Wall Street Journal Slams New Venza

[bobstcyr]

This morning's article in the WSJ is the first I've read that really slams the new Venza.

Basic complaints: Cheap looking/feel of leather seats; Lower that advertised ave. mpg's; Poor handling AWD in snow (described as worthless); Over-priced, over-weight Camry wagon wanna be (paraphrased here), poor fit in the existing line-up of models. The only positive was: model interior room.

The WSJ contributor/commentator apparently drove a new loaded Venza for a week and wasn't impressed. He didn't appear to be anti-Toyota and made good references to the Camry.

A single review doesn't a fact make but my limited test-driving experienced leaves me wondering what the longer-term driving experience would reveal.

Can anyone out there share their Venza ownership or driving experiences have been?

Thanks!

[kathyricks]

I examined a Venza at a car show and while the styling is fantastic, I agree with the criticisms about it's cheap looking and feeling interior. Toyota's whole line up has gotten cheaper looking and feeling interiors in recent years and I base this on renting 3 Camry's. 2 Avalons, 1 Highlander, 1 Corolla, 2 Tundras and 1 Yaris. The Yaris was downright primitive compared to my comparitively luxurious 22 year old 1986 Corolla! And I also hate the zero road feel of Toyota's new electric power steering.

Meanwhile Nissan interiors have gotten plusher in recent years with padded dashes, door panels and velour armrests and ultra fine textured plastic trim panels and new technologies that work well like it's continuously variable transmissions. So driving a new Nissan gives one the feeling one is driving a new upscale car whereas driving a new Toyota is like driving a 1990's GM car where all surfaces are hard, minimally textured plastic. That, plus Toyota has scrimped on seat bottom length so thigh support is lacking. And roofs are so poorly insulated that you have to run the air conditioner longer in summer and the heater more in winter. Taken together, Toyota seems to be following more and more in GM's footsteps of letting the bean counters go wild with cost cutting for short term profits at the expense of long term buyer satisfaction and loyalty.

[tun dra]

What he said ^^^^

[bobstcyr]

Here's a more balanced review of the venza - no apparent ax to grind!


Autoblog -- We Obsessively Cover The Auto Industry