Toyota Venza

Thinking about getting one for the wife, anyone have one? any reviews or anything to say??
looking for the all wheel drive for sure, dont really care if its the I4 or V6, only requirements are leather and AWD

edit: we went and looked at a few today, the back seat space is amazing. it has 6 inches more leg room than a 4runner and 3 inches more than a highlander. very comfortable inside, even with me in the drivers seat she was able to sit behind me with her legs fully extended in front of her and not touch my seat. and the rear seats recline ,we do have a baby so that means tons of space for a car seat.

it has power heated front seats standard, and the radio adjusts the volume for road noise, push button start, power rear hatch, ipod/iphone dock standard, tons of storage space up front, but because of all the leg room in back, the trunk space could be better. but over all lots of options all for 6-10k less than a highlander and much better gas mileage even with the AWD version

 

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FWIW ... neighbor has one and likes it ... it is a fairly big vehicle ... stay with the V-6 for sure ... good luck ...
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Wife has a 2011 Venza FWD with the 6 cyl. Gas mileage is good. I personally haven't checked it, but she puts alot of miles on before refueling. It doesn't have leather, but the standard cloth. She loves it and I have driven it a few times and it handles well.

 

Bought one when my daughter was born. We have a 2010 v6 AWD with the light grey leather. It has great head room and fairly wide wheel base which makes it nice and roomy. Handles great just like a Camry. My buddy that sold it to me said that the frame is based off the Camry frame and suspension. Also it is not full-time AWD. Its FWD and only AWD if the computer feels that there is not enough traction with the FWD.

 

bump
thanks for eveyone who replied so far!
anyone else? even though Im just about sold based on what i saw today.

only thing i dont love is the 20" rims, replacement tires wont be cheap and it probably will not be great in the snow. i do like that it is lower than other SUV's and the wife likes that too coming from a Camry. yet it maintains very good crash ratings and low rollover risk

 

your right it is big, within an inch length and width of the 4runner but much more interior space really once you get in them both

oh and all 3 of the ones we looked at had the 3M clear bra / pain protection up front, does anyone know if all the venzas have this? seems odd that i looked at 3 and they all had it

 

... ^^^ ... that is a high profit dealer added option that tops out put between $500.00 and $750.00 and you can get a Venza without it too.

Go through COSTCO, USAA, etc. ... check TruCar, KBB, Edmunds, and etc. for all pricing before buying and save a ton of cash.

FWIW ... If you want an extended warranty ... do NOT buy it from dealer ... you can buy them on line (here) for about 50% off and get the "REAL TOYOTA OEM PLATINUM WARRANTY" ... and don't get ripped off by other "wanna be warranties"

Been down this road many times ... take your time ... negotiate with several dealers and save big bucks ... good luck grasshopper ...
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We have one, bought it in April. We found one from a dealer that we could rent so we took it on a 700 mile road trip to try it out before we bought one. We were toying around with an I4, so thats what we rented. We loved it. Ended up getting a 2012 I4 AWD with the panoramic sunroof in the back seat. The I4 never feels underpowered, and has great passing power on the highway. I've seriously been impressed by the little 4 banger. Gets between 24 and 27mpg (depending on various factors) on the highway. And its easy to get a baby in and out of with the car seat. Comfortable on road trips, even for a 6' tall person in the back seat.

 

bump...

there is a 2011 with 17k on it about an hour from me with what we want, i may go check it out soon. anyone else. i shoulda put this in the 2nd gen forum haha

 

Have you cross-shopped a Subaru Outback? Unlike the Venza, the Subaru's AWD system actually works.

 

i would never buy a subaru.

going today to look at and wheel and deal on a 2012 Venza XLE , we will see how we do

 

My old lady wanted one, test drove it & has a huge blind spot in the back right. She's already a terrible driver so we passed.

 

haha nope.

I know several subaru owners, they all rave about how great the cars are yet there is always something wrong or broken with the cars

 

I would look at the EPA ratings for both the I4 and the V6 because power wise the V6 is a much better motor. Go with the V6 if you can. My wife wanted a Venza but I found a great deal on a RAV4 Limited with the 3.5 V6. It's scary fast.

 

the I4 has plenty of power, but really only gets 1mpg better than the V6 which has a ton of power and is much quieter, they run $1-2k more though, so we'll see

Going soon to try to haggle on a 2012, XLE, V6, AWD Silver. MSRP is 33k, the guy on the phone said invoice is 29xxx , we really need a good trade value on her camry to get out the door under 30. there will be 0% and $2k bonus bucks off after tax and fees as well, I would love the V6 but the I4 may save us quite a few bucks

first mods will be color match front grill, that chrome is hideous, weathertechs, and tint the front window.

 

we ended up with a 2011 V6 AWD, 18 k miles, it has heated leather, back up camera, remote starter, weathertechs, its Blizzard Pearl and the wife likes it. So thats important.

For anyone with experience with the Venza can you tell me about what they are like in snow, It has stock goodyear eagle RS-A tires, i was thinking of getting a set of snow tires / rims / TPMS for it which i can get in 18" Highlander rims / Nokian Hakka tires/ and Prgrammable TPMS so i can just swap over myself each season and not need to re program each time for about $1400. I could also get 20" snows for about $1000 but it hardly seems worth it once you figure in seasonal change-overs and resetting the TPMS each time

thanks

 

My friend's wife has had hers for 3 years now..she drives a lot for work, plus it is their family-mobile on the weekends. They rave about how good it is in snow, which you and I both know we get a lot here in New England They don't change the rims/tires on it at all.

Not the same thing but my wife's had her Rav4 with the electronic 4wd about 5 years now, same thing never an issue..says it's just as good as her old 96 Tacoma 4wd.

 

Hey whats wrong with a Subaru? For what it's worth nothing is broken on mine. Enjoy your Venza, sounds like a solid car.

 

OK Pudge, now that you'v had it for a while, what are your thoughts on the Venza? Its at the top of our list right now. Going to drive one on Monday (depending on weather).

Drove the Honda CrossTour and like it a lot... just don't think it's going to be big enough room for two dogs and new baby. Can get a pretty smoking deal on a left over 12'.

Drove the Tribeca and we both thought it was only average... drives more like a minivan, expensive, for less toys. LOTS of space.

Feel like the Venza is going to be the best of both.

 

Could care less about a Venza...wish more people felt the same way. More money to be made making crossover vehicles (not an SUV) and mid-size SUVs because people keep buying. People who love things like heated seats, panoramic sunroofs, and reverse cameras...

I'm sure the Venza has an awesome AWD system with its transversely mounted engine. At least Subaru orients the crank in the right direction because the vehicles are designed to be AWD from the start.

If you haven't owned a Subaru try not to comment on their reliability. I've owned an '05 STi for seven and a half years now and have had no problems. It's by far the best vehicle I've ever owned. Tuned running 19 psi from the stock turbo since August of 2006; year round performance (snow/rain) and reliability. I can't think of any car that Toyota has made that can claim that; maybe the old all-trac Celias but they aren't in the same league as my STi.

With that being said I will say that Toyota makes a solid vehicle because I can give credit where it's due. Enjoy your crossover and all the bells and whistles...