09 Venza My new ride

[Marazzito]

I kind of like it. It seems like a good move on Toyota's part, you get most of the perks of an SUV with the MPG's of a car. One thing is for sure, Toyota knows its customer's I would be willing to bet it will sell well. Seems like it could steel some Subaru Forester sells.

[bob259]

Wish there was a Hybrid offering too. We love our Hybrids and this looks closer to what I had hoped for the Highlander to look like.

[Marazzito]

I agree... I am sure it is in the works. They probably just don't want to spoil the sells of the 3rd Gen Prius which should be showing up about the same time. Also, if they release it after the Prius, it will most likely come with Synergy 3 which will be making its debut in the 3rd Generation Prius. Just my hypothesis!

[PattonJ007]

I was looking for some pictures of the Venza and I came across a website that has a ton of pictures for almost every brand of vehicle. Below is a link that will take you right to the pictures of the Venza ... and they have very nice high res pictures too

Enjoy!

Toyota Venza (2009) with pictures and wallpapers

[TundraSoul]

It's a totally cute car and I hope Toyota sells a million of them. In fact when I was talking with Toyota today I mentioned how important that it was that the consumer had many Hybrid choices when they visited the dealer. I'm thinking that 1/3 of the dealers inventory should be hybrids by the end on 2008. Gas prices are never going to return to the sub $3.00 level so we as consumer have to start looking for alternatives.

Thankfully Toyota assured me that they have many hybrid options in the works and the choices available to consumers will be far ahead of any competitor by the end of 2008.

I foresee the consumer will pay between $5.00 and $6.00 per gallon at the pump within the next six months - and the clock is ticking. I challenge Toyota to do something about it and show they're the company consumers need to come too.

[00SiennaXLE]

i think this is toyota's way of bringing back the camry wagon. toyota dumped the camry wagon in 96 (just here in the US) and brought in the sienna. But with gas prices, and people who don't want a minivan, but wanted a bigger car with the comforts of a sedan prompted toyota to bring back the camry wagon, only in a crossover format.....comfort of a sedan (avalon and camry) and versatility of an suv (highlander).

If you follow closely, they did the same when they introduced the matrix in 2000. and my guess is they may do the same for the avalon in 2010 (avalon's scheduled overhaul) to compete more against mercedes and bmw. just a guess.

[debbieb]

What will the price be for the V6?

[PattonJ007]

I saw three Venzas on the road today, two black and a red one, they were all following each other. I believe they were each a different trim because all the wheels were different. They looked very nice although they had the badges and insignia covered up so an inexperienced eye wouldnt know what it was, but I recognized it right away. I shouldve taken pictures with my phone but I wasnt thinking, I was too busy trying to keep up

But they did look VERY VERY nice!

[EJL99]

Just Found This site for the Venza:
Street Image Toyota Venza SportLux, Modified 2009 Toyota Venza by Street Image | RevMods

and youtube:
YouTube - 2008 SEMA: Toyota Venza SportLux

It look so mean. I want one.

[kathyricks]

I sat in a Venza today at the San Francisco auto show. The car didn't "grab me" because the interior is like those of Toyotas (and Hondas) other latest models - kind of plain and cheap feeling due to the use of alot of hard plastic on the door panels and dash, thinner carpeting, thinner headliner, etc.

Nissan was also criticized in the early-mid 2000's for designing cheap looking and feeling interiors, but Nissan has improved their latest models alot in this regard and now surpasses Toyota and Honda in my opinion. Example: I sat in Nissan's econobox Versa model and the door panel's middle and upper portions were FULLY padded! No hard plastic. Ditto all other Nissan models I sat in (except the Sentra).

[Ken in Concord, NC]

I would normally tend to agree with you, but if you look at the record more recently from Toyota, they've done pretty well. The Scion Xd and Toyota Yaris both had much better than average reliability numbers for their first model year releases.

Ken

Originally Posted by ddvk

Never buy new vehicles that are introduced -- they are usually riddled with problems. This is the lesson I learnt the hard way.

I always buy the last yr model of the current generation to be sure it has the least problems. But I was terribly wrong in buying the 2006 Highlander -- thought 2001 - 2006 would have taught Toyota to fix its numerous issues. But they didn't and I am stuck with a tranny that is so f..cked up, I am beginning to think this is my last Toyota.

[Ken in Concord, NC]

With the Venza due to hit dealership lots within the next week or so, most of your opinions will be either confirmed or debunked shortly, but I can give you my impressions from the "ride and drive" event that we had about 2 weeks ago for the sales and management at the dealerships to get a feel for the vehicles. Per Toyota, this is not a "crossover" or a wagon. They stressed that their marketing is that this is a "Sedan with suprising versatility". That being said, overall impressions are that it is an Avalon in quality of materials and feel and size, a bit sportier (I think the 20in. wheels lend to that feeling) and easier to get in and out of, with a slightly higher stance.

Quality was good. Yes they are going with more harder plastics on the door panels, but a large part of that is for durability. With larger swaths of cloth or leather surfaces on door panels, they don't tend to hold up long-term as well. That being said, the two-tone look is very upscale. The center console design is the most innovative and thoughtful I've seen in any vehicle in 15yrs of working in the industry. Separate spot for MP3 or IPOD right next to the shift lever with a pass-through into the console to charge and plug into the aux. input. Separate slot for your cell-phone to sit in on the left side of the cup-holders with another pass-through into the console for your charging cord or aux cord if your phone is an MP3 player as well.

It doesn't have the height of the cargo area of the Highlander but about the length. The front and rear seats are comfortable and supportive, the one disappointment being that the only way to get a power passenger seat is in the premium package with the factory leather. Otherwise I didn't see significant signs of "decontenting" as I've seen in previous generations of the Camry and other models. Nice attention to detail and good quality materials.

Hope this helps.

Ken