First drive: 2021 Toyota Venza boasts a Lexus feel and hybrid efficiency
Walk up to the 2021 Toyota Venza and it looks familiar. The fast roofline and the way the window line resolves at the rear are clearly influenced by the last-generation Lexus RX from Toyota’s luxury brand. The chrome exterior trim and wheels give the same impression. Jump inside, spot the wrapped dash and door panels with contrast stitching, and you’ll think you’re in a Lexus, too.
Drive the Venza and the soft suspension tuning and quiet comfort will also remind you of a Lexus.
But the Venza isn’t a Lexus. It’s a Toyota with an upscale appeal.
Toyota has played this game for years with the Avalon sedan. Now it’s the Venza crossover’s turn, and it seems like a better take than the first-generation Venza of 2008-2015, which attempted to turn a Camry into a crossover with modest success.
2021 Toyota Venza LE
2021 Toyota Venza LE
2021 Toyota Venza LE
This time around the Toyota RAV4 crossover SUV provides the basis for the Venza. It takes a different tack, though. While the RAV4 goes for a macho, angular design with a hint of off-road capability and a tighter suspension, the Venza is a suburban people mover with a more elegant appearance inside and out and a suspension tuned to be smoother and more fluid.
The Venza is also offered only as a hybrid, with a slightly different version of the powertrain used in the RAV4 Hybrid. It consists of a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine that puts out 176 horsepower teamed with three electric motors, including one on the rear axle to provide all-wheel drive. Total output is 219 horsepower, and the rear motor can provide up to 80 percent of the power in some conditions. Rather than the RAV4 hybrid’s nickel-metal hydride battery, the Venza uses a lithium-ion pack that can deliver the same output with a smaller size.
Starting with the Prius, Toyota has been developing its hybrid system for more than two decades and the version in the Venza delivers an excellent balance of power and fuel economy. This isn’t some gutless Prius. It gets the Venza moving quickly with a 0-60 mph time around 7.0 seconds, based on Road & Track testing for the similar RAV4 Hybrid, and that feels about right. The engine lets out a restrained wail during heavy acceleration and stays in the background otherwise, thanks to the Venza’s additional sound deadening material versus the RAV4. The transmission is a continuously variable automatic with a virtually infinite range of gear ratios. It has no stepped shifts to provide that little G-force kick during heavy acceleration. Instead the feel is slushy-smooth, yet responsive enough for confident highway passing.
2021 Toyota Venza XLE
2021 Toyota Venza XLE
2021 Toyota Venza XLE
2021 Toyota Venza LE
Preliminary fuel economy ratings are 40 mpg city, 37 mpg highway, 39 mpg combined. In 212 miles of mostly highway driving, I averaged 35.7 mpg, according to the trip computer. That’s not quite up to the anticipated EPA number, but it’s very good for a crossover. Thankfully, the brakes have a predictable pedal despite the regenerative braking that in other hybrid cars often leads to a grabby feel.
The Venza could be more efficient if it got used to my driving habits thanks to its Predictive Efficient Drive system that analyzes driving routes and habits using the navigation system and road and traffic conditions. It can then optimize hybrid battery charging and improve fuel economy by offering guidance for when to use and release the throttle pedal based on learned routes such as on the daily commute.
Even without using the PED system, Toyota makes a game of fuel economy in the Venza. The instrument panel has an Eco score screen that challenges drivers to stay within a green zone. The system scores drivers based on braking, acceleration, and cruising, but it’s not a game I wanted to play because it requires tepid acceleration. With a lot of highway miles, I did well on cruising, but horrible on braking and acceleration.
On the road, the Venza is stubbornly pleasant, without a hint of sportiness—like Lexus SUVs have traditionally felt. Direct steering sends the Venza responsively into turns, but the soft suspension tuning allows for undue body lean and tire scrub. The Venza isn’t as controlled as the RAV4, but the ride is more comfortable, even with the 19-inch wheels on my Venza XLE tester. Road and wind noise are also well muted, permitting easy conversation.
Inside, the Venza looks and feels upscale with hints that this isn’t a true luxury vehicle. Toyota takes care to make most surfaces soft to the touch, mostly by wrapping them in leather or vinyl. Accent stitching on the seats, door panels, and center console adds flair, as does the optional dual-pane electromatic sunroof that switches from transparent to frosted at the push of a button. It’s great for bald guys.
However, the Venza doesn’t go full Lexus. The seats aren’t trimmed in leather, even in this top model. Instead it’s a synthetic leather that looks the part. While the driver’s seat comes standard with 8-way power adjustments, that’s the extent of it. Toyota doesn’t offer any more adjustments, even for the top model, and the seat bottoms lack the tilt ability I want for best thigh support and overall comfort. The front passenger seat also tops out at just four-way power adjustments, and that’s only on the Limited.
The rear seat offers good legroom, even for taller passengers, but head room will be tight for anyone above 6-feet tall. Short seat bottoms provide little long-trip comfort and three-across seating will require those three riders to be very friendly with each other.
2021 Toyota Venza Limited
2021 Toyota Venza Limited
2021 Toyota Venza XLE
2021 Toyota Venza
Toyota touts the Venza as having a coupe-like roofline. That gives it an appealing shape, but it also shrinks the cargo hold. While the RAV4 has 37.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, the Venza has only 28.8. Toyota doesn’t have a seats-down measurement yet, but it’s likely at least 10 cubic feet less than the RAV4’s 69.8 cubic feet. It’s still useful space, but a price must be paid for style.
The control interface is modern and easy to use, though it could be better. The Venza features a standard 8.0 center touchscreen and a 4.2-inch digital instrument panel information center. A large 12.3-inch touchscreen, a 7.0-inch IP screen, and a 10.0-inch color head-up display are available. Large tiles on the touchscreen make switching from one system to another easy, but other controls, like temperature, volume, and radio station tuning are handled by capacitive touch buttons. They’ll get the job done, but nothing beats the tried and true dials that the Venza lacks.
The Venza starts at $33,645 for an LE model, which comes with plenty of standard equipment. Features include an 8.0-inch center touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, satellite radio, wireless phone charging, four USB ports, a power tilt/telescoping steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, LED headlights and taillights, and 18-inch alloy wheels. An XLE costs $37,175, and the loaded Limited runs $40,975. The Limited comes packed with such features as a digital rearview mirror, a surround-view camera system, synthetic leather upholstery, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, navigation, and a nine-speaker JBL audio system. Every Venza also comes with a healthy set of safety features, including forward-collision warnings with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors with rear cross-traffic alerts, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, road-sign recognition, and automatic high beams.
Stylish, well equipped, and assuringly pleasant, the 2021 Toyota Venza combines the looks of a Lexus RX with the upscale appeal of a Toyota Avalon and Toyota Prius-inspired efficiency. It may no longer be a Camry underneath, but it is the embodiment of three pretty successful vehicles from Toyota Motor Company, and that should be the recipe for more than just modest success.
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