This is the Toyota Venza.
What exactly is it? Well it’s not quite a station wagon.
It’s a bit too big, a bit too high off the ground to be that.
And it’s not quite an SUV. It’s a bit lower than that.
In fact, it’s easier to talk about what the Venza does than to say what it is.
One thing that the Venza does is it gives you lots of cargo flexibility.
This is a pretty large flat load floor back here.
Big lift gate makes it easy to load stuff in and out.
And these rear seats, they fold very easily, just pull the handles back here.
A couple things to keep in mind, though.
The sloping roofline, that’s going to limit the size of the boxes
you can ultimately fit back in here and there’s no third row seat.
The Venza’s back seat, it’s a high point.
Large doors make for easy access.
And the rear seat itself it’s very comfortable.
There’s room for three across. The backrest, it even reclines.
One thing though, the styling it has this sloping upward beltline towards the back
makes for a high windowsill so it’s hard for kids to see out.
In the front of the Venza it feels a bit odd.
Now this is a wide car and there’s plenty of shoulder room
But this giant center console creates a definite compartment here.
What that console does give you though is a lot of storage space.
There’s great big bins, a big deep bin here.
You slide this back there’s another big deep bin here.
The thing is though is that sometimes this console is a little too clever for its own good.
Say I want to get into this compartment, well, I got a drink here.
I’ve got to pull the drink out and slide it back to get there.
Also, there’s this clever little iPod holder
but the problem is it makes it hard to get to the controls of the iPod
and there’s no integrated iPod control.
So, it’s a clever idea, it just doesn’t work that well in practice.
The interior assembly quality in our Venza is something of a disappointment.
Now there’s lots of nice materials here.
There’s a soft touch dashboard.
There’s contrasting leather piping on the seats.
But there’s a whole bunch of panels on the dashboard that just don’t fit right.
This speaker grill—it’s sticking up. So is this speaker grill.
This center panel in the dashboard—it’s got a big gap here.
This seat heater, it sticks out more than the other seat heater.
Lots of pieces that just don’t fit right.
Now the Venza, it’s not all that exciting to drive.
One advantage of a lot of station wagons is they usually drive like a sedan.
The thing is, the Venza, it drives a lot like an SUV.
Now, it’s competent but it’s not all that enjoyable.
The steering doesn’t give you much feel and it’s artificially weighted.
So, OK, it’s no big surprise that the Venza isn’t all that sporty.
Most Toyotas aren’t but most Toyotas ride well and the Venza, it doesn’t.
Impacts, they come through harshly and the ride it’s often busy.
Part of the reason for that is that all Venzas come with big wheels and tires.
Our V6, it had 20-inch wheels and tires. They don’t help the ride.
Something the Venza does share with other Toyotas, is this drivetrain.
The 3.5 liter V6 6-speed automatic works really well, gives the car plenty of power.
Another thing it shares with Toyotas is that it’s quiet in here.
There’s not much wind noise, not much road noise. On that count it delivers.
Unfortunately, the Venza styling delivers a big disadvantage.
Visibility to the back especially, it’s not all that great
because there’s thick roof pillars and a fairly small rear window.
Now, our Venza does have a backup camera.
The problem is that the screen is far forward on the dashboard and it’s really small.
That makes it hard to make out what the camera is trying to show you.
No question, the Venza has some things going for it.
It’s quick, it’s roomy and it’s quiet.
But when Toyota tried to combine the best of an SUV and a wagon here
they missed some of the advantages of both.
An SUV usually has more cargo room, maybe a third-row seat.
And a wagon usually has more car-like handling and ride.
The funny thing is, Toyota’s Highlander
which is an SUV, it’s more like car-like to drive than the Venza.
And it has all that utility.