by Peter Ciani for RPM News Weekly
The original Toyota Venza made its debut in 2009 as a competitor to the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, and Mazda CX-7. It was the definition of the crossover sport utility vehicle formula: take a car platform (in this case the Camry) and plunk a station wagon-y body on top – but please don’t call it a station wagon.
Back in those old days (2008), even Motor Trend wasn’t sure what to call it, as evidenced by their First Drive review titled “Identity Crisis: Is it a Car? No. An SUV? Not Quite. A Station Wagon? Almost”.
Now the Venza is back and following the same formula, but with some modern twists.
To some, the old Venza was a ‘just right’ size in the Toyota line-up – not as small as the RAV4 and not as big as the Highlander. It also offered the heightened seating position and ground clearance of an SUV, while still maintaining a car-like ride.
Aside from a 2013 mid-cycle refresh that sharpened the styling up a bit, Toyota really didn’t do much with the Venza and it eventually faded away, which is why I was a bit surprised to read about its return.
The new Venza was supposed to debut at the 2020 New York Auto Show last April, but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down everything, it was unveiled online in May instead. Like the original, the 2021 model occupies a space in the line-up right between the smaller RAV4 and larger Highlander, and shares a platform with the likes of the Camry and Avalon sedans.
Photo Courtesy of Toyota Media
Unlike the original, the Venza ditches the “almost” station wagon shape in this generation. The new design features a gradually sloping roofline and athletic body lines that are more in line with the current Toyota design language.
Upfront the exterior styling of the Venza is distinctly Toyota, while at the same time avoiding the designed-to look-like-our-trucks styling of its RAV4 and Highlander SUV stablemates. The Venza takes a more rounded approach. Multi-reflector LED headlights come as standard equipment, while the XLE and Limited get LED projector headlights. It’s great that modern technology allows manufacturers to be more creative with headlight designs. In the case of the Venza they are thin and flow nicely into the upper grille. My only complaint about LED headlights is their effectiveness in snowy conditions.
Photo: Peter Ciani
This isn’t a Toyota issue, this is an industry-wide issue. LED lights don’t generate heat like traditional bulbs, so when you are driving in a storm they can get caked up pretty quickly. Snowplow manufacturers figured this out quickly and offer heated LED lights. I hope the automotive industry solves this issue as well.
At the rear, the sloping fastback style roof comes to a sharp point. The rear styling has been compared to that of the Jaguar I-Pace. I can’t unsee that observation, now. The lines on the new Venza are a bit sharper, maybe even a little more modern looking. It’s certainly not an insult to be compared with the I-Pace, by the way. If one can get a crossover for a starting MSRP of $32,470 that makes people think of a $70,000 Jag, that’s a bonus. Take it.
Inside, the Venza has an appealing center console design that flows into the instrument panel. Above that sits a center-mounted touchscreen. LE and XLE feature a standard Audio Plus system with an 8-inch touchscreen, while a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen is offered on the XLE and standard on the Limited as part of the Premium Audio system. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa compatibility are standard across the line-up, as is a Qi wireless phone charger. The only thing I’m not a huge fan of is the starter button location. It’s perfectly functional, it just looks a bit out of place. Not a deal-breaker, though.
Photos Courtesy of Toyota Media
All models get soft-touch materials on the dashboard, along with leather trim on the steering wheel and shifter. The base LE features cloth seats, but when it comes to the interior trim itself, I personally prefer the two-toned SOFTEX interior found in the XLE and Limited.
As you might expect, the Limited trim packs in the little extras, such as wood-grain style trim and ambient lighting, that help elevate the interior to near Lexus levels.
The Venza offers up to 28.8 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seat up. Toyota packed the hybrid’s Lithium-ion battery in a way that doesn’t use up any precious interior space.
Unlike the original, the 2021 Venza comes with a few surprises in the powertrain department.
Whereas the first-gen Venza was offered with a 182-horsepower 2.7-liter 4-cylinder or an optional 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 with your choice of front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive, the new Venza is sold exclusively as a hybrid.
If you are looking for V6 power, you’ll need to look elsewhere. All you’ll find here is a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine paired with an electronically-controlled continuously variable transmission (ECVT) and 2 electric motors putting out 219 combined system horsepower. On second thought, don’t bother looking elsewhere for a V6. This combination is perfectly fine for the Venza, especially with the added torque from the electric motors.
The other powertrain surprise – the Venza is only offered with all-wheel-drive. Toyota Electronic On-demand all-wheel drive to be exact
What this means is that the Venza forgoes the traditional transfer case/driveshaft all-wheel-drive system and instead uses an independent, rear-mounted electric motor to power the rear wheels. A similar system can be found on vehicles throughout the Toyota line-up, including the recent Prius AWD-e.
The benefits of this system are twofold, it takes up less space than a conventional all-wheel-drive system and its performance is incredibly smooth.
Basically, the system works like this: if you need the additional traction from the rear wheels, it’s there – no buttons to push, no switches to switch. When starting from a dead stop, the rear wheels kick in with just enough power (depending on conditions) to help reduce wheel spin from the front wheels, the system works so smoothly that you really don’t feel it working. The system also helps to reduce understeer when cornering.
Photos: Peter Ciani
From the photos, you can see that I got to test the 2021 Venza during one of our lovely New England snow showers. As someone who has owned many, many four-wheel and all-wheel drive equipped vehicles, I had to keep looking at the little power indicator gauge to make sure the system was working. Comparatively, the Venza takes off without any fuss, even in the slippery stuff. There was no drama to be found, no weird noises, and no delays. It’s that seamless.
As with all Toyotas, the Venza includes the Toyota Safety Sense suite of advanced safety features. This system includes a Pre-Collision System with Low Light Pedestrian Detection and Daytime Cyclist Detection, Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Road Sign Assist and Lane Tracing Assist.
The Venza also includes standard Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Intelligent Clearance Sonar, for those with a habit of bumping into things. The Limited grade adds a Bird’s-Eye View Camera.
There’s no shortage of crossovers on the market in all shapes and sizes, but not everyone wants a small ‘urban runabout’ and not everyone needs a large 3-row SUV. If you’re shopping for a sporty, ultra-efficient crossover that truly lives up to the crossover moniker and happens to include bulletproof reliability and advanced standard safety features, then the Toyota Venza might be the ‘”just right” car to put on your list.
2021 Toyota Venza Fast Facts:
- EPA Estimated Fuel economy: 40-City / 37 Highway
- Electric Motor Power Output 88 kW (118 hp) / 40 kW (54 hp)
- Seating Capacity 5
- Headroom (Front/Rear) 38.6/39.0 in. 38.1/36.9 in. (w/ Star Gaze Fixed Pano Roof)
- Legroom (Front/Rear) 40.9/37.8 in.
- Shoulder Room (Front/Rear) 57.4/56.9 in.
- Hip Room (Front/Rear) 54.4/45.2 in.
- Passenger Volume 98.3 cu. ft.; 95.2 cu. ft. (w/ Star Gaze Pano Roof)
- Cargo Vol. 28.8 cu.ft. (w/seats up); 28.7 cu.ft. (w/ Star Gaze Roof)
- Cargo Vol. (w/ rear seats down) 55.1 cu.ft.; 54.9 cu.ft. (w/ Star Gaze Roof)
- Curb Weight (lbs.) 3,847 (LE), 3,891 (XLE), 3,913 (Limited)
- Warranty Coverage:
- 3-year/36,000-mile Comprehensive
- 5-year/60,000-mile Powertrain
- 10-year/150,000-mile Hybrid Battery
- 8-year/100,000-mile Hybrid System
- 5-year/unlimited-mileage Corrosion Perforation
