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Sorry, I wasn't aware that this turned into a private forum for Toyota to answer questions.
Good luck on your search. You may also want to look at the Nissan Murano; I've already seen off-rental 2009 S AWD models dip below $20K. I'm hoping the Venza will hold its value better.
The only complaint is interior color. The current colors easily show dirt and shoe scoffs. I would seriously consider the car if it came with a black interior. My current ride is a 2008 Civic Coupe and its very noisy compared to the Venza. I also test drove most of the current Acura products last weekend. The Venza was much quieter than those products except for the MDX. The MDX and Venza were about the same noise wise. Of course the Venza is approximately $10K less.
At our local auto show a couple weeks ago, I noticed a lot of vehicles with all black interiors. It was across both ends of the spectrum -- compacts to luxury cars.
Personally, I like the contrasting light and dark interior of the Venza, especially the black carpet that matches the dash. I do agree, though -- the light colored surface is going to be fun to keep clean. This is my first car with leather, so I'll need to research what's recommended for leather care soon.
Hope that helps, Good luck!
I suppose I'll have to push a little more on the dealer to get our venza closer to the "build" stage...
Best
This is the post (#170) from the "prices paid" I made a few weeks ago:
"In the works soon...
A RED with grey leather, FWD V6, Premium #2, Pano Roof, JBL Audio, Mats and Bumper protector for $32,400.
From a very nice Kitsap County, WA dealer.
Now the wait!!
THIS will be the tough part.."
My thought (flawed??) is that a dealer would LOVE to SELL a car, on the lot or not AND if the car never sits on the lot, they never pay Toyota to "rent" it in the interim - sounds like profit to me...
Best of luck to you...
4cyl, FWD plus,
JBL Premium Audio (EJ)
Convenience Package (CQ)
Security Package (SA)
Floor/Cargo Mats
Price was $26,500, plus $100 dealer fee, plus TTL
We were happy with this price especially for a built to order vehicle, although I am sure you can do better. We live in MD and so the Fitzmall prices set the mark in this area. Of course that means you get a good price but it also sets a floor for the price in this area, it is hard work to do much better. In the end the comparison to Fitzmall was $26127 for the same car without the Security package and Edmunds lists the Security package at $460 invoice and $570 MSRP. That puts us just above invoice on a built to order car, so we got a reasonable price and the car we wanted and the dealer gets their holdback plus a few bucks. Of course now we just have to wait!
To your other comment, I consider the Murano very ugly. Actually, these days I'm more interested in the Hyundai Elantra Touring wagon/hatchback/whatever. It's very nice looking, outside of the awful color choices, and I hope to actually sit in one soon to see whether it sits too low for me or not.
Thanks for the advice, though.
I just completed a 30 minute test drive in a V6-AWD Venza and was quite impressed. I think my only concern is with driver seat comfort: It wasn't bad but it almost seemed like the seat cushion padding was kind of thin. I'm pretty slim myself without much "built-in" butt padding, so I would like to hear of your experiences when taking long trips - does the seat remain comfortable after a couple hours of driving? Thanks in advance for your replies.
MD
I didn't know Toyota made a RWD Highlander.
Are you use to driving a Caddie. There is nothing wrong with the cushion seating on the Venza. It is very comfortable and just as good as my wifers 06 Avalon Just returned from a 500 mile trip to the Florida Beaches and it was great .I have leather seating. Maybe it was the way you had the seats adjusted. I like mine to sit kind of low and back some. Try it again
No deepsouth, I currently drive a Lexus RX and the Venza's seat seems to have less padding. It was just a simple question requesting input from Venza owners, since I had only driven the Venza for 30 minutes.
I believe Bob Lutz, who was enamored with the Maxx (as was I when living in Germany with the Opel Sigmun), once said if they had put Toyota badges on it, they wouldn't have been able to keep them in stock.
Now we'll see if its the badge or the concept of a long hatchback/wagon from a car platform...
Opel what? Freudian slip?
We just returned from driving from the KC area to Charlotte and Atlanta, a total of 2400 miles over a week.
When we first pickup the Venza, I had an hours drive to get home. I was having second thoughts on the way home, due to the feel of the seats. The front seats seem too short (I'm only 5' 10") and they could use more padding. But we were very comfortable on our long drive. The most we drove in one day was 12 hours. I no qualms on the Venza now and very glad we did it. Maybe the Venza seats broke me in, but I have no problems with them now.
Just to see how image-conscious brainwashed people are, I did a little experiement: I described the Venza to one group at work as a "crossover" and got "oohs-and-aahs." To another group I described the car as a "station wagon" and got "ugh" reactions. The women (30-40ish) in the first group couldn't wait to have a ride, whereas the women in the second group (approx same age) "wouldn't be caught dead in a station wagon." So much for my popularity and status but I could care less; the Venza fits MY needs.
Hal
Go to a low volume dealer in a remote area...
BTW, those big wheels are a definite visual asset, however, they will be a pain when replacements are due. Not only will they be very expensive, there will also be a very small selection.
And it's not a 15k car.
Interestingly enough, there are more selections available in the 20" tire size. For some reason, Toyota picked an oddball 19" size for the 4-cylinder models.
I bought the car knowing the limited choices and high price but hope within a few years there'll be more selections at reasonble prices. Those 19" wheels are the only thing that bugs me about the car; otherwise I'm happy with the rest of the car.
On the other hand, tirerack.com lists 12 tires in the P235/55R19 from $149 (Hankook) to $248 (Pirelli). Can you put slightly narrower tires than originally equipped?
The smaller, 235 tire will have a slightly shorter radius and will reduce ground clearance from 8.1 inches to 7.9 inches. Also, the overall circumference of the tire will be reduced from 93 inches to 91.7 inches, about a 1.4% difference. That difference in size will affect your speedometer, odometer, cruise control and possibly other sensors that monitor vehicle speed related to tire/wheel revolutions (such as ABS, traction control, etc.). It is not a huge size difference, but you should get professional advice (ask the folks at tirerack) before changing.
MD
1. They complained about the ride and blamed the big 20 inch wheels.
Is the ride really that bad? How would it compare to my '07 Higlander Limited? Some other reviews have said that the interior noise levels are higher than expected. Can anyone comment on this?
2. They said that several interior trim panels were misaligned and that some grains didn't match.
I am surprised to read about misaligned trim panels. How do owners feel about the workmanship? After the initial problems the Camry and other models had a few years ago, I read that Toyota had this big push to get quality back to where is used to be. They said that they were going to hire more Engineers and take more time to "get it right" before releasing a new model.
Thanks for the explanation. Thought the 235 vs 245 pertained to width only. You mean this slight change in width also affects the circumference and tire height?
Hal
The "55" in the tire size of 235/55-19 refers to the aspect ratio, basically the height of the sidewall and it is a percentage of the tread width (the 235 or 245 in your case). So the sidewall height of a 235/55 tire is 235 mm times 55%, or 129.25 mm. The sidewall height of the 245/55 tire is a bit taller at 134.75 mm. That difference of 5.5 mm equates to about 0.22 inches less ground clearance for the 235/55 tire. This also serves to illustrate why the higher aspect ratio percentage (i.e. 60% vs. 50%) means a taller sidewall that is more likely to result is a softer, more compliant ride. This isn't always the case, as some tires are designed for comfort and other tires of the same size may have stiffer sidewalls to improve cornering performance, but won't be as comfortable. And obviously, as the tire height changes, so does the rolling circumference and that is what can affect your speedometer, odometer, etc. Hope this helps.
MD
When I take my Venza in for its first oil change, I'm going to have the dealer fix the following:
- misaligned woodgrain trim panel around the gear shift
- misaligned dash panel (right side of the center speaker grill)
- rattle in the driver's door
- rattle in the passenger's door
- peeling leather on the gear shift
And to check on the following:
- more flex than I would think is normal on the driver's side front fender
- more flex than I would think is normal on the lift-gate panel (the panel with the logo and Venza nameplate -- feels almost like it's plastic or fiberglass, not metal).
Sounds like a lot listed out like this, but it's not that bad. If it was, I'd head to the dealer immediately.
For what it's worth, my Highlander (first model year) and my 4Runner (3rd year of the current generation) both went back to the dealer soon after delivery. The former was for a turn signal that wouldn't cancel and the latter for rattles and a defective side airbag module. Both were made in Japan.
Other than the defective airbag module, though, I've only had minor trim and/or rattle types of problems with my Toyotas over the years.
I don't think I would consider a Venza, for one, it is overpriced for a Camry, two it's maintainence cost is higher than a Chevy Maxx, and three it has the shift lever coming out of the dash like a 60's Corvair with a powerglide!
What weed have you been smokin? In my opinion, the two are not even in the same class. I followed one yesteday by coincidence after reading your blog and I really can't see the commonality except for 4 wheels and 4 doors. If GM quality was like Toyota and Honda, they wouldn't been in the straits they're in now. Just look at Consumer Reports reliability chart. Look at the number of black marks on GM products compared to the Honda, Toyota, and even Hyundai. That said, I had a Malibu back in the early 70's and it was a good car.
I'll grant you that both cars are "station wagon" or stretched hatchback in design concept. But I wouldn't say the Venza is "nothing more than a copy" of the Maxx.
However, I disagree with you about the GM "unquality" issue being non-existent. Maybe you were lucky and got one of those rare samples that were trouble-free. Good for you! My neighbor has a Maxx and he considers the car to be poorly assembled compared to his wife's Honda Accord. But my experience (and other people I know) have contrary experiences on GM cars. I currently have a 2003 Buick Century, had a 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe, 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, a 1974 Chevrolet Nova and they ALL had fit & finish and mechanical issues. Every car started having mechanical problems around 40-50K (just after the warranty expired). Rattles showed up about the same time. And I follow the maintenance schedule religiously. Another friend has a 1997 Toyota Camry with almost 200,000 miles with no issues, other than the usual maintenance costs. Consumer Reports rates Toyotas (overall) as being more reliable and having better quality than GM products overall.
Re the shift lever location on the Venza: When I rest my right forearm on the center console armrest, the shift knob is exactly where my hand is. Ergonomically, the car is very thoughtfully designed with everything right where it needs to be and in easy reach.
By the way, how's your G8 GT doing? And if you wanted a station wagon or a car-based SUV, what would you get?
Taut body motions - but jittery
Highway ride is better - but a bit fidgety
Auto transmission shifts smoothly and has easy to use manual override feature - but the zigzag shift gate operates clumsily
Wide cabin offers plenty of elbow room with good head and foot room - but the cockpit feels a bit closed-in
Limo-like rear seats are spacious for three adults - but kids might have a problem seeing out
These are just a few examples and they are not limited to the Venza review. The same is true of all auto reviews and other products as well. I dare you to find a CR review of anything that does not use the word "but" over and over. It's almost like their attorneys update all of the articles in an effort to attain the correct positive/negative balance to make sure they won't get sued.
Bottom line - Use the CR reviews along with similar viewpoints found in auto magazines and in Internet reviews to get a general overview. Then drive the vehicles yourself and form your own opinion - that's what will count most in the end.
Although CR purchases the products for testing and does not accept advertising money, personal bias still comes into play in the evaluation process. You can't remove the human factor when evaluating anything. Evaluating some vehicle criteria is very subjective.
The Malibu Maxx stacks up as well with the Venza as the previous generation Malibu stacked up against the equivalent model-year Camry. The Camry was the car you'd buy, even though it was boring. The Malibu was the car you'd rent to remind you why you bought the Camry.
Now, the new Malibu is definitely a lot more competitive with the Camry. A Venza-like version of the new Malibu would make for a fairly interesting comparison.
I thought seriously about buying a 4-cyl. Venza a few months ago, and passed because of ridiculous wheel and tire choice by Toyota. There are only two manufacturers that make tires for that size, and they are both sub-par. Thanks to a little announcement from Subaru, I waited and now I may be able to get a nice AWD, 4-cyl vehicle, with a 6-speed manual, for several thousand $$ less than Venza. And have decent tires.