When Toyota asked me to test drive their Toyota Venza for a week I jumped at the chance. It’s nice to try something new since my normal ride is a little…mature. I drive an 8 year old minivan and it has none of the bells and whistles that newer cars have. We drove the car for a week, and below I share some of our favorite features.
The Venza we drove came fully loaded with all the options. Nice to be sure, but you may want to look at the options you would use when considering a purchase. Personally I could probably live without the sunroof, though my kids might disagree. 😉
Toyota Venza
We drove the car a lot that week, and took it on a big trip to Hershey Park with 3 of our 4 kids. It was a great way to test out the car’s ability to withstand 3 grumpy children after a long day of family fun. 😉
Favorite Features:
Bluetooth: I know this is more and more common on new cars, but I loved being able to get directions on my phone, make calls, and use my own playlist on the road.
Trunk Space: While the car is mid-sized and sporty it features plenty of trunk space for all your hauling needs. It easily fit a 30 pound bag of dog food, a week’s worth of groceries, and items I cart around in the trunk (and emergency kit, umbrellas, gear forsports) with room to spare!
Comfortable seating: The kids and I loved the seats. They were comfortable and the interior felt spacious even when we had three kids lined up in a row in the backseat.
Storage: Can I say how important it is to have plenty of storage in the front, too? I find it essential! This car had a great center console, plenty of cup holders for everyone, and when it was only 1 or 2 kiddos in the back the middle seat come down to reveal cup holders and even more storage!
Backup Camera: My car is new enough to have a beeping sensor as you reverse, but the Venza features a backup camera that made it easy to back up and even saved a certain 8 year old’s scoter from certain damage one day.
Automatic Seat Settings: It was great to be able to set the seat for myself or my husband so with one touch of a button we’d be in the most comfortable position for each of us to drive in.
The major downside? For our family of 6 this car wouldn’t fit our needs. It only seats 5. If you have 3 children if they’re young it may be a tough call since side by side car seats can be challenging to fit in most mid-sized SUVs.
For a family of 4 or for the the second car this is a great car that gives you plenty of room, great mileage, fun features, and plenty of upscale styling.
The final verdict? I would love this as her main car, with a side of our old minivan for family and big stuff hauling. My husband prefers something smaller, but thought the ride was smooth and the car was nice.
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The Toyota Venza starts around $30,000 and fully loaded retails for just shy of $44,000. You can find the cost of ownership for the Venza and sale prices in your area on KBB.com.
You can read more about the Toyota Venza and build your own at Toyota.com.
Kelly
Disclosure: I was able to drive a Toyota Venza thanks to Toyota.
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