Sitting between the RAV4, RAV4 Prime and the Highlander in the Toyota range in America, the Venza is there to fill a very tiny niche in the market. What that niche is however, is hard to tell.
As it is restricted to the North American and maybe at some point, European markets, this Venza is essentially a left-hand drive Harrier.
It is built in the Takaoka plant in Japan as the new Harrier before being shipped to the US. So unsurprisingly, underpinning the Venza is the same TNGA-K platform as seen on the latest Japanese-specification Harrier.
In terms of powertrain options, it comes as no surprise that the Venza will use the same engine as the Harrier.
That being said, the only engine choice available for this American-specification Japanese SUV is the hybrid 2.5-litre four cylinders. Mated to three electric motors, this powertrain combination yields an adequate 219 hp.
More impressive however would probably be the fuel consumption figure of an estimated 39 mpg (16.6 km/l) and the fact that all Venzas sold in the US comes with an all-wheel drive as standard, thanks to those electric motors.
The exterior design and interior design too is a copy-paste job from the Harrier. Toyota, rather cunningly, is using the same trick that Honda used with the Jazz in the US, by selling it under a different name.
Toyota too have been guilty of this with the Scion FRS and Toyota GT86, so it is not a new trick even to them.
All snide remarks about confusing names aside though, the Venza is quite a looker both inside and out. No one can deny that the Venza is a curvy, shapely SUV, with more swooping lines than its boxier stable-mates like the RAV4.
On the inside too, the Venza is nicely appointed. The dash design is the usual modern Toyota fare with the 312.42 mm touchscreen infotainment system and the 177.8 mm multi-information on the instrument cluster.
There are also some premium toys for the buyer who is more generous on the options list, with a nine-speaker, 12-channel JBL sound system and the Star Gaze electro-chromatic panoramic glass roof amongst the many items on the list.
In terms of safety, this mid-sized SUV comes with Toyota’s Safety Sense 2.0, thus bringing with it the usual active safety items like the pre-collision system, radar-guided cruise control, lane departure assist, automatic high beams, road sign assist and blind spot monitor to name the few.
Back to the question of who this Venza is for. Well, the only reasonable explanation would be that this Japanese SUV is for those who liked the Lexus RX but can’t get one anymore.
On sale in early September, the Venza name is unlikely to make it far from the US.
The body shape though may make an appearance here in Malaysia in the form of the latest generation Toyota Harrier, replacing the third generation one that was on sale here since 2017.
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