Toyota has launched a site to preview their new Venza crossover wagonish type vehicle thingy. The site tells you everything you need to know about the Venza (auto-dimming mirror with built-in compass) except what you need to know (the mpg). Meanwhile, the Venza's front grill looks like a mutated Mach 3 razor, but aside from that Dali-esque design, it's a fairly upscale-looking product. ToMoCo's Ford Edge competitor comes with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine as standard, with an optional 3.5-liter V6. Within, the Venza's gear lever sits in the middle of the dashboard's center stack. (French car much?) Taken as a whole, the Venza's so strange that it's almost… interesting. Marketing-wise, it's meant to fit between the RAV4 and Highlander– in a market space formerly occupied by the old Highlander before its "grew up" (and out). Toyota's looking to sell 75k of these… things per year, as it continues its race to become GM.
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From what I’ve seen of the inside, it’s going to be much, much better interior-wise than the Camry or Rav4 or Highlander.
I also wonder if the 2010 Camry facelift will look similar to the Venza?
Butt Ugly. The rear end looks like an overweight whale, and the front end is well, “mutated” is being kind. The thing looks overweight and probably gets mediocre to poor mileage.
But it is a Toyota, therefore let the profuse praise come down from Consumer Reports!!!! This is God’s gift to Crossovers! Hallejujah, thank you Lord for blessing us with another perfect Toyota vehicle. Amen.
It looks fine to me.
Venza isn’t a great name. I prefer “Malibu Maxx with leather”
But the real question is what new words will Toyota invent to avoid saying ‘hatchback’?
It’s a Camry with 3″ more width and 6″ taller and better interior. Half-way between a Camry Wagon and Highlander – Interesting at about $23.5K (Guess).
It’s a Toyota. It will sell, but not to anyone looking for a complete car. sigh..
SherbornSean,
They changed it from Vanguard to Venza last minute, apparently.
Here is a another pic of the thing. Hopefully you ate light for lunch.
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/toyota-venza-live/582923/
Those wheel flares are a joke and the back end looks like a knock off of that horrible Mercedes CUV from a couple of years back. Not to mention the 27 things going on at the same time in the front.
front end reminds me of those old Godzilla movies!!
Now have to ‘like’ the weird Japanese thing just because its a Toyota….
well maybe it comes with mini singing twins in a cage in glove box!
and so it goes………..
Wow, this thing looks weird enough – yet mainstream enough – to work. I bet we’re going to see a lot of these around.
Hmm a sedan based 5 seater thingy that has a long/tall trunk – didn’t they used to call these things wagons?
Right – now that I have that out of the way. I am glad to see they brought the Camry wagon back.
Sure it is ugly, but it is a Toyota so it should not be regarded as a car and judged with the same critical eye as a Alfa or even a Mazda.
Rather it should be regarded in the same manner that most of its buyers will regard it – as an appliance.
So compared to the latest Whirpool – the styling rocks.
Now when does the hybrid come out? And will it get 40mpg?
Let them lose the crossover obsession and go back to station wagons. “Crossover” is a marketing invention, and is inherently ugly.
mxfive4,
Have you seen appliances lately? They’re starting to look pretty cool. I think you owe Whirlpool an apology
I think it’s meant to compete with European wagons, such as those Volvos you see a lot of (around here).
In a hybrid version it might be a fabulous vehicle.
First impression: from front 3/4s I actually thought it looked a little like a Pacifica. From the side, if you ignore the “mouth”, it looks like someone sat on the newish MDX….
It reminds me very much of an update of the original RX 300:
http://www.planetlexus.com/lexus-rx300/lexus-rx300-front.jpg
A lot of folks had a hard time with that too, initially. I see a heavy dose of Edge with Toyota touches. The thing about Toyota styling is that it almost always looks worse initially, and then it (usually) grows on me.
I saw this abomonation at the auto show. It is simply hideous. It looks like someone microwaved a Ford Edge.
The string of vehicles in this category read like a list of marketing “don’ts”: M-B R-class, Chrysler Pacifica, and Subaru Tribeca (of the dread Flying Vag).
But I bet Toyota makes this work.
This is a good looking station wagon. I dont care what they call it. Although I’m surprised they dont call it the Camry Venza, just to make sure the Camry is the number 1 vehicle of the year. C’mon Toyota, where is your head? That one should have been a no-brainer. 75,000 units might have gotten Camry to 500,000.
Anyhoo, I love the tailights. I think the design is sleek and well proportioned for its class, with interesting angles. Sure typical Toyota haters will hate it, but for this class of CUVs, this is one nice ride. A little extra style without become a (Murano-ish) caricature. The interior looks good, if not the most dramatic, but the blue and white Optitron guages sure impress. So design wise, its at least a triple, if not a home run.
But its the engines that will carry the day. The 3.5L is a proven winner, providing strong performance to a number of Toyota products. With a size between RAV4 and Highlander, depending on weight, this thing might do 0-60 in 7.5 seconds, while still getting decent mpg. I cant wait to see what Toyota has up its sleeve for the new 2.7L 4 cylinder, though. Hopefully this is the replacement for the aging 2.4L. With 170-190 hp, mpg in the low 30’s, this could be what puts Toyota on top for good. Think of how many cars use the 2.4 now-Camry, RAV4, xB, Corolla, Matrix. And if its good enough, maybe it will find its way into the Sienna or Highlander, providing a lower cost, higher mpg choice for these difficult times. And I’m sure a hybrid variant is only a few years away.
Ive always liked wagons and hatches. But CUVs usually are either too trucky (Escape, Acadia, Highlander) or too overstyled (Murano, FX, X6). I’m pretty jazzed about this one. It’s car-like and has just enough style, with the possibility of some really decent mechanicals.
Looks innocuous enough to me for the target market. But did you say 2.7L 4 cylinder is the base motor?
Did Toyota certify a new 4 cylinder for the US? I would have thought they would have used the 2.4L motor they so widely use.
Ugly???
What’s so ugly about it?
marc: I cant wait to see what Toyota has up its sleeve for the new 2.7L 4 cylinder,
blautens: Did Toyota certify a new 4 cylinder for the US?
I hate to disappoint you, but the 2.7 has been around for years, in the trucks (T-100, Tacoma). I assume its a sroked version of the 2.4.
The grille can be changed on a whim, and other than that it looks like a blandified, enlarged IS 300 hatch.
I think Toyota, Honda and Nissan are all overlooking the market for wagon variants of their bread and butter sedans. I sincerely hope they continue to do so.
err, 19 inch wheels for the base model?
man i remember when Toyota cars didn’t cost much to maintain…
sheesh.
I’d like to see how well they manage to make that (huge) 2.7 liter four banger run smoothly.
SherbornSean :
mxfive4,
Have you seen appliances lately? They’re starting to look pretty cool. I think you owe Whirlpool an apology
Soo true.
marc : And I’m sure a hybrid variant is only a few years away.
Why a few years – nothing on this platform is going to require them to engineer this option from scratch.
The Camry and the Highlander (seriously how are they selling so many of these when there can only be one?) already have this option – Toyota should be offering this from day one.
ttacgreg: I’d like to see how well they manage to make that (huge) 2.7 liter four banger run smoothly.
With the balance shafts that are in it (already).
@Paul.
It is not the same 2.7L you are thinking of.
Toyota has said it will be a new engine.
The current 2.7L is a truck engine intorduced in 2005 (apparently not related to the 2.7L that it replaced), with 159hp and 180 lb/ft of torque, in the Tacoma. There is no way this will make it into the car-based Venza. There is no current example of a Toyota truck using a car engine, or a Toyota car using a truck engine.
The 2.7L will be a car engine, likely in the family of 2AZ-FE engines (2.4L, with around 160hp, 160 lb/ft, depending on application). If it is a bored our version of the 2.4, we can easily expext 20-30 hp more with an expected bump of 1-2 mpg.
That interior is horrible…
Not like the exterior is any better, what a dog.
@ttacgreg
“The usual “practical” limit to the displacement of straight-4 engines in a car is around 2.7 litres. However, Porsche used a 3.0 L four in its 944 S2 and 968 sports cars…”
“Currently, one of the largest straight-4 engines is the 2.7 L Toyota 3RZ-FE engine.”*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-4
*not the same 2.7L engine that will be in the Venza, as I have previously pointed out
(I hope this doesnt come thru twice, my computer is being weird)
SherbornSean:Venza isn’t a great name. I prefer “Malibu Maxx with leather”
Maybe they could call it the “Camry X”?
But the real question is what new words will Toyota invent to avoid saying ‘hatchback’?
Station Wagon?
I think it looks fabulous and will be an out of the park home run because, well…it’s Toyota.
Comparing this to a Ford Edge is a crime! I saw the Venza at an auto show and the interior is amazingly luxurious for a model in this price range. It is so far superior in look and feel to the Edge it shouldn’t be compared. It’s more like a Lexus RX330 for the common-man.
It may look funky from some angles to some people, but I thought it had strong and very modern exterior styling for a new-age crossover. Plus it comes with 20″ chrome wheels. I could totally see myself driving this. I DO NOT see myself in any sissy-fied plasticky cheap Edge. It feels much bigger an nicer on the inside than a Nissan Murano also.
I just hope it comes with a roof rack for my bike. Also a roof rack on this typoe of vehicle can really accentuate the styling if carefully designed and finished in a modern silver plating or something techy.
marc: @Paul.It is not the same 2.7L you are thinking of. Toyota has said it will be a new engine.
You’re right. I jumped the gun. Looks like it will be very competitive, with a possible 188hp. As V6’s get bigger, so do the fours. At least for now. Wonder when/if Toyota will get on the downsized/turbocharged train?
If I remember correctly, and I think I do, the Rav4 will not work with HSD.
Maybe the Venza’s real reson for existence is to provide a wagon in that general class, smaller than the Highlander, that can support HSD.
Ill buy it ! But then I own a 03 Subaru wrx and love the way it looks…
The Edge copied the Murano. So this is essentially Toyota’s response to the Murano–just six years later.
I expect pricing at least equal to the Highlanders.
therightstuff :
It’s more like a Lexus RX330 for the common-man.
So what does that make the Highlander?
Are you suggesting that Toyota will become more like VW and start cannibalizing it’s own efforts?
If this thing doesn’t split the difference between the RAV4 and the Highlander – oooo boy.
Oddly enough, isn’t the RAV4 now a three row seating fatty?
Ehpolitical, I disagree with your thought that “Toyota, Honda and Nissan are all overlooking the market for wagon variants of their bread and butter sedans.”
In the flesh, this clearly is a Camry wagon. I think they’ve gauged the American consumer’s mind (such as it is) with their usual thoroughness, and realized they simply wouldn’t be smart to call it that.
As for me, the whole “crossover” thing is so clearly a codpiece over the eminently practical but un-phallic station wagon category that it’s getting quite embarrassing to watch.
“Just another Murano – except 6 years later?”
“If this thing doesn’t split the difference between the RAV4 and the Highlander – oooo boy?”
…I guess you guys sat in a different vehicle than I did at the auto show!
It was IMMEDIATELY apparent to me after hanging aroun din it for a few minutes that:
1. This is a completely different breed of vehicle than the Highlander. It’s lower to the ground, much sleeker, much more urbane, much less soccer mom, bigger chrome wheels, meaner stance. It has a completely different feel – and I think will draw a different customer. Younger, more city/urban/wealthy suburb maybe, or hip couples perhaps. It fits that wealthy/stylish demographic I feel people kind of imagine themselves as – without costing $50K. I am not explaining it well, but you can’t SLOT this very different combination of features crossover in between RAV4 and Highlander…It’s just NOT an SUV!
2. Comparing it to the Murano is a JOKE. It’s FAR bigger or less cramped on the inside. It’s FAR more luxurious on the inside. It’s got angles – not a rounded 90’s style. (Have you ever noticed that Nissan’s styling is cool for….oh…about 6 months and then they look really dated? This vehicle won’t. Actually – I can’t think of a Toyota that does. That’s a Nissan problem if you ask me.
And I LIKE the grille others seem to be so shocked by. Yes it’s modern. Yes it’s new. It’s some new fantastic plated finish too – not chrome, like a slightly fogged mirror sort of appearance – but really sharp and high end looking to me. Toyota should do some high-end Mercedes-like rocker moldings in that finish too.
There were cool gizmos too like interior door handles in the far back that you pull and the seats auto-fold flat up in front of you.
I’m telling you – this car will be HOT and will last and is NOT a damned clunky Ford Edge or a stale Nissan Murano or a problem for Toyota just because it can’t be slotted neatly between RAV4 and Highlander.
I’ve heard it might cost $25K. It definitely feels like $35K or more when you are sitting in it.
As strange looking as it is, I actually sort of like it. Sort of. It’s certainly better looking than the Murano.
But where’s the Toyota quality everyone talks about? I looked carefully at the interior photos and I can see a number of what appear to be ill-fitting pieces. The trim pieces that surround the steering wheel buttons look hastily installed and there’s a panel on the underside of the dash on the driver’s side that doesn’t seem to fit well. There seem to be some exterior bits that don’t fit very well either. Okay, I know photos can sometimes be deceiving and that the photos are probably of a pre-production model, but still…
Yeah – I know what you mean….the car did seem unfinished athte auto show I was at. For instance, I don’t think the dash pieces and door pieces were grained yet. They were smooth – almost shiny.
the Toyota rep at the auto show said the vehicle was a first-off hand made prototype with not fully off-tool parts.
then I saw some GM’s that were current production models that had worse fitment of parts!
It’s Toyota. People don’t worry about their appearance quality. It’s simply the best for an affordable car. They’ll get it all tuned up for whenever it launches.