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Toyota Venza


T-dubz

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2 minutes ago, tbone said:

That is completely unappealing. I’m not really sure what the point of this vehicle is in respect to their lineup.   At least it has a big screen, although I prefer the portrait orientation. 

 

With Highlander continually growing into an Explorer competitor, they had a hole in the middle of their lineup between Rav-4 and Highlander, so this slots in as their Edge/Passport/Blazer competitor, but they made it hybrid only.

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I don’t think it’s bad, but it does look a bit dated to me. It reminds me of an older Lexus like Harley said. Its basically a copy of the Toyota harrier from the Japanese market. I think this will do well with the older crowd.

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2 hours ago, T-dubz said:

Its basically a copy of the Toyota harrier from the Japanese market. 

 

Yes sir, thank you T-dubz. Unlike the previous Venza which was an American car (design, engineering, and assembly all took place in the U.S.), the new Venza is a rebadged Harrier and will be imported from Japan.

 

JDM Harrier.

cru_mv.jpg

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2 hours ago, Harley Lover said:

This appears to be essentially the 'Toyota RX 350', which makes sense. 

 

Edit: Just saw the factoid that it's slightly larger than the RAV4, so perhaps that should be 'Toyota NX250'.

 

The first two generations of Harrier was rebadged as RX in the US.

 

The 2nd gen Harrier was replaced in Japan and parts of Asia by Vanguard, which was rebadged as RAV4 in the US (different than the rest of the world RAV4).

 

Vanguard was in turn replaced by 3rd gen Harrier in 2013, which is based on 4th gen RAV4 platform (as well as NX).

 

4th gen Harrier is still based on RAV4 and now will be rebadged as Venza for the US market.

 

The chronological timeline of this model series:

1998-2003 1st gen Harrier = rebadged as RX 

2003-2008 2nd gen Harrier = rebadged as RX

2008-2013 Vanguard = rebadged as RAV4 in North America

2013-2020 3rd gen Harrier = not rebadged although based on RAV4 

2020- 4th gen Harrier = rebadged as Venza in North America

 

Think of Venza and RAV4 as Escape and Bronco Sport and you get the idea. Ford better get its act together or Toyota is going to clean Ford's clock soon in the compact SUV segment.

Edited by bzcat
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3 hours ago, rmc523 said:

It looks good, though the back is an E-Pace ripoff:

 

File:2017 Jaguar E-Pace R-Dynamic SE 2.0 Rear.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

 

Actually E-Pace ripped off Harrier.

 

This was the previous 3rd gen Harrier which came out in 2013 before Jaguar. You can see the new 4th gen was just an incremental evolution.

3rd gen Harrier

1024px-2013_Toyota_Harrier_02.jpg

 

4th gen Harrier/2nd gen Venza

2021-toyota-venza-debut.jpg

Edited by bzcat
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2 hours ago, bzcat said:

 

Think of Venza and RAV4 as Escape and Bronco Sport and you get the idea. Ford better get its act together or Toyota is going to clean Ford's clock soon in the compact SUV segment.


I was kinda thinking this too, but they chose to go a more premium route, kinda like the mariner and escape. 

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19 hours ago, T-dubz said:


I was kinda thinking this too, but they chose to go a more premium route, kinda like the mariner and escape. 

 

Right... Venza is more like semi-lux RAV4 than it is Escape. 

 

But the two-CUV strategy is the same. They just have a slightly different take on how to divide the market.

 

Actually Toyota is going for a three-CUV strategy in the US because they will launch Corolla hatchback based CUV soon as well - their version of Focus Active. Supposedly the Matrix name is coming back for that one. 

 

Matrix-Venza-RAV4... urban-family-rugged 3-CUV attack of Farley's dreams.

Edited by bzcat
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1 hour ago, ehaase said:

I would have thought Venza is more Toyota's competitor to the Edge, Nissan Murano, Chevrolet Blazer, etc. than a two or three CUV attack. 


Its kinda in between. It has the same wheelbase as the rav4, but it’s 5.7 inches longer. It has less cargo room and about the same rear legroom. I think it’s smaller than the edge and other vehicles in that segment.

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11 hours ago, probowler said:

I don't believe anyone buys a crossover to standout or showoff.

I don't believe people should buy crossovers to show they gave up on life either. It is possible to have a splash of style too. The new RAV4 is much better looking.

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4 hours ago, ehaase said:

I would have thought Venza is more Toyota's competitor to the Edge, Nissan Murano, Chevrolet Blazer, etc. than a two or three CUV attack. 

 

The original Venza was a competitor to Edge and Murano.

 

This one is basically more snazzy RAV4 or cheaper NX, depending on your perspective. It is about the same size as VW Tiguan, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan Rogue, or Buick Envision, four of the largest compact CUVs on the market now. 

Edited by bzcat
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22 hours ago, atomcat68 said:

I don't believe people should buy crossovers to show they gave up on life either. It is possible to have a splash of style too. The new RAV4 is much better looking.

Exactly. Bzcat posted a pic of the jaguar e pace earlier and I think that’s a great example of how a crossover should be designed. The jaguars I have seen (both e pace and f pace) seem to do a great job appealing to many different tastes. In certain trims they can look aggressive and sporty, others it can look tame and luxurious. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/19/2020 at 4:28 AM, atomcat68 said:

I am disappointed. I liked the look of the first generation and this one disappears in the "sea of Utilities". The interior is nice though.

Kind of the opposite of the first gen Venza. The interior in that thing was beyond low rent. Hard, rough cut plastics. I knew someone who owned one and they cut themselves the glove box once. 

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