IS-SV

Oh, so that's what you mean. Losing the Solara is a good thing, I rented one in LA and it was pretty crappy.

I8ABMR

the solara is pretty old I would asume it wouldnt blow you away. I bet the convertible from back in the day is nicer than the current mustang V6

I8ABMR

I went down to the toyota dealership today with the wife to check out the highlander hybrid. While I was there I checked out the Venza and fell in love all over again. They really did a great job with this car. With the baby on the way and my trunk in my GS350 being so small I think more and more about buying a Venza and dropping it on some 22's or 24's if I can find a coilover set up that will fit. I would have room for the strollers, baby bags, etc.

I cant believe how much my priorities are changing over night with this little girl on the way. My GS has been in the readers rides section of two major tuning magazines in the last 6 months . I am wondering if it may be time to jump to the next project. I find the idea of a red venza dropped on 22's with a body kit very appealing. I just wish the interior was a bit nicer. But what are you going to expect from a 35k vehicle. Its not a Lexus

mmarshall

Was it a convertible? The Solara drop-top, like Chrysler LeBaron/Sebring convertibles, had a reputation for cowl shake, though, on the average, it was, of course, much better-built overall.

The 1Gen Solara coupe was quite well-refined (I didn't test-drive the 2Gen), and, in some ways, if you didn't have the Toyota logo on it to identify it, it was hard to tell from a Lexus in smoothness/quietness.

mmarshall

Good Heavens. The standard 19 and 20-inch wheels aren't big enough for you? Guess each to his own, though.

Congragulations, BTW, to you and your wife on the growing family.

The Venza, like a number of Subarus, is an ideal all-purpose small-family vehicle, especially the AWD version in bad weather....I can understand your interest in it. My only beef with it is the large D-pillars in the back which impact on some of the rear-side vision (those large pillars may now be needed for Federal Roof-Crush standards), and the somewhat large wheels for my tastes. Opinions, of course, differ on the wheels....I realize that.

IS-SV

Yes, convertible, (they ran out of Mustangs), mediocre at best.

IS-SV

I'm considering a V6 Venza next year with 20's. Since the car was engineered with these wheels/tires, the sidewall height is sufficient (and not much different than the last gen RX350 that usually came with 18" wheels), rolling diameter is quite large. The Venza is selling surprisinly well for what I thought might be a somewhat low volume niche vehicle, over 2x Crossturd sales per month.

The D-pillar size is mostly a styling thing and roof strength could have easily been achieved with a somewhat thinner pillar. But the reality is the extreme rear location of that thick pillar has little or no impact on the visibility in real driving conditions.

balutsc300

iTrader: (1)

my dad just got a venza its a lovely car with alot of oomph! pretty comfortable too although the quality of the interior imo is kind of cheapy but eh everything works

mmarshall

We won't get into any more conversations about the wheels (you and I have talked those to death), but, in general, the Venza is a wise purchase......IMO, you could do a lot worse. It would also be in my Top 5 consideration (but not #1) for a new purchase myself.


Give it a little time. The Crosstour (I prefer not to use vulgar terms) is still early on the market....it's barely been out a couple of months. I didn't see many Venzas the first month or two either.

Maybe (?).....that's something probably best left for an engineer's opinion.

The last-generation Subaru Forester, for example, had enormous B-pillar strength (so much so that some fireman's Jaws couldn't cut into it), but inside the pillar, it was a complex system of intertwined, multi-layer, case-hardened steel rods.

I8ABMR

My only beef is the quality of the leather. Its not bad but its not equal to the leather I have in my Lexus.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Toyota should do some sound proofing in back to cut down on the 20" tire highway noise I heard on a test drive.
I like the dark piping trim on the leather seats.
I hate that you can't get black or any dark leather in the Venza.Why?

IS-SV

My preference is to leave the opinion to visibility up the real drivers (like us). Engineers will be required to do the same type of testing that we do from the drivers seat in demanding driving conditions to check visibility.

And the use of high strength steel is common on safety cage and pillars on the better modern cars, several fire departments have reported on it lately (a separate topic because a B-pillar is not that thick and doesn't impact visabilty significantly).

IS-SV

Note: Crossturd has been out for over 5 months, not a couple of months. In the same period of time the Venza had achieved sales of over 4000 units/month. In the import-rich Silicon Valley the Venza became a common sight by the 5th month, not the case for Crossturd in the 5th month.

LexBob2

IMO the Venza is the more practical of the two and also IMO the Venza wins on styling points too. In certain colors the V is an attractive, practical modern vehicle. Toyota did well on this one. So far the car buying public agrees.

LexFather

The Crossturd's sales goal is 40k a year and they are not on target to reach that goal.