 2010 Toyota Venza Details
2010 TOYOTA VENZA BUYING ADVICE - The 2010 Toyota Venza is the best car for you if recognize the quintessential 21st century station wagon.
- You won’t be seen in a minivan. Big SUVs are antisocial. Sedans are boring. Wagons are weird. But what if someone combined the family friendly value of a minivan, the high-riding all-wheel-drive experience of an SUV, the driving ease of a sedan, and the utility of a station wagon? You’d have the 2010 Toyota Venza.
- Should you buy a 2009 Toyota Venza or wait for the 2010 Toyota Venza? The Venza was introduced in January 2009 as a 2009 model, but only with the V-6 engine. The lower-priced but less-desirable four-cylinder version filtered into showrooms in late February, also as a 2009 model. The 2010 Venza will get no substantive changes, and it’s a buyer’s market for ’09 models. So the only compelling reason to wait for the 2010 might be slightly greater availability of the four-cylinder version.
2010 TOYOTA VENZA CHANGES - Styling: The 2010 Toyota Venza won’t change visually from the 2009 Venza. This is a five-seat wagon based on chassis engineering also employed by the Toyota Camry. They have the same wheelbase -- the distance between front and rear axles that defines passenger-compartment space. And Venza’s overall body length is actually a fraction of an inch shorter than the Camry’s. But the Venza is much more than a Camry morphed into a station wagon. The difference begins with a body 5.5 inches taller and 3.3 inches wider than Camry’s. For good measure, Toyota gives Venza 8.1-inches of snowdrift-clearing ride height. Moreover, the Venza plants its swept-back profile, angled rear hatch, and bulging fenders on huge wheels. Those wheels are 20-inches in diameter on the V-6 model (largest ever for a Toyota that’s not a truck) and 19 on the four-cylinder model. The stylists at Toyota’s California design studio knew what they were doing when they specified unusually tight tire-to-fender gaps, too. Venza hunkers down over those big rims with a crisp masculinity absent entirely in the other crossovers based on this chassis, the Toyota Highlander and the RX from Toyota’s Lexus brand. No Toyota looks more aggressive. This is strictly a five-passenger vehicle – third-row seat unavailable -- and the interior aspires to a sporting flair with a dual-cockpit design in front and bucket-seat flavor in back.
- Mechanical: The 2010 Toyota Venza carries over mechanically from the 2009 model. Base engine is Toyota’s newest and most-powerful four-cylinder, a 2.7-liter unit with 182 horsepower. The available V-6 displaces 3.5-liters and has 268 horsepower. Venza’s only transmission is a six-speed automatic that can approximate manual-style gear changes via a separate shift gate. Front-wheel drive is standard. Both engines are available with Toyota’s Active Torque Control all-wheel-drive (AWD), which automatically apportions power front-to-rear for best traction. It does not include low-range gearing because Venza isn’t suited to off-roading. Standard are four-wheel antilock disc brakes with brake assist to automatically apply full stopping power in emergencies. Vehicle Stability Control, also known as an antiskid system, is also included; it’s designed to apply individual brakes and modulate engine power to keep Venza from skidding sideways. With the optional towing package, Venza can pull trailers weighing up to 3,500 pounds, same as most light-duty SUVs.
- Features: Venza comes in a single trim level with options grouped in packages or as individual-order items. Some options are firsts for any Toyota, including high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps that detect oncoming vehicles and automatically switch to low-beam; a panoramic roof with power tilt/slide panel over the front seats and separate fixed glass over the rears; and power windows with auto up/down on all four doors. Standard on every Venza is an eight-way power driver’s seat, power windows, locks and mirrors, dual zone automatic climate control, remote keyless entry, and tilt and telescope steering wheel. Venzas come with a 3.5-inch dashboard screen that displays outside temperature, real-time and average fuel economy, and distance-to empty. Head protecting curtain side airbags, front-seat torso side airbags, and a driver’s knee airbag also are included. The rear seat is split 60/40 into fold-down sections. The standard audio system includes an in-dash six-CD changer with integrated satellite radio, a half-dozen speakers, and an auxiliary port for iPod and MP3 devices. Leather upholstery and rear-seat DVD entertainment with a ceiling-mounted nine-inch screen are among the extra-cost items.
2010 TOYOTA VENZA PRICES - Prices for the 2010 Toyota Venza were not announced in time for this report, but won’t differ greatly from 2009 Venza prices. For front-drive models, those started at $26,695 with the four-cylinder and $28,520 with the V-6 (prices listed here include Toyota’s mandated $720 destination fee). AWD Venzas had a base price of $28,145 with the four, $29,970 with the V-6.
- Among major option packages, the Premium Package 1 ($3,845) adds leather upholstery, a power passenger seat, imitation wood cabin trim, keyless ignition with pushbutton start, and the HID headlamps. It also includes a rear video camera that projects on the dashboard screen a view of what’s behind when the transmission’s in reverse. Many of these items – and others, such as heated front seats – are available in less-extensive, and less-expensive, packages. The optional voice-activated touch-screen DVD navigation system ($2,590) is accompanied by JBL Synthesis surround sound audio with hands-free phone capability, Bluetooth wireless music streaming, and 13-speakers. The JBL setup is available without the navigation system for $1,090. Buyers can choose the power panoramic sunroof ($1,050) or rear DVD entertainment ($1,680), but not both.
2010 TOYOTA VENZA TEST DRIVE From behind the wheel: - Toyota projects an eventual 50-50 split in demand between four- and six-cylinder Venzas, but you’re unlikely to be satisfied with the four in move a vehicle that weighs 500 pounds more than a Camry (almost 700 pounds more with AWD). The V-6 is a fine match for the Venza and aided by a transmission good at delivering just the right amount of power, whether you’re toeing the accelerator to edge ahead or flooring it to pass or merge. Unfortunately, heavy throttle off the line and from low speeds can trigger some torque steer – unwanted tugging at the steering wheel. AWD is the remedy, and also the prescription for all-season peace of mind.
- A nod to Venza’s brakes, which can be applied and modulated with immensely satisfying pedal feel. A shake of the head over Venza’s steering. It’s firm enough when you’re cruising in a straight line, but rubbery and inconsistent as you turn. Never really natural or connected-feeling, it’s a fairly constant annoyance.
- That’s a shame, because Venza willingly goes where you point it. It resists nose plow in aggressive cornering, and while it isn’t exactly nimble, it never feels top-heavy in quick changes of direction. Credit here goes partly to those generously sized tires. Whether cornering or combing through city traffic, a relatively high seating position helps you see ahead. Beware of changing lanes without studying the side mirrors, though, because Venza’s chubby rear roof pillars impede your over-the-shoulder view.
(No change to the 2010 Toyota Venza will significantly alter its performance or passenger accommodations from those of the 2009 model. Statements in this review about performance and accommodations are based on detailed test drives of the 2009 Toyota Venza.) Dashboard and controls: - Sporty and sophisticated, Venza’s dashboard is shaped into a graceful dove’s-wing arch. The “spine” is a grouping of controls that flows handsomely into a wide console. The transmission lever is high set on the top-left of the console. Ordering the navigation system rearranges some of the audio and climate controls, but they’ll generally share the upper section of the console with the gear shift. It’s a contemporary, asymmetrical effect.
- That sense of refreshing design is evident in the main gauges, as well. Toyota calls it its Optitron multi-color display and it illuminates the instruments in shades of cool blue and white that enhances legibility without looking gimmicky.
- Controls are logically identified, easy to reach, and move smoothly. Touch the navigation screen or simply intone a wide variety of commands; it responds quickly and honestly, conjuring up directions, altering audio settings, dialing a phone number.
Room, comfort, and utility: - SUV-worthy ground clearance doesn’t mean a high step into Venza’s cabin because Toyota designers cleverly kept the body’s perimeter edging low and the doorsills narrow. That also pays off in a cargo-bay lip that’s lower than that of the Camry’s trunk.
- Venza treats its occupants royally, with wide, cushiony seats that stay supportive hours into a journey. Rear passengers are served by expansive leg and head room and backrests that recline at the behest of large, easy to reach levers. The outboard positions are contoured to suggest individual seating, leaving the center position slightly less accommodating but still no penalty perch thanks in large measure to the cleared foot room of a nearly flat floor.
- Wind noise is well managed, the engines unobtrusive, and road noise well-muffled, particularly for a wagon-type body with an open cargo cavity. If those tires don’t cause much of a ruckus, they don’t contribute much to ride quality, either. Small road imperfections don’t get through, and Venza’s suspension resists float and wallow over high-speed dips and swells. But sharp bumps, potholes, and tar strips cause some juddering and thumping that almost surely would be better absorbed with more modestly sized tires.
- Venza’s 70.1 cubic feet of cargo room with the rear seats folded is about mid-pack among crossovers of similar exterior dimensions, but there’s an impressive 34.4 cubic feet available even with the rear seatbacks upright. A roll-type cargo cover is standard. Utility is enhanced by a grand total of 10 front and rear beverage holders. Those in the front console are illuminated, though the door map pockets are dominated by bottle holders, leaving little room for actual maps. Toyota pays lots of attention to MP3 fans, furnishing three dedicated holders with wire concealments, including a clever one in the center console that can secure an iPod in a gentle spring-loaded grip. In a puzzling oversight, Venza lacks USB connectivity for these devices (more on this below).
2010 TOYOTA VENZA FUEL ECONOMY - The 2010 Toyota Venza is among the most fuel-efficient five-passenger crossovers. With the four-cylinder engine, it’s rated at 21 mpg city/29 mpg highway with front-wheel drive and 20/28 with AWD. V-6 Venzas are rated at 19/26 with front wheel drive, 18/25 with AWD. Both engines use 87-octane gas.
2010 TOYOTA VENZA SAFETY AND RELIABILITY - Government crash tests award a maximum five stars for occupant protection. The Toyota Venza earns the maximum five stars for driver and passenger protection in a frontal impact, and five stars for front- and rear-passenger protection in side impacts.
- The government also conducts five-star tests to determine the likelihood of a rollover. Rollovers are a leading cause of fatalities in accidents involving pickup trucks and SUVs, which have a relatively high center of gravity. In rollover testing, the Toyota Venza earned four stars for both two-wheel and AWD versions. This is in line with most SUVs, none of which earns five stars in rollover testing. Additionally, the government calculated that the Venza has a 15 percent chance or less of rolling over in a crash, among the lowest for SUVs.
- Toyota is ranked among the top five brands in overall quality by J.D. Power and Associates, the leading automotive consumer survey firm. The Venza hasn’t been on the market long enough to establish a record of quality and reliability. However, the Toyota Highlander SUV, which uses the same engines as the Venza, scores high marks in J.D. Power surveys, ranking above average in initial quality and among the best vehicles in predicted reliability.
2010 TOYOTA VENZA RELEASE DATE - The 2010 Toyota Venza goes on sale in mid-November 2009.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TOYOTA VENZA - The 2010 Toyota Venza will be a virtual carryover from the 2009 model, though Toyota is expected to add USB interface for iPods and other digital media devices. Toyota has pledged to eventually make every vehicle in its lineup available with a gas-electric hybrid powertrain. That plan has been sidetracked but not derailed by the economic crisis that has every automaker rethinking product strategy. In any event, the Venza would be fairly far down on the list of Toyotas to gain a hybrid version. The faltering economy also is causing carmakers to reconsider their pace of styling alterations and redesigns. No appearance changes are likely for Venza until model-year 2012 or so, meaning the 2010 Venza will look fresh for several more years. A full redesign would not come before the 2014- 2015 time frame.
2010 TOYOTA VENZA COMPETITION - 2010 Nissan Murano: Confining Venza’s competitive set to midsize, five-passenger SUVs nets a leader in the Murano, a jelly-bean-school-of-design crossover that was all-new for model-year 2009. The second-generation Murano comes only with a 265-horsepower V-6 mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission. Fuel economy is 18/23 for both front- and all-wheel-drive versions. Base-price range is 27,650-$37,230, the top number for the LE model that comes standard with equipment equal to fully optioned rivals. Murano won’t change significantly for several more years.
- 2010 Ford Edge: Ford jumped into the crossover fray with the model-year 2008 introduction of the square-shouldered Edge. Essentially a lower-priced version of the Lincoln MKX, Edge comes with front-wheel drive (16/22 mpg) or AWD (15/22) and hooks its 265-horsepower V-6 to a six-speed automatic transmission. Edge is roomy and solid, but about 250 pounds heavier than key rivals, a burden that blunts performance and fuel economy. Base-price range is $27,000-$36,000. Edge is due a styling update for model-year 2012.
- 2010 Volkswagen Touareg: Maybe not the most obvious Venza alternative, but this comfortable VW appeals to style-seekers in its own way. Touareg is handsomely understated outside, private-jet opulent inside. Standard is a sophisticated AWD system that’s makes this cousin of the Porsche Cayenne sneaky-good off-road. A V-8 is available, but you’ll need a V-6 Touareg (about $40,000 to start) to stay within Venza’s price range. The VW is rock-solid but relatively heavy, rendering the 280-horsepower six a little sluggish-feeling and fairly thirsty, at 14/20 mpg. No major changes are in store for the next several years.
2010 Toyota Venza Review and Pricing | Iguida.com |
08-13-2009, 08:25 PM
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