Comments on: Review: 2009 Toyota Venza

By: the names mustang... boss mustang

the names mustang... boss mustang — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:00:51 +0000

and holy hell that is ugly

By: the names mustang... boss mustang

the names mustang... boss mustang — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:57:23 +0000

id rather a flex

By: ultradad

ultradad — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:52:04 +0000

Looks like they took a photo of a Malibu Maxx and used the same lines and said hey, how can we make the front end, the interior, and the rear, even uglier. Bad remake of the Malibu Maxx. I see nothing original here. Just another bad copy of another car company’s vehicle.

By: ricky_b

ricky_b — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:42:25 +0000

Toyota has fallen into the same trap as the Big Three. They have proven yet again that when it comes to product placement, they are a follower. They already had RAV4, Highlander, 4Runner, FJ, Sequoia & Land Cruiser. And of those, the Highlander was already on the same Camry/Lexus RX platform. They should have saved the money and come out with a sportier, 5 seater Highlander or they should have gone for the gusto and come out with a Camry sport wagon to competer with the Germans. Too much of the same blandness.

By: sharpie

sharpie — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:52:05 +0000

“EPA mileage estimates place the four-banger at 21 mpg in the city and 29 mpg highway for the front driver, and 20 mpg in the city and 28 highway”
“We found the Venza considerably agile considering its weight of 3,760 lbs. with the 4-cylinder”

This thing is heavy! And a 4-banger getting that kind of city mileage is just unacceptable, taking into account that this only seats 5! It’s a useless and heavier Matrix. Toyota probably thought the Dodge Journey was hot stuff too.

By: cereal

cereal — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:03:27 +0000

Not entirely bad, knowing what other atrocities we’ve seen Toyota make.

@JakeK66 – LLN said that it WASN’T the first one to have HIDs.

The grille – works. I saw this on some of the concepts. It’s a good idea. But a lot of the whole merging -headlamps-with-the-grille thing hasn’t worked well. At angles, it does. At others, it doesn’t.

Too bad. So many people will still criticize this thing for copying the Ford Edge. (which, with evidence, is false)

I’m a little disappointed with those EPA estimates. But, then again, I expected it to be around there anyway. Hmm… I wonder how much this thing is..

But will it sell? Yes. Maybe not in the big numbers the Prius saw the last few years.
But this isn’t bad.

Time will tell.

-eat your cereal

By: DrFill

DrFill — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:54:53 +0000

Hey, if Chevy Traverse can call itself a “mid-size” SUV, and compete against vehicles it is 1-2 feet larger than, why not the other way around?
Why would Toyota mention Flex?
Buyers certainly don’t, after another 2000 unit month.
DrFill

By: urmomspanties

urmomspanties — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:35:01 +0000

WTF!!! Why the HELL would they write that this UGLY UGLY car would compete against (ahem) a Ford FLEX and Taurus X….

I’m sorry but ISN’T THIS A 5 PASSENGER VEHICLE? and aren’t both those vehicle’s either 6-7 passenger crossovers????

Doesn’t Ford have in their line-up a 5 passenger crossover…. OH YEAH, ITS CALLED FOR A FORD EDGE!!! WTF are you & Toyota tyring to pull saying this competes against vehicles THAT IT DOESN’T EVEN COMPETE AGAINST…

FORD EDGE FORD EDGE… You & Toyota have really lost touch with reality & products…

By: Borat

Borat — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:09:40 +0000

and it will sell so well, that if Ford will survive you will see copy of this decorated with blue oval. You would see a Pontiac like that, if GM will stay in biz for 24 months.

By: A4

A4 — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:02:50 +0000

it looks like an avalon got gangbanged by a V70 and a lincoln MKX

By: tzu13

tzu13 — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:58:09 +0000

The grille… why??

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:38:44 +0000

This Venza is so hideous looking, it makes me want to punch a baby. And the name? Venza? Venganza? Vergüenza? Sin vergüenza? That describes it perfectly. Toyota’s Venganza on the US, and they do it sin vergüenza. Horrible. That just makes me want to spit!

Oh, and the gallery isn’t working. I get a blank window.

By: pzimet

pzimet — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:22:19 +0000

I like everything about the styling of this except the front end design, and more specifically, the GRILLE. That grille is one of the most hideous design elements I’ve ever seen on a car. That out of the way….it has a nice, sporty wagon profile, a nicely sculpted rear end, and a high quality, interesting interior. I’m curious to see if it drives as well as LLN says.

By: DrFill

DrFill — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:15:33 +0000

You will see this engine everywhere by 2010
DrFill

By: howsmydriving

howsmydriving — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:52:49 +0000

“Venza” — worst car name since “Sportage.” That Toyota can offer a 2.7 liter 4-cylinder engine with the Camry platform begs the questions of why the 2.7 engine isn’t offered with the lethargic Vibe/Matrix, or xB.

By: Borat

Borat — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:46:02 +0000

I don’t think this is beautiful, but it is definitely functional. I believe that most of the families who purchase SUV/CUV are not looking for performance or handling. Majority of those families are looking for comfort and convenience; a place to drop toys for Jane and tricycle for Johnny. They also slightly paranoid of large trucks/SUVs and looking for a taller wagon, just in case Milfy collide with SUV not be decapitated. During recession, when bucks count, sub 30K tall wagon will do. The fact that it has reasonable handling and will plow through slush of winter is an extra bonus.
The competition for this is Murano (is it reallly beautiful?), Suby wagon (not all that comfortable for 4, much less for 5 and low, uncomfortable driving position), old technologically CR/ RAV-4 and Highlinder with the same engine, but costlier. You can look at pretty Audi 6, but what that cost? Audi 4 is not family hauler by any stretch of imagination. Venza will win by default – competition does not have the sum of all attributes combined into one package.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:25:24 +0000

Say what you want about a Chrysler LeBaron from the mid seventies, but I’ll bet you one of those old M-body wagons weighed less than this no matter what giant lump of cast iron was under the hood.

Oh yeah, the LeBaron also had a better looking grill.

By: DrFill

DrFill — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:17:52 +0000

A V6 will get 22 MPG combined
Much more than 4MPG over a 4WD Suburban
More like double
Not that these 2 vehicles should be compared
DrFill

By: mayer_ray_nagin

mayer_ray_nagin — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:14:19 +0000

For a family hauler wagon, that is actually okay. Not cool like the Mazda6 wagon if Mazda would ever offer it to us again (Mazda makes the best looking station wagons), but still nice.

As for Pennsylvania, all the pretty changing leaves in the world will never compensate for the fact that winter sucks massively and so do greasy sandwiches and the Steelers.

By: Z06ified

Z06ified — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:09:56 +0000

It’s not bad looking as far as Toyota’s go (that’s not saying much).

It’ll sell well because it offers all the blandness that the average car buyer craves. Consumer Reports will love it for it’s appliance-like ability to bore.

I fail to see what this vehicle offers that’s even remotely SUV-like. It tow much, it can’t haul much, it has all the offroad capability of a car, and it doesn’t even ride higher than a car. It offers some of the styling “profile” of a crossover SUV, and that’s it. Even it’s fuel economy isn’t anything to write home about – the V-6 only gets 4 MPG better mileage in both city and highway than my 6,000 lb. 4×4 3/4 ton Suburban (I have a ‘99 which has all the aerodynamics of a brick wall). Based on 12,000 miles per year, that would save 169 gallons, which is about $ 500 a year. Big deal.

By: melias

melias — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:31:15 +0000

Brendino,

Yes, I did see it, but we kinda sorta have to dance with who brung us, if you know what I mean!

Mark

By: Brendino

Brendino — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:07:52 +0000

Mark –
Did you check out the Hummer school at Nemacolin? That would have been a nice way to release after driving a Venza all day!

By: tyler_is_aero_tt

tyler_is_aero_tt — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:23:44 +0000

My God is that one ugly face.

By: melias

melias — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:56:08 +0000

Also,

If you click on any of the photos it opens up a new window on top. At the top middle of the picture frame, click on the Navigation tab. That opens up the little slider with all the thumbnails. Click on those for enlarged images.

Mark Elias

By: melias

melias — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:52:01 +0000

JakeK66,

Good catch on the HIDs. Meant to say it was not the first, but it does show up with the electric eye….

Brendino,

Yup, that’s Ohiopyle. A great looking area!

Mark Elias

By: TomF

TomF — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:02:32 +0000

Like the dimensions. Don’t like the exterior sculpting, especially headlight / taillight treatments. I think there’s a very big market for a vehicle like this for people exiting SUVs who want better economy and reliability. But they made this car too weird-looking to be a mainstream hit — it has some of that Tribeca weirdness about it.

By: bolex

bolex — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:44:26 +0000

is not bad looking, it kinda looks like Fords current design theme in the grill. trouble is im sick of SUVs…

By: Brendino

Brendino — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:33:57 +0000

Nice to see southwest PA get some love! Are those shots from Ohiopyle?

That grille is a mess (I’d love to chat with a designer and figure out how the heck that gets approved), but other than that it seems like classic Toyota: A bit bland, but functional enough to be great product. Will it find a market, though?

By: JakeK66

JakeK66 — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:51:20 +0000

LLN, HID’s are available in the Prius and Avalon, so how is this the first?

To everyone above…. This is the single best looking product Toyota has had in years, and from a non-Toyota guy that’s alot. Also, the Forester? Another knock out, I know you can have your opinions, but dang, you guys are soo off, maybe you need glasses. Traverse is bloated, Murano is ackward to the extreme but nicely built, and the Edge is well, built like crap but does look nice. Toyota, you finally have me as a backer on a product. Maybe just take the Highlander and Rav4 and kill them off, those are two ugly SUVs there.

By: MurcieMe

MurcieMe — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:48:15 +0000

WHAT is going on with that hideous grille?! Seriously – that ‘pattern’ looks absolutely stupid. The whole vehicle has zero styling pretenses. It looks like what it is, a fatter, heavier Camry wagon. I swear Toyota just keeps making uglier and uglier cars and people keep buying them up! I don’t understand it!!

By: DrFill

DrFill — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:45:56 +0000

Not in love with the grille, but the rest works
You can say the same about the Murano
The new four is whats important, as the Camry, among others, will show it by 2010
Toyota expects a growing market for Venza, with 60k next year. over 120k by 2011
After innovative hits like Rav4 and Lexus RX, expect another home run, but this time the suspense will build first.

Most posters here wouldn’t know a hit from a Flex
Too bad.
You will learn, sooner or later.
DrFill

By: zeeck

zeeck — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:24:49 +0000

VW, if you keep hitting the right arrow, it changes the pic, even though the first 8 or so are pretty much the same

back to the car: this car is incredibly ugly…more than a forester…
the only thing that looks decent is the rear, mainly because it it reminds me of a volvo.
basically, paint it brown and it will be the turd of the road…ugh

By: VWgrouP

VWgrouP — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:57:33 +0000

HAHA I agree with you Zuke.
I don’t know what Toyota was thinking when they designed this..

Hey LLN: Maybe its my computer, but could you please change the gallery so that we can see ALL 27 images instead of just the three…

By: 441Zuke

441Zuke — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:46:23 +0000

what a hideous piece of **** it is like a matrix and RX and a camery had a gng bang, i rather drive a edge or a traverse or a murano