Overview & Reviews

It's been decades since midsize wagons were the vehicle of choice for American families. They've long since been replaced by minivans, SUVs and crossovers. The Toyota Venza, however, could very well be described as a modern take on the old station wagon formula. The sleekly styled Venza boasts carlike handling, good fuel economy and plenty of versatility. Though lacking the ruggedness inherent in an SUV or the option for a third-row seat, the Venza is an otherwise ideal choice for families.

Current Toyota Venza
The Toyota Venza is related to Toyota's Camry sedan, so in a way you could think of it as a beefed-up Camry wagon. It sits relatively low to the ground, which makes it easier for passengers to get in and out. There's seating for up to five people, as no third-row seat is offered. Toyota has built in plenty of storage nooks and crannies to keep things organized, and there are plenty of cupholders, too. Cargo capacity with the rear seats folded down is just north of 70 cubic feet, which should suffice for most families.

Under the hood you'll find either a 2.7-liter four-cylinder that makes 182 horsepower and 182 pound-feet of torque or a more robust 3.5-liter V6 that cranks out 268 hp and 246 lb-ft of torque. Both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the front wheels. All-wheel drive is optional. Towing capacity when properly equipped is 3,500 pounds.

The Venza is offered in LE, XLE and V6-only Limited trim levels. Standard feature highlights for the LE include 19-inch alloy wheels (20 inches on V6), dual-zone automatic climate control, a touchscreen infotainment interface, a power driver seat, Bluetooth and a CD player with a USB/iPod interface. Stepping up to the XLE gets you keyless ignition/entry, power-folding mirrors, a power liftgate, Toyota's Entune smartphone integration system, a rearview camera, leather upholstery and heated front seats. The Limited tops it off with xenon headlamps, a panoramic sunroof, front and rear parking sensors, a navigation system and an upgraded sound system.

Driving the Toyota Venza isn't a sporty experience, but in reviews, we've found this tall wagon handles reasonably well on curvy roads given its utilitarian purpose. On the highway, the overall ride is quite comfortable. The base four-cylinder engine provides adequate power to motivate this sizable wagon, although the V6 is obviously the way to go if passing folks on the highway takes precedence over achieving the best fuel economy. In terms of everyday usability, the Venza is an excellent, highly refined choice for just about anyone who needs to haul kids, pets, scuba gear, golf clubs and other family recreational cargo.

Used Toyota Venza Models
The Toyota Venza debuted for the 2009 model year and has received only minor changes. From 2009-'11 Toyota sold the Venza with just optional packages rather than the more traditional trim level structure implemented for 2012. The 2013 model year gained the Entune smartphone integration system and a slight exterior styling update. These latter Venzas are identical to the current version apart from the unavailability of a few convenience features, such as power-folding mirrors and front and rear parking sensors.

User Reviews:

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  Could be a fun car - 2010 Toyota Venza
  By Bernhard - December 23 - 7:00 pm

  The Venza is a nice car, but ours has a flaw, that might be typical for this car. When the transmission is in drive and the car is at an incline, then it rolls back. The transmission does not catch the car. The dealership told us this is normal for Venzas and Camrys So it is either bad engineering or bad customer service. The car is somewhat fun to drive, but Toyota quality is not what it used to be. Some parts in the interior do not fit together appropriately. This indicates assembly problems. In addition, all Venzas are now affected by the pedal recall. It took Toyota about 6 months to admit that problem. Again bad customer service. My next car will not be a Toyota.

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  38000 mile review - 2011 Toyota Venza
  By veevolt - September 11 - 1:59 am

  My comments seem to unfortunately mirror other who have posted a review for this model. I to have had several rattles pop up, humming from the rear at highway speeds, navigation unit failure, leaking water pump, leaking sunroof, abs sensors replaced, and two battery replacements so far. This is my first Toyota and quite sure Itll be my last.

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  2011 Venza- not what I expected! - 2011 Toyota Venza
  By mnharris - November 16 - 5:41 pm

  Its been a rather dissapointing 24 months with my Venza AWD. Its been in no less than 11 times for repairs, rattles in the dash/console, interior lights have quit working twice now along with all the dash backlighting, the automatic transmission sometimes has a very long delay before upshifting, Toyota has reflashed twice now and it works great for a few months then the problem returns....they now blame it on my driving style!?!? Im also very unhappy with the fuel economy, its downright V8 like at 15mpg average with a 50/50 mix of in town and interstate driving. Not sure Ill be keeping this one much longer.

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  Do not buy one!! - 2011 Toyota Venza
  By alititude2087 - November 6 - 12:26 pm

  Seems to be quite a few unhappy Venza owners writing reviews here, here is mine. Our car has 26,000 miles and also has the "common" transmission issues such as slow shifting, and a vibration while changing gears. Toyota calls all this behaviour normal. Ours has several rattles coming from the seats and dashboard, toyota has made two attempts to fix these only to have them return a shot time later. Our battery has gone dead for no reason THREE times. Just recently the A/C quit, and the ride feels much more bouncy than normal. Top this all off with a poor average of 17mpg mostly highway fuel economy- Terrible!!I hope I can get a good trade in value for this lemon!

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  Looks cheap and feels cheap - 2009 Toyota Venza
  By Anjali - July 23 - 11:03 am

  At barely 6 months this vehicle has started to fall apart. Rattles from the air vents and door panel. The ride is awful, feel like I am riding a truck, and the steering feels "spongy". Looks like this was designed by a "cheap" engineer, instead of a chief engineer. With this poorly executed car/van, Toyota has proven that they have a lot of work to do before they can catch up to the quality, at least of ride quality and fit and finish, of rapidly improving Korean cars.

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  Vehicle has been a dissapointment so far - 2011 Toyota Venza
  By matheson1977 - July 20 - 9:05 pm

  Ive had several issues with this vehicle in the last year and half. A total of 14 seperate dealership visits with problems in areas such as- Battery, rattles and build quality issues, transmissiom, heated seats, stability control, and remote keyless system. Toyota service is awesome some days, and terrible the next. Im not the only Venza owner with a problem car as ive met several more just at my dealership. What happened Toyota? MY 00 4 runner feels better built at 200,000+ miles.

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  Noisy - 2010 Toyota Venza
  By Cinco - February 2 - 10:00 am

  After 1 month of ownership Ive experienced no mechanical problems. Everything works as designed. The interior is of good quality and the outside design is progressive. The seats are comfortable. The dashboard is well designed and bright, very easy to find everything. There are a few blind spots while driving in the rear but once you get use to them you make accommodations and understand what needs to be done.

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  Ugh! At 7K the transmission went out! - 2010 Toyota Venza
  By Penny - November 19 - 6:53 am

  After a car accident with our 2007 Camry, we purchased the Venza with much optimism, With in 5K miles the gas pedal stuck on the floor mat, yikes! But we later removed the mat and had no more problems. Then the car was jumping forward and then the next day the all the dash lights were lit up and at 7,233 miles the transmission died. No help from Toyota, or the dealership to help us get rid of the lemon so we traded it into the Ford dealership and I am driving an Edge. I thought the negative comments about Toyota was just a bad press campaign but I guess the media got it right for once. My confidence with the car was eroded with these experience, and no one seems to care or wanted to help.