2023 Toyota Venza preview – Automotive News

What kind of car is the 2023 Toyota Venza? What does it compare to?

The hybrid Venza compact crossover seats five people and is half a foot longer but no roomier than the related Toyota RAV4. The Venza rivals mid-size crossovers such as the Honda Passport and Chevy Blazer, as well as larger compact crossovers such as the Kia Sportage and Volkswagen Tiguan. 

Is the 2023 Toyota Venza a good car?

Review continues below

With excellent fuel economy, good standard features, and a Lexus-like fit and finish, the Venza earns a TCC Rating of 7.2 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.)

What’s new for the 2023 Toyota Venza?

The Venza is the latest Toyota to undergo the Nightshade treatment with blackout trim, 19-inch gloss black wheels, and a red, white, or black body. Built off the mid-grade XLE, it joins base LE and top Limited grades. The XLE and above come with a much improved 12.3-inch touchscreen designed for North American consumers. Toyota also updated its safety suite across the board for 2023. 

Sharing a platform with the RAV4 and other Toyota crossovers, the Venza smooths out the edges and angles of its punky sibling with a more mature, urbane look with a gently curving roofline and rounded corners. The sophistication carries over inside, with premium touches and features on all but the base grade. It could be a Lexus as easily as it is a Toyota. 

The Venza prioritizes the kind of performance most important to most crossover shoppers: It’s quiet, comfy, secure with standard all-wheel drive, and it’s reassuringly efficient at 39 mpg combined. With its 2.5-liter inline-4 and three compact electric motors, the Venza might reach 60 mph in seven seconds, but it shuffles through its CVT without notice or noise. It rides comfy and composed as well, even when it leans into corners.

The two-row Venza stretches six inches longer than the related RAV4, but has less cargo room in back. Still, the Venza plies its trade in comfort and roominess for four adults, with 37.8 inches of rear leg room. Squeezing three kids in the back bench back would try every one’s patience, we expect. The front power seats have ample support and automatically shift to the rearmost position when getting in and out. The rounded roofline trims a little bit of head room in back, and shaves nearly 12 cubic feet of cargo room from the RAV4. That 28.8 cubic feet of space is easily accessed, however, with a standard power tailgate.

Every Venza comes with Toyota’s latest suite of safety and driver-assist systems, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection that now senses potential danger from cars, cyclists, and pedestrians when turning at intersections. Also standard are blind-spot monitors, active lane control, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and a rear-seat reminder. The NHTSA and the IIHS give it top safety ratings, though the feds found fault on front driver-side protection. 

How much does the 2023 Toyota Venza cost?

Pricing for the updated 2023 model hasn’t been announced but expect it to be more than last year’s $34,000 Venza LE. It rolls on 18-inch wheels, and comes with a power driver’s seat, cloth upholstery, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless smartphone charging, and three USB ports, including two Type-C ports. The XLE adds a 12.3-inch touchscreen, 19-inch alloy wheels, LED fog lights, and serves as the basis for additional features on the new Nightshade edition. The Venza Limited tops the lineup and comes with navigation, a surround-view camera system, synthetic leather upholstery, and heated and cooled front seats.

All Venza’s benefit from two years or 25,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and a 36-month/36,000-mile new car warranty. Hybrid components are covered for eight years or 100,000 miles. 

Where is the 2023 Toyota Venza made?

In Japan.