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As fate would have it, I bought a 2015 Venza XLE on Feb 25, and on March 15, Toyota announced there will be no more Venzas after this year. Not sure whether to be happy or sad? Funny thing is, I traded in an 11 year old Highlander (2004) for it, and had been seriously considering a Subaru Outback for my next ride. I had never heard of the Venza before I began looking at alternatives to the Outback (4WD or AWD needed).
Toyota claims that sales of the Venza over the six years it's been on the market are too dismal to continue its manufacture. But seems to me, since I had never heard of the Venza until recently, Toyota's lack of advertising for this model is at the root of their problem in low sales numbers.
I'm not sure if I have EVER seen an advertisement for the Venza. They seem like pretty decent cars, the only thing I don't like is the location of the gear shift.
I noticed one for the first time just this past week. I'd be curious as to WHY the company thinks sales were bad.
Sales are bad so we'll pull the line. Yeah but sales were bad because to didn't PUSH and advertise the model....even so, sales are bad, so we're pulling the line.
Does it own up to the fact that IT didn't get behind the car......or not.
The circular logical of some people and companies is amazing.
The Honda Crosstour is next. The Venza did not get good reviews, every one I read said go buy the Highlander for better utility, ride and handling. Same problem with the Honda twin.
The Ford Edge is in the same class and is selling well. I like its styling better, but test drove a used one and did not like the way it had aged in 30K miles, so the new one was out. I wanted to like the Venza, but as mentioned the gear shifter is minivanesque, the handling is not so good and they were already rumors about its demise.
I think I only saw one ad for it on TV a number of years ago. Something about a young professional guy that lived with his parents and he talked about how they were old and couldn't stay up late enough to fix him dinner when he got home late from the office. Meanwhile the "old folks" are out having a nightcap out of the back of their Venza with a bunch of other "old folks" living it up. Yeah, it was not Toyota's best advertising effort.
The Honda Crosstour is next. The Venza did not get good reviews, every one I read said go buy the Highlander for better utility, ride and handling. Same problem with the Honda twin.
The Ford Edge is in the same class and is selling well. I like its styling better, but test drove a used one and did not like the way it had aged in 30K miles, so the new one was out. I wanted to like the Venza, but as mentioned the gear shifter is minivanesque, the handling is not so good and they were already rumors about its demise.
That is one ugly POS and I like Hondas they should shelf it.
The Venza did not get good reviews, every one I read said go buy the Highlander for better utility, ride and handling.
I drove a Highlander for eleven years and would be the first to agree that it is the "better" vehicle, but it's also the more expensive vehicle, compared to the Venza. The other AWD/4WD option in the Toyota line is of course the RAV4, which has a choppy "UTE-like" ride compared to the Venza and Highlander "sedan-like" rides.
I chose to go with the Venza this time as an option to buying the Subaru Outback. The reason I didn't go with Subaru was the lack of dealerships in my region (New Mexico) and the poor inventory the existing dealerships showed online. Mostly they favor stocking the Forester, which to me would be similar to buying a RAV4.
Don't miss it. Lousy car. Cluttered dash. Really nothing special. I was considering one for my wife, as it looks like stretched RX300 she likes so much. But then I had her for a day, as loaner, while they worked on my Camry. I disliked that Venza in matter of about 10 minutes I spent in it. Gladly returned her when Camry was done.
Toyota must have decided they can do as well marketing both the Rav4 at the lower end, and Highlander at the higher end of the Venza's intended market as they would with redesigning the Venza.
The Outback is far better received in the market because it is notably better than the Venza in more than a couple ways. Doesn't mean the Venza is bad either, but I think for most buyers, the Outback looks like a better value, if not a more capable midsizer.
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