by Anthony Fongaro - Photos via Toyota- 05/29/2022
Time for an honest moment: in 2022, having a hybrid SUV is almost necessary. When a vehicle can do over 30 MPG and fuel is over $5.00 a gallon, there’s a large sense of appeal. The saturation of hybrids is a good thing with hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Toyota has a good number of hybrids, including the Venza Limited. I’ve tested one before and it seemed very middle-of-the-road but that test was different. This time, the Venza showed more appeal mainly because it is a hybrid. My adventure for this: driving the family to the airport.
When I did test the Venza, there were a few things that I initially didn’t like. I thought the exterior was borderline ugly with a boring interior and a slow engine. Those thoughts have changed, even for the exterior. I was surprised that three of my friends said that they liked the style of the Venza. One said it looks like a Lexus, and I can understand that. There are so many details in the rear-end that I didn’t understand why Toyota would style it that way. Is it stylish? No. Does it stand out? Yes, and that could have been Toyota’s point.
Part of what made the Venza look a little better was the combination of the blue paint and 19-inch chrome wheels. The front end is my favorite bit since it does look like a less-expensive Lexus. Looking at the side, the Venza looks like a semi-SUV coupe. My main problem was the rear and how it looked a little concave but after seeing it again, it isn’t as offensive as I thought. As I said, it does stand out from other SUVs in the $40,000 price range.
Get inside the Venza, and the interior does feel a little small but has a clean design. The Venza Limited came with a head-up display and simple controls on the steering wheel. Look to your right and you have a large 12.3-inch touchscreen. This also came with a 360-degree camera which was quite convenient. Unfortunately, the Venza has capacitive buttons for the climate control and volume controls, and you’ll see every fingerprint. There are heated and ventilated seats that are in an easy position next to the driver and passenger, but if you move the armrest, it blocks these buttons.
Like the previous Venza Limited I drove, this one had the same 2.5-liter hybrid inline-four producing 219-horsepower and 163 lb-ft. This engine is made to maximize fuel economy so the 0-60 MPH time is around 7.5 seconds. Again, that’s ok but not as good as competitors. The upside is that getting over 40 MPH isn’t difficult to get. Even putting the Venza in Sport mode in the drive select and driving quickly, a.k.a the speed limit, to the airport gave me 35 MPG. Push the throttle hard and you get a very large whine from the engine. Typical Toyota hybrid. For the most part, I kept the Venza in its normal setting so the throttle and steering felt ok.
The Venza Limited also wasn’t created to carve corners, so my driving style defaulted to relax. That hybrid engine was good at transitioning from EV to hybrid mode but once again you could hear the inline-four engine. Venza Limited comes with a JBL sound system which was good but not as good as a Harmon Kardon sound system. In regards to the infotainment system, it is split between utilizing Apple CarPlay and a part designed for weather or other information. Frankly, I wanted to turn that off to maximize the screen.
Now we get to the almost $45,000 question: is the Venza worth it? As a regular SUV for a family, it does its job. Cabin materials are good, the engine returns very high mileage, and features such as a head-up display were a nice touch. The Interior space didn’t feel as spacious as I’d like and the Venza is a strict five-seater. Still, the exterior can be seen as handsome, but I’m not completely sold. Is this the best in its class? No. Other vehicles are more spacious, quicker, and can get close to the fuel economy the Venza has. One of its main rivals is also a Toyota, the Highlander. Between the two, I’d look at the Highlander. The Venza isn’t bad, but it isn’t as refined as I’d like it to be.
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