Toyota Venza 2011

toyota venza 2011: The Toyota Venza has actually offered quickly since its introduction, as well as it's easy to see why. The crossover's five-seat cabin has the good-looking style as well as upscale materials that are missing from the oft-criticized Camry interior. Its sheet metal is expressive-- daring, also-- in a manner few Toyotas manage. It's fuel-efficient and also quiet, roomy and utilitarian. For an automaker that's lately been embeded a product funk, the Venza readies information.

Just how good is it really? I drove the auto all week, and also invested some time in a Subaru Wilderness and also Honda Accord Crosstour-- both most likely rivals. The Venza is good, yet its driving experience left me desiring: It's less competent and also awkward, which's not a combination that bodes well.


toyota venza 2011


The 2010 Venza features front- or four-wheel drive; either configuration can be had with a four-cylinder or a V-6 engine. I examined a V-6, all-wheel-drive design. Besides getting brand-new stereo controls and also a USB port for iPods, little has transformed considering that Toyota introduced the Venza as a 2009 model.

Outdoors & In

Fourteen months as well as 60,000 sales after it initially hit car dealerships, the Venza still looks interesting. The nose might take some obtaining made use of to-- thanks mostly to its plunging fronts lights as well as zebra-striped grille-- yet the remaining 3 sides festinate, with squat proportions and short overhangs. The Venza has the type of ground-hugging stance you do not get back at in some cars, helped in big part by the auto's titanic wheel wells. Our examination automobile's 20-inch alloy wheels filled them out, however just barely. Twenties are typical on the V-6 Venza, while four-cylinder designs obtain 19-inchers.

Though not as daring as the exterior, the cabin does have a few design points of its very own. The shapely control panel flows into the center console; both are so connected it's difficult to inform where one ends and the various other starts. It's a setup that trespasses a little bit on knee room for those sitting up front, but the Venza is spacious enough you will not miss out on the space a lot.

Products look excellent generally, with a high-quality grained structure on the dashboard as well as doors that much surpass the Camry's flatter-looking products. I'm coming to be a stickler for cushioned surfaces in areas motorists actually touch-- like armrests and door panels-- and also the Venza has a great deal of cushioning where it matters little bit; those door armrests, on the other hand, can use a lot more.

New this year are vastly improved graphics for the journey computer display atop the dash, in addition to friendlier stereo controls that display tags for your station presets. I just wish the car's stereo appeared as excellent. Our tester's JBL system offered little clearness at either end of the bass/treble range. The system is optional-- as well as most likely worth avoiding, seeing as the base stereo has steering-wheel controls and also a USB/iPod port.

Seats & Cargo

Both rows of seats offer excellent clearance and also legroom, though our test vehicle really did not have an optional panoramic moonroof, which knocks off concerning an inch of clearance up front. Taller drivers might want the front seats moved a little bit farther back; I'm 5-foot-11, and I had the seat nearly all the way back. A power driver's seat is typical, as is a tilt/telescoping steering wheel. One editor located the wheel's adjustment variety also minimal.

The Venza's base cloth seats are supportive over long journeys, as well as various other tiny benefits-- backseat analysis lights and also AIR CONDITIONER vents, one-touch down as well as up procedure on all four power windows-- will thrill your passengers. Such precisions are typically reserved for more costs nameplates. With the back seats in place, freight room totals 34.4 cubic feet. The seats fold down by means of practical cargo-area bars for a maximum of 70.1 cubic feet of cargo volume. Relative to the Venza's wagon as well as crossover competitors, both figures are impressive.

Going & Preventing

The Venza's optional 3.5-liter V-6 is a Toyota mainstay, seeing responsibility in everything from the Camry to the RAV4. With 268 horse power at hand, it draws strongly from a quit as well as proceeds completely approximately freeway speeds, with a muscle exhaust grumble under difficult velocity.

Alas, Toyota's current six-speed transmissions aren't recognized for their responsiveness, as well as the Venza's follows the pack. It upshifts efficiently, as well as its short lower ratios indicate the Venza fingernails the whole go part of fortitude. How much time the get-up takes, however, can prove aggravating. Choose the passing lane, as well as the automatic takes as well long to kick down to a lower equipment; at reduced speeds, various other editors as well as I discovered tips of accelerator lag, too.

More aggravating are the brakes. Four-wheel antilock discs are typical, however the pedal feels mushy as well as doesn't return much stopping power until an inch approximately down. Then it bites suddenly, making it difficult to quit smoothly. Bad.

A 182-hp, 2.7-liter four-cylinder is standard. Our examination auto had the V-6, but I drove a 2011 Sienna minivan with the 2.7-liter four-cylinder last December. It's a capable engine, rounding up excellent zest off the line as well as just losing on power when handing down the freeway. Considering the four-cylinder Sienna's extra weight-- 330 to 515 pounds extra, relying on which four-cylinder Venza you compare it with-- I doubt the base Venza feels gutless. (If you have actually test-driven it and also discovered otherwise, nonetheless, shoot me an email.).

With front-wheel drive and also the four-cylinder engine, the Venza obtains a commendable 24 mpg in the EPA's consolidated city/highway scores; the V-6 is ranked at 22 mpg. Four-wheel drive knocks both figures down 1 mpg. Right here's how the numbers contrast.

With the four-cylinder engine, the Venza could tow approximately 2,500 extra pounds. The V-6 enhances the score to 3,500 pounds, which is affordable with in a similar way priced crossovers.

Trip & Handling

After driving the Crosstour and also Wilderness in back-to-back loopholes, the Venza left other editors and also I scraping our heads: Its trip and dealing with features are at odds with each other, and also not in a great way. I can't make a decision whether the 20-inch wheels-- whose 50-series tires really ought to cushion points more-- or the strong suspension is worthy of even more blame, however whatever it is, trip comfort is closer to an economic climate sedan compared to a midsize crossover. Pockets and also other bumps jar the cabin outright. On the interstate, you feel patches of grooved pavement-- and you learn how to avoid them.

This could be more acceptable if the Venza were fun to drive, but besides straight-line acceleration, it isn't really. Guiding is well-assisted at low speeds, making driving in car park and city crossways simple. At higher rates, though, it's as sloppy as a Camry, with little roadway comments and the sort of turn-in precision you may get with a watercraft tail. Highway interchanges and also curved roads lead to great deals of body roll, as well as if you take an edge also quick the tires are quick to surrender their grasp. Venza shoppers could not desire a skilled motorist's car-- and also this one sure isn't really-- however the problem is that the Venza will not award them on the flight convenience side of things, either.

Toyota does develop peaceful autos, and also this one is no exemption. On smooth roadways, the Venza's cabin is without wind as well as engine sound. The 20-inch wheels begin to create some sound at freeway rates. The 19s may transform that-- as well as ride convenience, too-- however Senior Editor David Thomas drove both configurations last year, and he really did not report any huge differences.

Safety and security, Characteristic & Pricing

In collision tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety And Security, the Venza made the top general rating, Excellent, for frontal, side and back impacts. Since publication, the Venza had not gone through the IIHS' roof-strength test, which stops it from being eligible for the company's checklist of Top Safety Picks. (To certify, it would need a Great overall rating in the roof test.) Common functions include the common front, front-seat side-impact and two-row side drape airbags, as well as anti-skid brakes and an electronic security system.

In the year it's been on the market, the Venza has actually notched good general integrity marks. Consumer Reports dependability surveys fix V-6 versions as Average in total integrity, with four-cylinder versions racking up Well Over Typical.

With front-wheel drive and the four-cylinder, the Venza begins at $26,275. It's fairly fully equipped, with common remote access and one-touch power windows, an automatic transmission, 19-inch wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power driver's seat and a USB/iPod-compatible stereo.

All-wheel drive prices an additional $1,450, with the V-6 and also 20-inch edges running $1,825. Other choices consist of a back-up video camera, a navigating system, heated natural leather seats, a power traveler seat and also a breathtaking moonroof. Examine all packages, as well as an all-wheel-drive V-6 Venza runs about $38,500.

Venza on the market

With the latest round of accelerator-related recalls making front web pages and homepages worldwide, Toyota's reputation for high quality has actually absolutely experienced. Independent of such context-- if it's feasible to think like that-- the Venza holds some allure. It has the expressive design and creative interior that so many Toyotas lack, however it's still quiet, utilitarian as well as fuel-efficient. Those know Toyota staminas, and if you can get past the driving defects, there might be enough need to consider it.