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Comments
The advantage of having the actual pressure for each tire displayed is that you don't have to check each tire to figure out why the low pressure light is on. If one tire is totally flat, then its obvious. If a tire is just "low," it's harder to tell.
Plus, at least on the 4Runner, the full size spare also has a pressure transmitter (in my case, it was the spare that was low).
I doubt you will find a fully loaded MKX for $33K - that's probably a stripped vehicle that would be hard to come by on a dealer's lot.
The ad I saw showed an MSRP of $40K for the MKX. It looks like that would be a 2WD with the Ultimate Package. The MKX is fairly loaded, even without any options (MSRP is $37K for the FWD) so even a "stripped" MKX would be comparable (in equipment) to a mid-range Venza. One important note is that it looks like these offers are on the 2008 MKX, not the 2009.
Right now the comparisons (for pricing) to the Venza are going to be tough -- until inventory begins to arrive in volume, dealers are going to maximize their return on the few Venzas they receive as long as there is demand. Nothing wrong with that.
Same thing happened with the first of the 2nd Gen Highlanders and the Acura MDX -- for whatever reason, there were incredible deals on the latter (and tight inventories on the former).
This appears to be much more than a 'concept.'
Could you add this to the Honda vehicle forum for us to keep track of?
Thanks.
I still may end up spending the extra $ for the RX-350. Still deciding if I should wait until the 2010 comes out in Feb.
I prefer to have TPMS displayed for each tire. You can save a lot of time having to manually check the pressure not only because they are 20% lower and it warns you, but simply just 3 psi lower (say from 32 to 29).
Can you program the destination in the NAV while the car is moving?
The reason that I'm looking at the Venza is because the lease on my wife's Chrysler Pacifica Limited is up soon and she likes the Venza's approximate dimensions and handling to the Pacifica which, surprisingly enough, is a pretty decent automobile!
The Venzas are trickling in to dealerships (I think most of the test drives that people reported took place over the last week or so), but general availability is reportedly December for the V6.
You're lucky that you saw one in person.
Hey, you dealers here-- how do you lock the door without the fob (or inside switch) on a Venza with Smartkey? The dealers I talked to couldn't figure it out, since there was no button on the outside of the door. The fob did work to unlock it just like the Prius, and to start it. It didn't seem to automatically lock when you walked away from it, either. :confuse:
Neither a dealer nor have I seen one in person, but here's what I read on Autoblog's first drive article:
"You can lock and unlock all four doors and the rear hatch by placing your finger on two hash marks on either front door handle."
Seems strange that they are moving away from the typical black buttons on the door handles that most other Smartkey-equipped Toyotas have.
Good lord that's one ugly grille!
Really, is this the first time you've seen the grille? That's the same production grille that's in all the other photos of the Venza -- all the way back to the intro at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.
Personally, I like it. On the other hand, I don't mind Acura's huge beak of a grille, so take my opinion for what's it's worth.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/11/first-drive-2009-toyota-venza/
The dealer is pushing sticker price and is even a little leery about honoring their internet $300 off coupon. Wonder what he'll do when I shoot another dealer's no haggle (no salesman commission) price at him. I'll call no haggle tomorrow.
Overall, a good experience, a good car. We'll see what the co-driver says when she checks it out. Overall Venza holds up well against our Outback 5 speed manual 4 cyl, especially in the mileage.
Oh, and wait until you see the engine compartment! Crammed to the gills with stuff. For example they're going electric for power steering to eliminate one of the belts and buy more space for the passenger compartment.
The Venza interior is very nice and seems much more spacious for passengers and cargo than the RX. Additionally, it just flat out drives better. Seems definitely more grounded (not as tippy), and I think it handles better. Plus the seats are way more comfortable, which I find hard to believe. I think they are a touch wider and have better support. When you drive it you will actually see that it doesn't feel like an SUV and it doesn't exactly feel like a passenger car. And, it did not feel like a Camry to me!! Sort of like a whole new category of car... and NO I do not work for Toyota!
I thought the acceleration was good and the engine noise is way better than the Highlander. This is not a performance car obviously but for the average driver it drives and handles well. I have owned the previous two models of the Sienna and now I'm afraid I just may be sold on another Toyota. I want out of the van but I'm not quite ready to give up the space. I also drive an Infinite M35 now and I love, love, love the keyless ignition. I couldn't believe it's on the Venza and not on the RX. Just to get that feature and a little better handling I've also been looking at the Infinite FX35. It is a fabulous driving car, but if it is at all like the M35 it will positively guzzle gas. The Nissan Murano also has that feature and I have checked that out too.
One funky thing about the Venza dashboard is that it is made out of a textured material. Yep, it looks weird. Sort of like, "What the *@# were those designers thinking. Does anyone have any idea why they would use a material that would definitely catch dust?
I live in LA and there are a total of maybe 6 cars in the greater metropolitan area so I think getting any kind of good pricing is hopeless, but if anyone has thoughts on that I would like to hear them. The Toyota leasing site has about an 8.8% interest rate, so a Premium Pkg 2 with navi would be over $600/ month. I think I can get an RX350 with navi for about $450. An '09 FX35 is about the same. This is with 2k down I think.
So I'd love to hear what everyone thinks on the car, pricing, the V4 etc.!!!!!
The Ford Edge seems to come close, but the interior still involves a lot of plastic where there should be wood. The "premium" wheels are alloys with chrome covers on them, like stealth hubcaps. The seats aren't fully automatic, and the NAV system looks like an aftermarket - buttons on the console seem to duplicate buttons on the NAV system. It just looks cheap for a $2,000+ option. Although, I have to say the Sync system is pretty cool, and the Jukebox feature on the Edge's NAV system that holds > 2,000 tracks ripped from CD's you feed it is outstanding. Still, it's a Ford and unfortunately the value on Fords drops faster than the DOW once you drive them off the lot.
The Murano comes close, but the NAV system leaves much to be desired. I don't want a step-down. The CVT transmission is smooth. I don't know why, but the car just didn't excite me.
I then saw the Venza, and wow, it hits pretty close to the mark.. the NAV is familiar to Lexus owners - I believe it's the same setup as in the IS, and is improved actually from my '06 GS430. The premium interior is very refined for a Toyota - definitely an upgrade from the Highlander's premium interior, and much nicer than the Edge and Murano. Dual climate control, dual power front seats. The seats are more comfortable than the Lexus GS and RX. I like the storage options in the console divider, docking for my Blackberry.
The back seat is spacious - more so than the Edge. The cargo area in the rear might be a bit tighter than the Edge. The Bluetooth capability works well - I paired up my Blackberry and placed a call, it's simple and worked very well. I was unable to get my phone to pair up with the Edge that I test drove, probably user error though.
The V6 engine is more than adequate. It's not the V8 I'm used to, but on the other hand it is a lot more responsive, smoother and quieter than the Highlander, Murano or Edge that I drove. Very close to the RX350 in fact.
I am looking to buy, not lease. Leasing days are over, I plan on driving my next car well over 100,000 miles before I even consider replacing it. Given that, the Venza is still more attractive than the RX350, but man, the entry price to the Edge is a lot lower. Ford is so hungry right now, and the Edge, although popular is still filling up dealers lots right now. I'm thinking the top of the line Edge can be had for $30K. I just saw one at a dealership, MSRP was $38K, then Ford's employee pricing knocked that down to $33,900. This is for a 2009 Edge. I didn't feel like engaging the sales manager, but I think it could be had for $30k.
The Venza, on the other hand, is brand new, and MSRP is $38K too. I doubt if it could be had for less than $36K though. They are just now hitting the dealerships, and there's no real need for them to cut their prices, they are selling the ones they have. The first dealership I checked sold theirs in 2 days. This is in So Cal.
So the question I guess is, how will the value of a fully loaded 2009 Edge compare to a fully loaded 2009 Venza compare five years from now? I'm not sure the Venza will maintain a 20% premium in price over the Edge.
In the good ol' days, that very first Venza would have been presold (and at MSRP or more too).
I think the current market conditions (and Toyota's desire to drive sales with new product such as the Venza) will result in some fairly reasonable deals once a reasonable supply of Venzas are available.
Will the Venza be offered as far below invoice as the Edge or other domestics? Doubtful. But will dealers be holding out for MSRP for very long? I don't think so.
We were both impressed with the leg room and also build quality. We both drive Lexus vehicles now, but are considering the Venza. Not really excited about the new RX350, although in all fairness we have not seen it in person, just pictures.
Since our current vehicles have NAV, the Venza's NAV features were pretty familiar and took no time to get used to, but I could see if you don't have NAV now, it can take some time to get familiar with the all the features. The Venza has 6th generation NAV.
I agree the dark rear windows and very large sticker on the rear passenger window made it a little challenging at night, but once the sticker is removed, I'm sure it will be much easier.
Bottom Line: We both loved just about everything about the Venza and will be purchasing one.
The climate settings are not controlled via the touch screen. This is handled the old fashioned way, with buttons/knobs in the console (below the nav screen).
sequoia sold about 2k a month, not a lot will be replaced by a venza(imo).
i see one sequoia (ct) on a regular basis.
the venza missed the marketing window, just bad timing.
The Toyota Venza looks like what the 2010 RX350 should have been. It looks like Toyota kind of got it backwards. I would love to consider this car when my lease is up, but I'm not sure you'll get the nice dealership treatment that you get at Lexus vs. Toyota.
Anyone have any other thoughts on this: Dealership treatment of Toyota vs. Lexus??
Width of tailgate opening: 47 1/2 (45 1/4) at widest point
Height of tailgate opening: 30 (30 3/4)
Length behind second row seats: 41 max (39)
Length behind first row seats: 76 (72) with seat set for my comfort (I'm 5'11")
Max height of cargo compartment: 32 (35)
Width between wheel wells: 41 (39 1/2)
Width between doors: 55 (53)
Cargo compartment floor to ground: 29 (30)
Misc:
Doortop to ground: 58 1/2 (59 1/4) (driver's door)
I thought the vehicle was easy to enter and exit, and the driver's seat position is excellent. I'm not so sure about the driver's seat comfort, though. (The car had cloth seats.)
I thought that some of the interior details looked kinda cheap.
The 20 inch wheels aren't as ugly in person as they are in photographs.
I was offerred a test drive, but turned it down. I may do it later.
Interior was very upscale. Front seats were wonderful. Nice stitching and piping in the leather. Much of the leather seating surface had a nice grainy texture to it - as opposed to simply smooth as in a Highlander. Some of the professional reviewers who complained about the lack of side thigh support must have wanted this car to perform quick side maneuvers like a sports car. I liked the flatter thigh bolstering. Made the seat feel much wider than most and my rather large thighs didn't feel like the bolstering was digging into the side of my thighs. The car is the perfect height for easy entering and exiting. Console is simply enormous. I had early doubts about the transmission shift lever positioning, but it really fell into position just fine.
I took it on a 30 mile test drive and felt it drove silky smooth. I like the drive height. I don't think it needs the 20" wheels and low profile tires. They did make a bit of chatter on anything but the smoothest of roads. Other than that, I didn't experience any undue road or wind noise. All the power you'll need and very smooth 6 speed tranny. The engine and tranny work very well together with almost unnoticable downshifts.
I don't want navi, but do want the JBL ($1,090) for the better radio, Bluetooth, and XM. By the way, the XM reciever is included in this package. Just initiate the subscription and go. On this Toyota vehicle (with JBL) you don't have to pay the dealer an additional $400 or so for the XM receiver to be installed. About time, Toyota!
I don't really need the pana roof for $1,050 - I like a moon/sun roof but it's not worth $1,050 to me. However, my salesman said that with a fairly loaded Venza they will ALL have the pana roof because it's easier on the production line that way. Sounds like if I want a fairly loaded Venza but without the pana roof, a special order would be necessary. He said that would easily be 3-6 months leadtime. So, I guess if I spring on a Venza, Toyota will get into my pocketbook for the additional $1,050.
Nice vehicle but a little pricey. As loaded as most of the early ones will be the price gets into Highlander territory. I may wait and try out the I4 version earlier next year (almost $2,000 less). Then again, I like the available power of the very smooth V6. Time will tell. I like it!
Why do I buy them? They're dependable, relatively trouble free cars that require little or no repair. 208,000 on my 02 Avalon & 122,000 & counting on the 06 Avalon with nothing but specified routine maintenance.
I've had a quick look at the Venza, like what I see, & am planning on trading after the 1st of the year.
Incidentaly, I've found a couple of good independents that now do my service work.
We own a Lexus with Nav that has the same limitations when driving. I'm not sure why seeing the phone number would be a "problem" when driving. You can see the name, but you're not sure if they are calling from home, work, cell, etc.
On a positive note, my entire iPhone address book synced. Very cool!