2011 Toyota Venza Crossover SUV Review & Ratings

The Venza is the most recent mid-size crossover SUV released by Toyota designed to fill a niche between the more compact RAV4 and the seven seater Highlander. Launched at the 2008 Detroit International Auto Show, the Toyota Venza SUV is ostensibly a luxuriously comfortable maximum five seater crossover, which bears a strong resemblance to the Toyota Camry, on whose platform it is based.

The resemblance between the Venza SUV crossover and the Camry saloon is no coincidence as both models are produced at Toyota's plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. Toyotas design team's obvious brief with the Venza was to develop a cross between a comfortable and roomy family station wagon combining all the qualities of an off road SUV.

The Toyota Venza SUV crossover comes powered with a choice of either a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine producing 182 horsepower and 182 pound per feet of torque or a 3.5-liter V6 268 horsepower and 246 pound per feet of torque , with either engine paired with Toyota's renowned super smooth six-speed automatic transmission. The Venza can be driven in either all wheel drive (AWD) or front wheel drive (FWD).

Road holding with the Venza, according to reviews, is a pleasure with all the attributes of a saloon car, while holding the road really well in all weather conditions, thanks to its standard four wheel independent Macpherson strut suspension with front and rear stabilizer bars that comes as standard.

Toyota's design team have surpassed themselves with the Venza, with all reviews agreeing that this SUV is a looker, leaving all of its rivals in the shade with its sleek lines with the whole picture dominated by its over-sized twenty inch wheels in the front and nineteen in the back.

The Venza provides extreme seating comfort for driver and passengers alike for even the longest of journeys with headroom and leg room a 'plenty.

Because there is no space being take up by a third-row seat, the Toyota Venza's back row seats provide generous amounts of passenger space, with even the luxury of reclining seatbacks. Cargo carrying is also well taken care of with an ample 34.4 cube available when the back row seats are in use and a relatively massive 70 cubic feet of open space when the seats are folded neatly out of the way.