Driving it is, as noted above, remarkable in its unremarkableness. It simply drives. Once the power button is pressed various lights illuminate and it’s obvious the power is on even though the 2.5liter inline-4 doesn’t yet fire. In case of any doubt a green “Ready” light is illuminated within the left hand charge gauge. If it is cold and heat is desired it will fire up once a gear is engaged and then move off. Otherwise it will move in electric-only mode.
Or the “EV-mode” button can be selected in which it is locked into electric only power unless 20mph or a certain accelerator threshold is breached. However it can also be in EV mode by itself at higher speeds as well if the car realizes that the combination of parameters (charge level, power needed, speed etc) are all in alignment.
The EV Mode button is mainly useful in parking lots, stop and go traffic, and maybe the immediate neighborhood area where slow speeds are used anyway. This though is precisely the type of driving that is least fuel efficient in a normal car, especially constant stopping and starting.
When driving in normal traffic the engine is continuously starting and turning off and energy is being routed in various directions, which can all be viewed in real time on the monitor but what’s still amazing is that it isn’t noticeable to the driver in most situations. Sure, if you floor it, you will hear engine noise, but in normal driving the other 95% of the time most people would be hard pressed to know what (gasoline or electric or both) is directly responsible for turning the wheels.
It feels decently quick too, if called for the car will use both engine and battery power to launch or accelerate and the combination makes for a car that is not lacking in motive force. If this car had just a four-cylinder engine it’d likely be a little overmatched in various situations, however the hybrid combination adds more than enough to not miss a V6 while returning the overall fuel economy of a tiny solo engine in a car.
There are Eco, Sport and Normal modes to select from but while Eco seems to just make things slower for little noticeable gains elsewhere and Sport seems to make it use more power than necessary, the Normal mode was selected and just left there after short experimentation with the others.
While the Atkinson-cycle 2.5 liter 16-valve four cylinder engine produces 176hp and 163lb-ft of torque, the Venza has three permanent magnet synchronous electric motors with the fronts producing 118hp and 149lb-ft or torque and the rear motor producing a further 54hp and 89lb-ft of torque. Since the various peaks don’t necessarily align, these numbers cannot just be added, basically the combination produces a combined peak 219hp. The battery pack is a 0.9 kWh lithium ion unit.
The transmission is what Toyota terms an “electronically controlled Continuously Variable Transmission” (ECVT), however it has little in common with what people likely think of when they hear CVT and is generally considered far simpler mechanically and in usage just makes the car go extremely smoothly which is the goal of course.
The rear wheels are driven by a separate motor without any mechanical connection to the front and it was interesting to watch the torque move from front to back via the display. I had the opportunity to drive it on an otherwise empty snow covered road and noted that from a stop under heavy acceleration the rear wheels are easily able to overcome the available traction and in fact spin the wheels slightly and even get the tail to step out slightly while doing so before the traction control kicks in.
In actuality it isn’t so much the torque “moving” from front to back as it would in a mechanically linked vehicle as it’s more that the rear motor is tasked to produce more of its power with the front being limited in output at the same time.
As a result, even with much more power and torque available to the front wheels there are plenty of situations, especially slippery ones, where the rear is assigned more torque than the fronts, which makes sense when weight transfer and ability to transfer the power to the ground is considered. Helping me to get the wheels to spin was undoubtedly the fact that this car wasn’t on winter tires, but rather the standard 225/55-19 Bridgestone Ecopia tires.
Researching it all later confirmed that in steady state driving the power is exclusively at the front, however in slippery situations it can alter the ratio to as much as 80% rear /20% front which seems accurate based on my experience.
Cornering is fairly numb with little excitement or reward for pushing it. It has no problem holding a line at speeds somewhat in excess of what might be considered most advisable but pushing it just doesn’t excite. This is fine, of course, as that’s not what it’s built for (nor are most Crossovers, or most Toyotas, for that matter). It doesn’t just fall apart either though, the best way to describe is as perfectly competent and unlikely to provoke strong feelings either way in that regard. What it gives up in cornering it seems to pick up again in ride comfort, which was good.
All pretty much as expected by just looking at it, in other words. Braking likewise is perfectly adequate although the regenerative force seems to vary a little in usage and felt a little unpredictable. As an example, two identical stopping maneuvers could result in different and varying levels of physical force needed. Never though was it particularly pronounced or overly significant as far as difference of effort is concerned, and the longer driven, the more it just becomes an aspect of the car’s character.
At normal cruising speeds the car is remarkably quiet and especially so at highway speeds, far more Lexus-like than Toyota-like in that regard. It’s a very comfortable way to travel distances and just as soothing around town with the stresses and noises of normal traffic, sort of cocoon-like. Combined with the interesting interior materials and design there are far worse ways to get somewhere.
Fuel economy is obviously a strength as with all hybrids although my driving this week combined to make it as poor as possible. The Venza is rated at 40City, 37Highway, and 39Combined. I put almost exactly 350 miles on it and saw a displayed 37mpg average overall. 186 miles of that were getting to and from the same ski area outside of Denver as in last week’s review.
Another 60 or so were driving around in that mountainous area and experimenting with the AWD system, taking pictures and seeing how it handled corners. 60 more were on mixed but flat highways on an errand to another town nearby and then the balance was in the city around here. Temperatures ranged from the high teens to the very low fifties (Fahrenheit) with the average this week a little over the freezing mark.
At higher speeds a hybrid is less efficient than around town since the regular engine has to work more and harder. In town anytime the car is slowing the regular engine shuts off, resulting in fuel savings and getting going again is usually started by the battery before switching over (if needed). Overall my driving this week was likely less favorable than it could be to a hybrid drivetrain, however a 37mpg average is still an excellent result for an almost 4,000lb vehicle that saw 80mph-ish freeway speeds and several multi-thousand foot climbs up a mountain to an elevation of approximately 11,000 feet.
As an aside, what goes up a mountain also gets to come down and on the return trip from skiing which involved a net elevation loss of 6,000 feet and the battery charged to the maximum for almost the first half of the trip. The distinct trip mileage for the 93 miles from parking lot to my driveway resulted in a reading of 57mpg. The fuel tank specification says it holds 14.5 gallons. After 350 miles it still showed a hair over a quarter of a tank on the gauge.
As described, this is the Limited trim level of the Venza and as such starts at $39,800. Available options are few (three actually) and this car had two of them. First is the Advanced Technology Group for $725 which gets you a very clear and readable Heads-Up Display in color that displays speed info as well as the Hybrid energy indicators and also includes automatic Windshield Wipers.
The second option was the Electrochromic glass roof which I described above, choosing this $1,400 option also results in the loss of a set of silver low profile roof rails. Destination is $1,175 so all in this particular Venza Limited is on offer for $43,100. The paint color did not incur an extra charge although there are a few that do.
Standard on this Venza was everything else discussed above as well as the Toyota SafetySense 2.0 package that includes all the nowadays expected and available electronic safety systems, Rear Camera Washer, all doors having touch lock/unlock sensors as opposed to just the front ones, Camera with secondary Bird’s Eye View (remarkably useful when backing near a curb or other objects), Projector LED Headlights, the 19″ wheels, Hands-Free Power Tailgate, and a Digital Rearview Mirror (flips to standard mirror, my eyes still can’t adjust to them but they are good when fully loaded with limited rear vision).
The two lower trim levels (LE, XLE) still offer all of what makes the Venza inherently good and I’d recommend a close perusal and comparison of the standard features spec sheets if interested, the Limited was very nice but it’s entirely possible that the XLE or even the LE has enough of what is desired to work at a much lower price, especially as the Hybrid tech and the AWD are standard across the range.
Overall I found the value to be there, and the added exclusivity over the very popular (for good reason) RAV4 may be worth the slight additional premium; the hybrid RAV doesn’t seem to be overly easy to come by either. Or, another way to look at it would be as a heavily discounted Lexus, which it could easily be. Toyota could swap the badges and not do anything else and sell it as perhaps the Lexus VX-h for an easy extra $5,000 in my opinion and/or just as likely make some standard features extra cost options.
Either way, it’s yet another interesting option in a very crowded space that may give someone visiting a Toyota showroom to look at a particular vehicle no reason to leave it emptyhanded while still being spoilt for choice and thus having the distinct possibility of leaving with a different vehicle than anticipated.
Thank you very much to Toyota for providing us this Venza and a full tank of gas to experience it.
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Call it what you want, but that is obviously a Jaguar F-Pace.
(used-car buyer in 2028): “No, it isn’t.”
If only the 2013 Harrier didn’t exist that way predated the cat:
Best looking SUV/CUV out of Toyota/Lexus in years. Hope they tone their other designs down a bit to match (spindle grille, I’m looking at you.)
+1. I’m neither in the market nor its target audience, but that is a very attractive CUV. I even like the color.
Agreed.
I like the looks of this one too (at least on the outside; the inside is adequate but a bit dull). I never would have noticed the Panhard 24 resemblance if not pointed out to me but definitely see it now – a good thing, since the Panhard is one of the best looking cars ever in my book. I wouldn’t have minded if the front looked like a 24 too, but I’m happy to have Toyota’s refined hybrid powertrain instead of a 2-stroke 🙂 . Why did Toyota call this a Venza though? It isn’t at all like the previous, somewhat disappointing model of that name. I would have gone with the longstanding Japanese name “Harrier” in the US too.
I only vaguely understand what a “platform” is anymore – modern platforms like TNGA or Volkswagen’s MQB allow so much variance that the similarities between platform-mates are hard to detect even if you’re looking for them. Nothing at all like older platforms like Chrysler’s K also being highlighted here today, or Ford’s Fox and Panther platforms. With those, if you’ve driven one, you’ll quickly find things familiar if you drive another.
IMO this is a good-looking car but yes it’s slicing the market fine.
The high cargo load floor seems to be the Toyota house style, and has been for a while. It was that way in my 2008 Yaris, in the Corolla hatchback I looked at last year to replace it – one of the reasons why it was scratched off the list was that it didn’t offer enough extra room to make the jump to a C-segment car worth it over snagging a B while I still could – and going back to the original Matrix/Vibe. They seem to prioritize a flat loadspace with a single-fold back seat (as opposed to fold-and-tumble) over having a lot of well space with the seat in use.
The VW Golf gets this right – the cargo floor can be installed in either of two positions, the low one which yields a deep cargo area, and a higher one which is level with the fold-down back seats, and which also opens up some space in the spare tire well for storing rarely used items.
Another reader who’s car buying days are off for a while, having bought a new Kicks and a four year old Bolt in the past six months, but that’s a good looking car. Inside and out.
I’m getting scared. I’m starting to find crossovers attractive. Does this mean I’m slowly getting beaten down?
I’ve started lusting after the Buick Encore. I do like how I don’t have to bend my head over at a 45 degree angle to sit in one…. guess I’m getting old.
Looks like you’re having the same kind of snow year that we are in the Wasatch.
Reading this reminds me of one year ago, when we were in downtown Denver and I took a day to ski Copper after a 12″ overnight snowfall. Those 11,000 ft passes are no joke at 6AM in a storm and I was happy to have brought the 4Runner on winter tires, though it decidedly did not return 37mpg. One of my top 5 ski days, but hellish traffic for TWO HOURS to get back to Denver. Still had a nice dinner with the family and the whole trip is a great memory.
This weird coronavirus was starting to make the news at the time. That was the last weekend of normalcy.
The car? Not my cup of tea. Makes sense, though. Conservatively styled upscale RAV4 with near-lux trimming for not-lux prices in a ravenous crossover market? You’d be foolish not to. That hybrid powertrain is a nearly ideal blend of efficiency and real world torque. They just need to spray some more foam on the firewall to quell the engine thrash and you’d rarely miss a V-6. Speaking of skiing, those backseats should fold 40:20:40 or at least have a pass-through for people like me who expect to fit 8-foot 2x4s in wagons of this size. The 4Runner has it, as does the CX-5.
Well, I’ve been shoveling for the last 24 hours so that weather was short-lived…and yes the passes get very hairy and the weather changes frequently with oftentimes completely different conditions on opposite sides of the peak. You could have headed the other way and been home after a somewhat longer, but probably more relaxing drive. 🙂
The Venza is surprisingly quiet, engine noise is very well suppressed in this car with its 2.5l hybrid, it’s quieter than a 4Runner’s V6 for example on an uphill run, that’s where part of my Lexus simile comes from. Nothing like an older Prius for example where you absolutely knew when the foot was to the floor.
Yeah, we’ve been hit by the same storm. Not fond of scraping windows and bathing the car in road salt, but we desperately need the water.
I-70 was in pretty good shape on the return to town, it was the massive volume of traffic that did it. Wasatch resort roads get locked up as well, but you’re only 15 minutes from town so the pain doesn’t last as long.
Nice to hear the Venza is quiet, I thought the RAV4 with this powertrain was too loud when the gas engine kicked in during moderate/heavy acceleration. Funny you referenced the 4R V6, I was thinking about Toyota’s smoother 3.5 in my comment rather than the old tractor engine in the 4R. That hasn’t been a model of refinement for about 15 years now. The key with the 4R is to manually lockout 5th or even 4th to prevent gear hunting on grades. Engine draws far less attention to itself that way.
I’m not a lover of SUV styling but when I first saw a Venza in person I was really taken by the design.
A rather compelling package. Is this the closest hybrid alternative to a Model Y?
It’s a bit hard to decide. The Model Y is or at least feels a bit larger inside, especially in the rear seat (The Venza isn’t bad by any means but not as roomy). It’s also not nearly as fast/quick and doesn’t handle as well while still being very competitive with most of the “normal” V6 competition.
The Venza though is less expensive and in its favor the hybrid is still very economical going uphill in very cold weather which is not a strong suit for any electric vehicle.
The Lexus RX Hybrid may be closer, at least from a market perspective. Or the BMW X3e plug-in hybrid although both cost more similarly equipped.
There’d perhaps be a business case for the Venza to spawn a plug-in hybrid variant, the price has room to increase a bit and there seems to be room for more batteries under the rear floor.
I think that would be the RAV4 Prime PHEV, with a 40 mile EVOLVE range, a more powerful drivetrain, 0-60 in 6 seconds.
The catch is the limited supply of bigger batteries, resulting in people paying close to if not above MSRP to get one of the 5000 imported for this model year.
This is a really handsome vehicle, especially in the blue color on the featured car. While I still haven’t totally reconciled myself to CUVs and their inherent compromises (despite owning two of them), this Venza is a highly attractive package and would fit my needs quite closely.
Given this summary of the vehicle’s strengths and weaknesses, it appears that the closest competitor may be the Ford Edge, which also is smooth, quiet and well-finished inside. The Ford, though, lacks the hybrid option offered by Toyota, which strikes me as a great way to move toward an EV without plunging all the way into that pond. And, needless to say, reliability is a Toyota strong suit, while the Edge has posted average to somewhat better than average reliability scores at Consumer Reports.
While perhaps not the most exciting vehicle tested here recently, the Venza exudes competence, which sometimes is the most exciting automotive virtue of them all.
Thanks for the review. We have a Lexus GX coming off lease and do not need the towing capacity any longer, and would like to save some $s.
Could be a good alternative to many more expensive alternatives.
Our other cars:
2017 Tesla Model S
1974 MGB
1960 Austin Healey 3000 Mk I
2001 Donny Smith custom HD Road King
Can’t get rid of the toys……
Dave
Sooo, is this an “old man’s car”? I only ask because I like it, and my tastes have often run to what the market thinks of as an old man’s car.
Actually, I kind of liked the last Venza, and from what you describe this one ought to hit a sweet spot here just as it did in Japan.
Am I alone in finding many things about its interior and exterior styling Honda-esque?
Having recently purchased a 2021 Rav4 Hybrid for my wife, who has almost purely functional vehicular interests, our observation is that it is an excellent platform, and her favorite vehicle ever (that she has owned) by a large margin. I find that it does everything well, and if boring, at least does not have any annoying attributes or features. In her usual driving it is getting the same mileage (39 MPG) as her previous vehicle, a 2012 Lexus CT200h, which is, to my mind, rather impressive, all things considered.
Thank you for this review. Built on the same platform but almost 1000lbs heavier, C&D got 7.7 seconds 0-60 and 29mpg with the ’21 Sienna they tested late last year. Oh, and a 15.8 second quarter mile!
37mpg for the Venza and 29mpg for the Sienna are pretty amazing numbers for such hefty vehicles.
“Toyota do a good looking car” – read alla bout it.
Thanks Jim – neat review of a classy looking and not oversized choice. Could be tempted.
That front end looks as though Toyota might be moving away from their UglyMug™ styling motif at last.
Not a fan of the Toyota/Lexus spindle grill…. or the darth Vader grill that is replacing it.
The biggest gripe I have is the pointed belt line at the windows and the useless quarter windows. Seems to be a trend that will not go away. I really wish rear sight lines were a serious consideration when styling a new car.
While it is true that you can’t add the power ratings of all the motors because the peaks occur at different points it is the battery that limits peak HP in Toyota AWD Hybrids.
You can think of it as having a 176 hp engine and 43 hp battery. That is why the RAV-4 Prime has a combined peak of 302 hp which is due to a 176 hp engine and 126 hp battery. The battery’s max discharge rate is of course the real reason, the smaller battery and starter/generator just can’t supply enough current to give both traction motors full power simultaneously. The plug-In version’s battery is designed to deliver more current and thus can power both traction motors to their full potential.
Good looking front and rear (for a CUV). Atypical body styling is reminiscent of European vehicles. I like!
Great and thorough, informative review on the new Venza.
I have a 2009 Venza and was wondering about the new Venza when it was announced..
Briefly looked at the specs of the new Venza and it appears to be smaller than the old Venza both in exterior and interior dimensions…..between RAV4 and Highlander.
The “glass cockpit” display and controls looks overly complicated with a steep learning curve compared to my old Venza. No doubt a thorough reading of the manual.
By the way, about the Venza name: A Japanese person told me Venza sounds like the Japanese word “Benza”, which translates to “toilet seat”.
Oh well…….at least I’m not driving a La Crosse in Quebec.
Gen 1 Venza has definitely grown on me over the years to where I kinda want one. When they first arrived I didn’t understand the point and I wasn’t crazy about the looks. But they have aged well and I “get” the styling now more than I did a decade ago. Definitely a bit quirky and not for everyone, it’s a bit more interesting visually than say, my Avalon.
This new generation is very appealing though. I haven’t been a big fan of the Rav4 personally in the past. I’m a Toyota fan, but it’s usually been towards the bottom of my list of favorite models since it was introduced in the late 90’s. I always found the C-RV to be more palatable for me personally although my hunger for power precludes me from ever owning one. I don’t think that the 4cyl would be adequate enough for me. The Rav4 never seemed plush enough to me. I’d honestly take a Sienna before a Rav4, but Personal preferences aside, this new Venza is a very nice looking vehicle. If it wasn’t such turbulent times, I’d be tempted for sure, but Ill hold onto the 114k Avalon for the time being.
The new Venza is a very nice looking car though. An understated NX/RX with Toyota Badging as the Avalon is to the ES. Luxury and style without the added flashiness and pretentiousness of the Lexus but also without the Fisher-price, toy-truck-like look of the current Rav4. Interest officially Piqued!
Hopefully it won’t come with the fire risks that seem to be looming in the shadows of the current Rav4’s existence. I’m sure they will sell plenty.