Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Toyota Venza
Two weeks ago, I took to the Pennsylvania countryside to test an all-new model from Toyota, called Venza. Despite the name — a combination of the word “venture” and the Monza racetrack in Italy — the vehicle is almost entirely practical. Who would have thought Toyota could do such a thing?
Seriously though, this enlarged wagon/crossover/non-SUV will be hard to sell, simply because people won’t know what it is. But after reading the review, it might become clearer who will want to buy one.
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First car review that put some light on unreasonably large wheels
Dave,
This is the best review of the Venza I've read to date. Here I thought I was the only one who is annoyed by the larger tires that are often being pushed these days. Do you know if XM or Sirius is available?
It's XM and the Nav has XM Nav traffic.
Sorry, XM is standard too. Obviously you have to pay for the subscription after initial trial.
Guys,
you want Toyota do something about the wheels? - call them and complain 800-331-4331.
Looked on Tirerack.com. They have 2 tires for it in 19 inches. One is winter tire. Another $169. Both have no treadwear warranty. I would expect 2-3 replacement jobs by 100K miles, $800 each. For 20 inchers it would be even higher.
In my heart I love this car already. But my brain tells me that I would have to pay too much for this love affair. And paying too much for a vehicle was never a good idea in my view.
Tony,
I would think for the most part you're right but in another year or two I'd guess there will be more tires that fit the Venza and the prices come down, slightly. Still, this was a major head scratcher for me when reviewing the Venza.
Dave,
I think, in a year or two, the Venza will come with normal wheels. Whatch! Some "inventions" quickly put on hold and normality returns
Examples: Mitsu offering I4 for Outlander again, CRV removing spare and making back door normal, Nissan quest placing instrument panel where it belongs, Murano fixing stupid/fancy dash...
I tell what. You put normal EOM 17-incher there and the price of the car will drop by $500.
Would be interesting to know if any other, smaller Toyota wheel can match the wheel stud pattern, so one could get set of 17'' wheels with tires that match the 19'' in tire diameter?
The 19 and 20 inches’ wheels are available because that’s what the buying public wants. Most people covet bigger wheels. Nobody wants be to be see driving a vehicle with tires the size of spare wheels. It’s a vanity thing… and on a new beautifully designed Toyota, it’s the way to go. And Dave, most people MAY NOT know what it is yet, but once advertising kicks in…..anything new and practical from Toyota sells.
Yes, these giant wheels on everything are insane. Please give me a low profile tire so I can enjoy a crappy ride, high rate of wear, high cost of replacement and low durability. Brilliant!
I guess they sell cars, though. Emotion over rationalism.
Mark,
I want to see faces of people, when they go for the first or second inspection and the mechanic will tell them that they need new tires and how much it will cost.
Then we'll see what people really want.
"The 19 and 20 inches’ wheels are available "
These wheels are available on Accord. On Venza they are pushed to you by default
Ken L.,
I agree Toyota will have to tell people about it, like Ford had to do with the Flex. It is generally harder to "educate" consumers about something that is new, that was my only comment regarding that. And hopefully the media can help with that in an unbiased way.
It's amazing that the Venza comes within 5 mpg of the diminutive Honda Fit on the highway. It's a large vehicle that weighs no more than the cramped Audi A4. And it will be as reliable as a refrigerator. The Venza is another homerun for Toyota.
"anything new and practical from Toyota sells. "
Check sales of Avalon, FJ cruiser, the new Scion, Solara, tundra, etc. Three Toyota models are doing well- Corolla, Camry and Prius. Thats about it.
"The Venza is another homerun for Toyota."
Another homerun? I think you need to check the sales charts. Models like the Avalon are tanking and the Highlander is already down in in its 2nd year on the market. This vehicle will simply cannabilize existing Toyota sales. They are making more and more GM like moves. Why did they come up with the Venza? toyota doesnt need any new models that will only generate 60k sales.
sheth,
they all make mistakes. Feels like besides Hyundai all others make mistakes. But we should be glad they make mistakes. As consumers we will win from such mistakes as making extra model. We will lose if the car is not good.
Toyota has been making a lot of mistakes lately but that has been hidden by the success of 3 models. Nearly everything else Toyota has debuted in the last 2 years or so has not performed to expectations or has faded quickly after a fast start. The LS460 and Tundra fall into the latter category.
Remember cars like the LS were a huge success when they launched. It only waned with the gas and financial issues. Scion's xB was the same. the xD is selling ok now too because of its economic nature.
The Sequoia and LX570 are still selling well despite the economy.
Overall Toyota suffers from the same issues as the Detroit 3 (not big 3 anymore) they have aging models and designed new models (Highlander, Tundra) that people wanted 2 years ago but don't now. Consumer tastes shifted more rapidly than they ever have in the industry this past year.
The Highlander still outsells nearly all of its competitors.
And lets not forget Prius!
"...Nearly everything else Toyota has debuted in the last 2 years or so has not performed to expectations..."
May be we just set expectations for Toyota too high? Toyota makes average consumer product. Mazda will take zoom-zoom lovers, Honda will take it's lovers, Ford will take those who finally sees some legit products, like Edge, Fusion, GM hit with Malibu, new SUVs, Nissan's Altima is a hit, Rogue too.
Plus it is true that nobody sells big cars and SUVs well now, including Toyota! While Toyota sales go down - it is not only toyota. There are only several models in the entire industry that still sell well. And few of them happened to be Toyota.
Lets look at the market share. Toyota is still the N1. Market is down, people afraid of return of expensive gasoline, Toyota hurt in some areas but no more then others.
and Venza might not sell very well now simply because now not many cars sell well, especially anything above $25K. Like one guy said it, "...I like leather seats and all the toys in my new car but my company has lost billions of dollars and my decision is based on weak employment status..."
Toyota is the most successful car company on the planet. Sure the Tundra is a stiff in the marketplace, but everything they build has good quality. Sheth seems to ignore that the Prius has influenced every car company with the means to copy it or come out with their own hybrid system.
Wow! They took a picture of the 2003 Malibu Maxx and said hey, how can we make it uglier. We will give a redesigned uglier front, interior, and rear, and we will it the Venza. Bad remake of the Malibu Maxx.
C'mon...Toyota "invented" the Chrysler Pacifica 10 years after the fact and has the gall to think they've presented us something new. A Pacifica looks better, runs better and has the get up and go of a muscle car. This has a Toyota sticker...and apparently really bad paint. If you buy one of these the message you send is clearly that you can't exist outside a herd mentality.
I have the 4 cyl. FWD model, and purchased this vehicle based on the style and the interior room. The 19" wheels/tires produce a ride quality that has me searching for substitutes due to the buckboard like ride.