch of my V-6 tester was somewhat undermined by the limitations of its FWD configuration. I would have pre- ferred an AWD setup, given the torque beneath my foot. It was easy to unintentionally overwhelm the Venza’s front wheels with the sudden onslaught of twist. This would not have been a problem with AWD.
My recommendation to those purchasing a FWD Venza is to stick with the four-cylinder power plant; it’s a better match for the constraints of a FWD architecture, and nets better fuel economy to boot.
The Venza is a pleasant vehicle to drive, feeling closer to a typical sedan than an SUV. The driving position is slightly higher, it seems, than in the Toyota Camry, giving it a slight edge in visibility over the lower seating position of a sedan.
The Venza is quiet and suitably refined, though its ride is slightly firmer than that of the Camry or a similar car.
When equipped with AWD, the Venza is a realistic alternative to an SUV, provided the intended usage does not include scaling paths cut by mountain goats.
One characteristic of the Venza that annoyed me slightly was the touchy throttle of my tester’s V-6 engine. Finesse was required to perform gentle snap-free departures. There’s no reason to calibrate throttle response so aggressively, other than to impart a false sense of power.
Throttle irritation aside, the Venza is a niche vehicle that carries with it an amalgam of strengths drawn from both the sedan segment and the current SUV craze. As such, it may be the perfect vehicle for folks with light SUV needs and a preference for car-like driving dynamics.