Toyota Venza FWD 4 cyl any thoughts ?

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My old PT Cruiser is in need of a lot of work and money (that I don't want to invest in). So I'm thinking of buying a 2012 Toyota Venza FWD 4cyl. Tell me the good/the bad etc.
 
Drive one. I know two people who have the V6 and love them, one person who has the 4 cyl and says it is too slow with 4 people in it, but still likes the vehicle.

None of them have had any problems, I think they all have around 50k miles.

It's bizarre that they are being discontinued, around here you see them everywhere. I guess they don't sell as well elsewhere.
 
I haven't seen many around these parts either...I did talk to a woman that was driving one (loaded V6 from what I could see) and she loved it...said it was decent on gas too.
 
The day I heard they were discontinuing them, I passed about 5 of them on the highway. I sat in a Limited Venza and it was pretty sweet. I'd buy it if the price was right.
 
Has it depreciated more than typical? I mean, if Toyota is discontinuing, I wonder if the price has dropped--used two year old Toyotas often are not much of a bargain.

I know it is on the Camry platform, so it is bigger, but on this board there was a comment or two about the FWD RAV4 being worse than expected in snow--and requiring ballast in the rear to keep it planted. No idea if true here, but I wonder how the winter performance is in snow country.

What size tires, and what is the cost for all seasons? Will you be tempted to get snows? I think everything else is typical Toyota costs, but I want to say this runs fancy low profile tires.
 
What if you spent a fraction of what this Toy would cost you on the PT?
Bet you'd have a pretty nice and fully funtional PT for many miles to come.
 
My brother-in-law has one in FWD, 4cyl trim. They love it. They've had it some time, so I think it was the first model year for the Venza. I don't believe they've had a single issue with it.
 
If it you can get it for a fair price, go for it.

Everything I have read says the Venza is a good car. My only gripe is they are terribly overpriced. That's one of the reasons I ended up with my Outback instead of the competition. I couldn't begin to justify the price difference.
 
get a minivan. anything in between is just a wanna be minivan that is never up to the job and 40% more expensive.
 
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Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
get a minivan. anything in between is just a wanna be minivan that is never up to the job and 40% more expensive.


That's fine, if the buyer wants a minivan. But, if that's not what he/she is in the market for, then why buy a refrigerator box on wheels, when you can get something that actually has a little bit of style to it?
 
Originally Posted By: BHopkins
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
get a minivan. anything in between is just a wanna be minivan that is never up to the job and 40% more expensive.


That's fine, if the buyer wants a minivan. But, if that's not what he/she is in the market for, then why buy a refrigerator box on wheels, when you can get something that actually has a little bit of style to it?


and the sales of minivans have been at record lows in 20 years, and cross over salesmen have eaten quite well dining on things like style and sort-of utilitarian. doesnt make it any easier to load stuff in that compromised pod versus the proper rectangle.
 
Take the 4 cyl. Venza for a spin.

If you can live with the performance, the 4 cyl. will deliver better fuel economy.

I have a 2011 Camry with the 2.5 4 cyl. and it feels pretty lively to me.

I dusted an Audi A5 2.0T last night with it. He rolled on with a big puff of exhaust smoke and I blew right past him.

I was giving up 40 horsepower but I was in the sweet spot on the Camry's power curve. Madden would say the hamster was running downhill.

That's what he gets for buying an Audi.
 
What size are the tires? 19's on a 4 cyl instead of 20's? Maybe price out a set of snows and see if you think that's reasonable.
I'd probably rather have the Camry with that drive train and get good mileage, or the RAV4 and get some useful cargo space, but that's me with 2 kids.
 
Better to run 17" or 18" snows with dedicated steel wheel. Taller sidewall and less expensive tire.
My 2009 Venza V6 AWD has had a couple of problems.
Wheel speed sensor - $450 and a rear hub - $1000 both dealer repairs. New brakes at 40,000 miles - another $1,000. Too dam cold to do them myself.
The V6 just plain hauls - what an engine.
Wifey acceptance factor is a 10 out of 10.
 
The biggest hurdle, at least in my opinion, with the Venza is the odd-sized tires. I think the smallest you can get are 19".

The Venza's four is the 2.7L version of the Camry's 2.5L. It's the 1AR-FE instead of the 2AR-FE in the Camry. Excellent engines, both of them. I had a 2011 Camry with the 2AR-FE engine for a short while, and the engine was one of my favorite parts of the car.
 
I'd rather drive a Camry, but they seem decent. I saw where they were made in Kentucky a few weeks ago ironically.

X2 on it being the last year.
 
Well I bought the 2012 Toyota Venza LE. It's a Certified Toyota, and has 37,458 miles. Came with 1 year Toyota full bumper to bumper warranty + 4 years of the remaining 7yr/70,000 mile power train warranty Tax title out the door $17,600.( paid cash/ no interest) [censored] I feel poor right now. But I've owned the 2002 PT Cruiser since new. So I've gotten 13years out of it. With the age and needed repairs, it was time. Been think of replacing it for some time now. I feel that I made a good choice. This is the first "USA import" I've ever owned.
 
My wife doesn't like non-American cars. Sometimes she comes and valets cars with me when it gets busy. She comments on the different cars she parks and retrieves and it helps me help her when she is thinking about cars to be able to remind her what she did and didn't like.

She LOVES the Toyota Venza. It may be a Japanese car but they make it at Georgetown KY with the Camrys. Can't complain about that. I don't like them myself because they don't do much better than either a Camry sedan or a Highlander, both of which can be found for a better price than a used Venza.

Try to find a 2011-2013 Highlander, 4-cylinder, SE trim. 09-10 you could only get the four on the base model. 07-08 were V6 only. Higher trims are V6 only.
 
highlander is several thousand more than a venza. how can it be more used. i know its some what rare as a used car. we bought a used highlander 4 cyl . its was extremly hard to find.
 
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