2012 Toyota Venza Review and Prices

Styling: Any 2012 Toyota Venza styling changes would be minor revisions to the grille and front bumper and perhaps to the tailllamps. The changes would likely be tied to the new look of the redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry – which in turn is expected to take some of its styling cues from those first seen on the Venza.

Wisely, Toyota didn’t simply create an elongated Camry when it introduced the Venza for model-year 2009. Rather, it bulked-up the body -- raising the roof, puffing out the fenders, and elevating the seating -- to fashion a midsize crossover that’s obviously more than a car but less trucky than most light-duty SUVs. Venza helped kick off Toyota’s quest for an aggressive new design language to spice up its stodgy image.

The 2012 Venza will continue that mission, riding again on huge 19- and 20-inch wheels and tires that complement its swept-back sheetmetal and aggressive stance. Alternations to the interior of the 2012 Venza would likely involve no more than fresh textures or revised lighting; the modern, stylish shapes won’t change and the outstanding functionality shouldn’t be diminished.

Venza will continue with generous room and fine comfort for four adults and decent accommodations for a fifth in the center position of the rear bench seat. Venza has an SUV-like 8.1 inches of ground clearance, so your eye position is elevated slightly above most surrounding traffic. But low door sills mean climbing in or out is strain-free. The rear roof culminates in a sensible compromise – not too upright as to be unstylish but not so slanted as to detract from cargo room. Indeed, Venza has as much luggage volume as crossovers with higher, truck-like profiles. There’s an expansive 34.4 cubic feet behind the rear seat and folding both sides of the 60/40 split rear seatbacks opens 70.1 cubic feet.

Mechanical: While the exterior and interior of the 2012 Toyota Venza will look forward to Toyota’s fresh design directions, its basic structure will have roots in the outgoing 2007-2011 Camry generation. That’s not apt to have much effect on its ride, handling, or performance, though Toyota could use introduction of the redesigned 2012 Camry as an opportunity to tweak the 2012 Venza’s chassis tuning.

Toyota will not change the 2012 Venza’s wheelbase, even if it does lengthen that of the redesigned Camry. Wheelbase is the span between front and rear axles that defines passenger-compartment space and Venza shares its wheelbase with the 2007-2011 Camry sedan.

The 2012 Venza’s base engine – a 2.7-liter four-cylinder – is likely to be adopted by the 2012 Camry to replace a smaller, less-sophisticated 2.5-liter four. Expect Venza’s version to remain at around 182 horsepower and its sole transmission to stay a well-calibrated six-speed automatic. The combination provides surprisingly sprightly performance given Venza’s size and weight.

The 2012 Venza will also continue to offer a V-6. So far, it’s been the same smooth and surprisingly strong 268-horsepower 3.5-liter offered in the Camry. Toyota may give the redesigned 2012 Camry an updated V-6 designed for improved power and fuel economy and the 2012 Venza would likely adopt that newer engine as its six-cylinder choice.

Four-cylinder or V-6, the 2012 Venza is likely to again use a six-speed automatic with a gear lever that sprouts from the base of the dashboard and conveniently slips into a separate gate for manual-type shifting.

The 2012 Venza is almost certain to continue offering both engines with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel-drive (AWD). Venza isn’t an off-road crossover, so the main function of its AWD system is to sustain traction on slippery road surfaces by automatically redistributing power front-to-rear, then returning to front-wheel drive when grip is restored.

An optional towing package allows Venza to trailer up to 3,500 pounds, same as most light-duty SUVs. Venza’s handling balance is a sensible match for its intended duty, but the 2012 model would benefit from firmer, more precise steering – especially in V-6 versions. Toyota will hardly neuter Venza’s husky character by fitting smaller wheels and tires, but it ought to address the ride thumpiness and road noise generated by those big feet.    

Features: Venza was not among Toyotas in the bull’s eye of the sudden-acceleration snafu. Model-year 2009-2010 Venzas were recalled to fit a replacement driver’s-side floormat, but the crossover was not suspected of a sticking gas pedal. Nonetheless, an electronic override to cut throttle input if brake and accelerator are applied simultaneously was retrofitted to 2009-2010 Venzas and included with the start of 2011-model production.

In addition, every 2012 Venza will continue with Toyota’s latest integrated vehicle-control technology, called the Star Safety System. It coordinates Toyota’s Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) antiskid system to combat sideways slides, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) to improve control in emergency stops, and traction control to reduce wheel spin on take-offs.

Venza has thus far been offered as a single model with a host of options packages. Toyota might decide to introduce traditional trim levels – LE, XLE, for example – to coincide with the model-year 2012 freshening. Regardless of how their parceled, a nice selection of comfort and convenience amenities will again be available for the 2012 Venza. These include a panoramic glass roof with a power tilt/slide panel above the front seats and a fixed pane over the rear seats.

Leather upholstery and an easy-to-operate voice-activated navigation system will again be available. A rear-seat DVD entertainment system that uses a ceiling-mounted screen will continue to be offered on models without the panoramic roof. Likely to continue as standard are a tilt and telescope steering wheel, an eight-way power driver’s seat, power windows, locks and mirrors, and dual zone automatic climate control. A USB iPod interface, Bluetooth cell-phone and audio-streaming connectivity, and satellite radio will again be standard.