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Comments
I know lots of articles point to the design of the Venza's narrow rocker panel. When comparing it to truck-based SUVs in general (like the 4Runner), the ease of entry becomes abundantly clear. I would guess that it's a little less clear comparing the Venza to other car-based SUVs/CUVs, since even the Highlander is much easier to get into than the 4Runner.
The 4Runner's ground clearance is listed as 8.7 inches versus the Venza's 8.1 inches, so it has less to do with the raw figures for ground clearance. It would be interesting to measure how high the driver's seat is off the ground for both vehicles -- I'd bet it's much more than the 0.6 inch difference in ground clearance. If I have a chance, I'll measure it for my 4Runner.
I adjusted my driver seat to the highest position, then measured from the front of the seat to the ground. It measured 28 inches.
Then I adjusted my driver seat to the lowest position, then measured from the front of the seat to the ground. It measured 26 inches.
To summarize, seat height varies from 28 inches to 26 inches depending on seat adjustment.
Adjusted the driver's seat to the highest position, measured from the front of the seat to the ground: 33 inches.
Adjusted to the lowest position, measured from the front of the seat to the ground: 31 inches.
So, in comparison to the Venza;
- 4Runner seat height: 33 to 31 inches
- Venza seat height: 28 to 26 inches
Looking at the step in to the 4Runner, there are about 8 inches of rocker + running board from the left-most edge of the driver's seat to the edge of the running board. The running board is the first "obstacle," with two levels of the door sill. The upper part of the sill is level with the carpet.
From the ground to entry point is just over 14 inches.
The Malibu Maxx is a nice car, but not even close to a Venza. You obviously haven't researched the Venza very much and I'm not sure why you would if you love your Malibu so much. The new Malibu is much nicer than the earlier version BTW.
I looked at a Venza at the dealer and was a little disappointed by the space in the rear cargo area.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/automobiles/autoreviews/04AUTO.html?_r=1
We purchased it on December 5th and have had a lot of snow during the past month. We are very pleased with it. The seats are comfortable, the ride is smooth and the power is more than adequate (OK, you can never have too much power, but for everyday driving, it's really good).
The two things that frustrates me at times are:
(1) The limited use of the Nav Screen while driving. I'm referring to all Toyota and Lexus vehicles where many features are locked-out or blank when driving.
(2) Could have much better iPod integration that could be controlled from the steerring wheeling.
Other than that, it's been great!
My thoughts precisely. If they wanted to provide Avalon-like rear-seat room they should've made Venza as long as Avalon. In fact, they should've made an Avalon Wagon with AWD and perhaps more ground clearance. I would buy that in a minute.
Although rather minor, I just wonder how they choose to leave some fields showing when driving and some field empty?
How has it performed in the snow? Good AWD system? Do you feel safe and secure in it?
The other car we are considering is the Forester for its excellent AWD system, however, we believe the Venza is more upscale. As long as the Venza is good in the snow, we'll be happy!
Please let us know if it does well on wintry roads.
Thanks alot!
Thanks
With all the safety features and airbags, I do feel very safe.
Also found there is no SNOW mode or Downhill Assist buttons as found in HL. I know those are really useful in snow and ice road conditions. Seems like Venza handles that automatically and does not leave much manual control to the driver. Any comments on pros and cons about that ?
Will it sell? Probably. In great numbers? Probably not. Does Toyota REALLY need this in their line-up? I don't think so. How about a Scion version of this instead of putting a Toyota badge on it?
Maybe someone with an Xb would like mid-size cross-over with a bit more flair. This could be the Scion Xv!!
It's a great, reliable vehicle that drives like a car, has the room of an SUV and just loves the snow!
We've had over 50 inches of snow since we purchased our Venza and the tires are working just fine. I'm sure Bridgestone Blizzak would be better in the snow, but I don't see the need to change.
This is the first Toyota (full disclosure: my wife and I have owned Lexus vehicles the last 10 years) and are very happy with it.
My take on availability is that Toyota may be protecting a design they feel is valuable. I noticed the complete lack of advertising and believe it's related to the deflated auto industry. Do any of you think Toyota just may be concerned that a really good design/vehicle could be lost in a sinking idustry? It occurred to me that it might be in their interest to sell a few on word of mouth here and there and then really show-boat the thing when things start to turn around a little.
Perhaps?
I really didn't like the redesigned RX 2010 (mostly the interior). Price was also a concern for the first time in years.
Anyway on availability, there were some good posts a few pages back on it. The last Venza produced was on 12/17 and then the line was shut down. Not sure if production is back up, maybe someone here can comment. They only produced 6300 Venzas in Nov/Dec. So there are basically none available I would say.
I'm glad their not advertising a vehicle that is not available. Why spend marketing money when they can sell the few they have now? Maybe they are waiting for the 4 cyl model sometime in the spring (Apr?) to promote which is what the majority of buyers want I think.
Cost cost cost. In this environment that makes sense.
However the I4 won't be ready to ship until next month. In the meanwhile the stores are getting one per month, all V6's and almost all loaded. There's really no reason to spend a lot of advertising money to bring custmers into the store simply to get brochures. I'd expect that in February when there is more supply that more promotions might be seen.
However...the Venza will never be a high volume item at most stores. The expectation is that at tops they will sell 75000 units. There are 1250 dealerships in the US so each store on average should get 30 per year!!! Thus each should have in stock 2-3 per month. However big stores will have 4-5 and even like Longo Toyota a many as 20-30. That means that the normal local store for most markets will have 1 or 2 .... or none.
I configured the same Venza (loaded, no rear DVD entertainment system, but instead with the dual sunroofs) on Cars.com and the MSRP through them is pretty close, listed at $38,175. The estimated invoice listed by Cars.com is $33,630.
Considering the actual MSRP of the one I'm looking at and the estimated MSRP of the one I configured on cars.com are close to each other, is the invoice on cars.com a good number to go by? I'm thinking I should be able to purchase the Venza for around $34.5k. For what it's worth, I have no trade in & I'd be putting $3k down.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Anyway, I locked them down to a cash price of $33,500. Maybe its because I'm paying cash, dunno, but two dealers in south Louisiana got down that low; the other two made offers of 37.5 and 35.5 respectively.
There is a high level of interest in the Venza down here; I went to four different dealerships yesteday, and had to wait in line to have a close look. Mainly tire-kickers, though; one woman in particular who was a ROYAL PITA, and seemed to follow me from dealer to dealer. I couldn't do that job.
Anyway, the sales folks seemed gratified to be dealing with a serious buyer.
Are there any other forums on this car? I don't relish the thought of plowing through 500+ posts...
In this market, any buyer is welcome. Cash doesn't talk so loudly any more and some dealers actually prefer financing, since if they can handle the financing, they'll get a bit of profit off of that transaction.
If you order a car from the factory, then you should ask for the holdback to come off the purchase price, since the dealer won't have to pay any interest on the car while it sits around the lot.
Holdback on a Toyota is 2% of the base MSRP. (Except in a few southern states, but not in Louisiana.)
I think port options are usually added at the port of entry. Dealers do add a lot of stuff too, and their add-ons will be covered by the manufacturer warranty.
Enjoy the new ride - anticipation is half the fun.
So who knows. I've sent out requests for quotes saying I'm willing to pay $34k before TTL, we'll see.
A serious buyer calls and says 'I'll take it off your hands at $13.' Do you take him up on the offer?
There's the answer to your email.
If someone else offers a dealer $34,000 and the dealer agrees to sell it for that amount, then I'm not sure where the problem is?
It's 2009, the Web is what it is and sales happen in all amounts, mediums and have been for quite a while. If dealers don't want to give people the ability to make true offers or request quotes on a car, don't make that functionality available in the first place. I gave them my contact information & said I'd be interested in buying within a week if the numbers are good.
So you got it for just over 35k? That's a real good price given the MSRP. Between your price & LSP972's information (on page 26 of this thread) and everyone else's I've read, I'm starting to get a better feel for a range I should be shooting for. Thank you!
Then again, it doesn't matter what any of us here thinks; only the dealer can make that decision. It's a new vehicle with a lot of shelf life left (as opposed to a 2008 that's already "stale"), so I wouldn't be that surprised if the dealer counters with a higher offer.
In fact, I'd be very afraid if a dealer eagerly accepted my first offer without a counter-offer.
Perhaps... but I want it NOW!
My Dad & best bud's Dad have both told me to stick to my guns on the offer, I expect there will be a counter, I'd be surprised if there wasn't as well.
Perhaps tomorrow afternoon I'll call the ones I sent requests out to. Biggest problem I have is I live in a college town where the major dealerships are about an hour and a half away so strolling up to a dealership gets tedious when there's a chance nothing will be decided and I have to work until 5PM.
Good to see that no one's said $34k is a completely absurd offer so far.
While not exactly correct, there is some truth in this. One major annoyance I had to swallow yesterday was the fact that you MUST pay for the 13-speaker whiz-bang/jump-back JBL stereo/speaker system if you want the GPS unit. As someone who hardly ever listens to anything music-related while driving, this is an expense I could have done without.
I also had to pay for seat warmers, windshield wiper de-incing, and defrostable/foldable side mirrors; three all-but-useless items in this sub-tropical climate. But it was that, or lose a few other goodies I DID need/want.
We're not talking about deal-breakers here; but it was aggravating.
Without wasting much more bandwidth, the villain here is the way they build them, apparently. I could indeed have gotten it EXACTLY the way I wanted; along with the panoramic sun roof option. Can you say greehhouse effect in the brutal sun/humidity of high summer here? No thanks.
Bottom line; budget-conscious folks will be advised to wait for the four-banger, which may have a better selection of what you can and cannot have together. I am by no means a wealthy man, but I have a healthy D.R.O.P. account just sitting there, and this vehicle appeals to me big-time. So I bit the bullet and got lucky on the final offer.
I did NOT want an SUV, period. But I need enough room to tote my quarter-scale radio-control aerobatic airplane (sans wings, of course), which is 71 inches long and 21 inches tall at the rudder post. And I most assuredly did not want a soccer-mom special (van).
I was looking at VW wagons when I saw a Venza... a cursory exam and test-drive later, and that was that.
I've been driving the same 1998 S-10 since it was new, and a variety of US-made police cars; along with the wife's 2002 Solara. This Venza is sorta like being born again, in the driving/handling department. Oh, the Solara is a very sporty little ride; but I rarely get behind its wheel.
I'm like a kid the week before Xmas. The dealer said about a month; apparently the line just got cranked back up, as he selected my ride from some being built right now.
Stay tuned...
A. Convenience Package, Security Package
B. Premium Package #1, JBL Audio
C. Premium Package #1, JBL Audio, moonroof
Not much choice, as you can tell. Navigation is not an option on any Toyota in Hawaii. If you want AWD, there is only one package (most Venzas in Hawaii will be FWD).
I'm looking at the second package (B), which is pretty close to the configuration I'd want if I built one to order. I would've liked to have had the option of the heated seats (anything colder than 60 degrees is freezing for us
I've mentioned this upthread, but I still prefer Toyota's approach to Honda's, where there are no (or very few) options. For example, with many of Honda's trim levels, the EX level comes with a moonroof (or if you want leather, it comes with a moonroof).
While Toyota's distributors will force the same combinations (and it all varies by region), there remains a chance that the distributor will bring in the options you want.