When any manufacturer, but particularly an industry titan likeToyota, rolls out a new vehicle that they say is “in a new class”,well, the hairs on any journalist’s neck stand up a bit. That wascertainly the case as we listened to Toyota’s executives and engineersroll out the new Venza. But after a couple of days of driving it,talking to Toyota about it, and reviewing the data, we think they havea point. It’s a subtle point, but a point nonetheless.
You’ll notice that so far we haven’t said what the Venza “is”. Wehaven’t put it in a category. Before we discuss the category thevehicle belongs in, we invite you to do the same experiment weperformed with some of our colleagues at the launch. Take a good lookat the pictures of the Venza. What would you say this is? Just forfun, make a mental note of that, so you can compare your reaction towhat a group of journalists said in response to the same question.
Of course, at some level it really doesn’t matter how the Venza (orany other vehicle) is categorized. The problem with categorization isthat is makes it hard to see new things. If the iPhone is just a “cellphone” then it is hard to understand how different it is. A rationalperson might note that the world hardly needs its 829th cell phone andmove on. But if you have an iPhone or have played with one, you knowhow vastly different it is and you know it isn’t just a cell phone. Thecategory no longer matters when you’ve experienced reality.
And the reality of this Toyota is rather appealing, if you’re in thetarget market, because the Venza actually breaks with Toyota traditionin some fairly important ways.
Not Your Mother’s Toyota
Let’s start with driving dynamics. Just let that phrase wash overyou for a moment. We’re at the start of a Toyota road test and we’retalking driving dynamics, rather than leaving it ‘til the end wherehopefully no one will notice. At the opening launch dinner, Toyotaexecs brought up the need for good steering feel—without prompting. Wealmost passed out. Always a serious and sincere company, Toyota hasmade a serious and sincere effort to make the Venza fun to drive.
We took a V6 Venza AWD around a 20-mile loop of Pennsylvaniamountain twisties at pretty close to full chat and came awayimpressed. First off, roll control is quite good. Actually, a lot oftaller vehicles have some pretty hefty anti-roll bars attached so thatmay not seem exceptional, but there are several things to like aboutthe Venza in this department. Unlike many SUVs, the Venza stays fairlyflat as you push it (in contrast to, say, a Range Rover which initiallyresists roll, but as the cornering forces rise can’t resist tiltingmore and more). To maintain a decent ride, we noticed that the Toyotahas only moderate roll damping (the BMW M3 takes a similar approach)but switchbacks are handled well, with minimal sloppiness.
The Venza’s handling is also nicely balanced front to rear—though itdoes tend towards understeer—and it feels happy carving through curves.Since the Toyota is lower and lighter than most SUVs or crossovers, youcan feel physics helping (or at least not hurting). Let's be clearthough, the overall sense given by the Venza is that it iswell-mannered, not that it is exciting or involving.
We also drove FWD Venzas, with both the I-4 and V-6 engines, whichhandle in much the same way as the AWD model. The I-4 feels a littlelighter, affecting the ride quality more than handling, with the V-6sbeing a little smoother. The FWD vehicles want to understeer just a tadmore than the AWD, but one would have to drive them back-to-back tonotice.
Venza’s ride quality is pleasantly firm, with large swoops and bumpsbeing tracked very well. If Michigan or New York residents ever findout how smooth southwestern Pennsylvania roads are, there will be ariot. As a result, we can’t be sure about how the Venza handles thetragedy of typical urban roads. We did run two of our testers onto theshoulder multiple times in search of fragmented pavement and noticedvery little ride harshness, which bodes well for commuter use onpatchier pavement.
Performance is more than acceptable as well. The 268 hp V-6 feelsstrong and unstressed even in low-altitude mountains with a couple ofpassengers on board. Toyota has done some fine work on the six-speedtransmission to make its shift points different for uphill or downhillruns, and we liked the relative lack of hunting for gears.
But Will It Do the MPG Dance?
The Venza’s V-6 is a fine engine, but with fuel economy oneveryone’s mind, the I-4 is the big news. This new four cylinder is thekey to Toyota’s intent of creating a vehicle that breaks with SUV andcrossover tradition in fuel mileage. And, it does deliver better fuelmileage, as you would expect. Toyota estimates that EPA ratings for theI-4 will be 21 city and 29 highway in FWD form (take off 1 mpg forAWD), and the V-6 should come in at 19/26.
Whether 21/29 is enough better to capture buyer’s attention willremain to be seen. In all the hysteria of $4 gasoline consumerexpectations about gas mileage have skyrocketed. While 24-25 mpgcombined is actually a pretty good number, we suspect it will onlyinspire folks who are actually in showrooms or on the web comparingwhat is possible. Breaking through the 30 mpg barrier will await apossible hybrid version. Toyota won’t say a hybrid is coming, but theVenza is derived from the same architecture as the Camry, and there isa Camry hybrid, so it isn’t hard to imagine a Venza hybrid in a fewyears.
For 21/29 mileage to seem desirable, you also have to consider howthe 2.7L drives. With 182 hp and 182 lb.-ft. of torque pulling 3760lb., the numbers don’t seem especially impressive. But 2.7L is a bigfour and relative to the V-6, is only down on torque about 10 percentat 2500 rpm. The result is that the I-4 feels strong and seemscompletely adequate for most normal driving. If you love a strongengine or you need the towing capacity (3500 lb for the V-6 vs. 2500for the I-4), the V-6 will, however, be the engine of choice.
That’s A Toyota?
The second area where the Venza departs from Toyota tradition is inits design. Before our drive we grabbed a cup of coffee in a vainattempt to overcome a time zone shift, and stumbled, half-asleep, overto the technical presentation. On the way, Toyota had set up a Venza,and it was our first sight of the vehicle. Honestly, our first thoughtwas “what the heck is some new Infiniti doing here?” Somewhere in ourintuition, the Venza clearly registers differently than Toyotas of thepast.
Our second thought was “that looks pretty sharp.” Beauty is in theeye of the beholder of course, but we’d say the majority opinion at thelaunch was that the exterior of the Venza was very well executed. Almost every angle of the vehicle looks carefully shaped.
Interior materials are similarly attractive and definitely notgrabbed at random from the Toyota parts bin. We think this is a bigstep forward, as Japanese interiors over the past years have slippedbehind not only the European but often the Americans.
More important than how the design looks though, is how it “reads”.”Is the Venza big or small? Rugged or stylish? Youthful or conservative?In these times of shifting automotive priorities and tastes, thesefactors will probably have a lot to do with whether the Toyota succeedsand whether it appeals to you.
And that read is pretty hard to tell from pictures, one has to seeit in person. We noticed that the Venza doesn’t come off as an SUV,being a bit too low and sleek. It could almost pass for a stationwagon, except that it seems more stylish and muscular than mostsedan-derived wagons. It doesn’t look tall, like some crossovers,despite having 8 inches of ground clearance. It is basically the samelength as a Camry, so it doesn’t seem small, but it isn’t big either.Frankly, if you want a true four-passenger vehicle that’s practical andlooks politically correct, but not so boring, conservative, ordownscale as a sedan or hatchback, we think the Venza will seem “justright” (apologies to Goldilocks).
Practical Matters
Of course, for all the talk of the Venza being different from pastproducts, we shouldn’t forget that it is in fact a Toyota. That meansthat some serious thought has been put into passenger comfort,ergonomics and features.
Seat comfort in the Venza is very good, with nicely firm, reasonablycosseting cushions. The fabric is attractive and substantial enoughthat one doesn’t have to opt for leather to get a decent seat.
Toyota’s engineers have put an impressive effort into the ingressand egress aspects of the Venza. The seat height has been optimized touse minimum force from your legs. Engineers put force sensors on realhuman legs and found the height that minimized muscular output. Anyhigher or lower seat and it would take more effort to get in or out. Nokidding. We tried it and it seemed to work. They also worked on thesill shape to make entry/exit easier and cleaner.
This seatheight, coupled with ample glass area, makes sightlines pretty good.The A-pillar intrudes a bit in the front, and some will want an eventaller vehicle, but the Venza will suit many drivers who place apremium on visibility.
The rear seat is also well done, placed farther rearward than in asedan like a Camry, and giving the Venza excellent rear legroom. Theslight higher than normal roof, along with a flat roofline, allows forexcellent headroom. The two-panel sunroof also increases rear headroomwith the sunshade open, because there is no headliner in the second row.
With 34.4 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row seats, theVenza has just average cargo capacity when compared with crossovers.But compared with a sedan, the Venza has the big advantage ofwagon-style load area.
Available option packages deliver most modern gizmos. Two newishoptions on offer are automatic high beam headlights and Bluetooth musicstreaming. Even one doesn’t get the rather mediocre JBL Synthesissurround sound system with Bluetooth streaming, there is an auxiliaryin jack for your iPod or other music player (but no interface thatintegrates with the in-dash display).
Pricing for the Venza starts at $25,975 for the four-cylinder FWDversion. At the other end of the spectrum, the V-6 AWD has an MSRP of$29,250.
So What the Heck Is It?
By now you may think we’ve forgotten our little experiment (what doyou think the Venza is?); we haven’t. Here’s what our informal poll ofjournalists at the Venza launch said:
14% -- “It’s a wagon”
35% -- “It’s sort of a wagon, but not exactly”
42% -- “It’s a crossover – whatever that is”
9% -- “It’s a car”
We think it doesn’t really matter. One guy summed it well: “This isa vehicle I could actually see myself buying”. We can see a lot ofpeople saying that. |
發表於 2009-7-21 10:25 AM
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