With a hybrid battery warranty from Venza that lasts 10 years from the date of first use or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first, you can drive with extra assurance.
In This Article...
What will the price of the Toyota Venza be in 2021?
Venza prices start at $32,470. Although some of my friends’ SUVs start below $30,000, it is not the hybrid and electric SUVs’ maximum starting price. To be honest, the most of them are also smaller than the Venza, a midsize SUV. The Limited trim level of the Venza starts at $39,800.
The Toyota Venza is a hybrid, right?
You should consider the 2022 Toyota Venza if you’re looking for a hybrid SUV. The Venza boasts a well-designed, fuel-efficient drivetrain that offers up to 40/37 mpg in the city and on the highway. The interior is cozy and tastefully decorated, and it’s stuffed with common safety and convenience features.
How much does a fully equipped Toyota Venza cost?
With roof rails, heated front seats, and 19-inch alloy wheels, the 2022 Toyota Venza XLE kicks things up a notch. Additionally, it boasts simulated leather, projector-style LED headlights, and a sizable driver information display. The Venza XLE also includes front and rear parking sensors. It will set you back $37,640.
The most expensive trim level is the 2022 Toyota Venza Limited, which retails for $41,595. This has a 9.2-speaker audio system, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, and a digital rearview mirror. The Venza Limited also includes power-adjustable front seats, full simulated leather upholstery, and heated and ventilated front seats. Additionally, it boasts a 360-degree camera and a heated steering wheel.
How long will a hybrid Toyota Venza last?
If properly maintained and driven, a Toyota Venza Hybrid should endure for at least 200,000 miles and possibly even over 300,000. If you travel 15,000 miles per year, you can anticipate having it for 20 years before it needs expensive maintenance.
How quick is the hybrid Toyota Venza?
Our 2021 Toyota Venza has continued to move since our previous post. After our family’s cross-country and interstate journeys, life for the Venza slowed down, but the hybrid is still a wonderful addition to our fleet for the long haul. While some employees have commended its first-rate cabin and quiet ride, others have criticized its inadequate packaging. Here are three things we enjoy about the Venza after using it for a year and two things we don’t.
We Like: Premium Cabin
The Venza’s interior feels more advanced than what we’ve come to expect from Toyota, both in terms of technology and general interior design. The Venza has a premium SUV-like feel, even in our mid-grade XLE variant. Its interior has heated steering wheel and plush leatherette front seats with ventilation and heating. We enjoy the capacitive controls for the AC and infotainment system’s upscale, sleek appearance, even though we’re not major lovers of how they work.
We Don’t Like: Packaging
Despite being positioned in Toyota’s SUV lineup between the RAV4 and the Highlander, the Venza has a smaller cabin. Given that the Venza is overall bigger than the RAV4, the packaging is primarily to blame. It partly results from its taller stance (and high cargo floor), but it also results from the Venza’s attractive design effort, which was important in its development. The Venza is smaller even when compared to the RAV4 Hybrid.
We Like: Fuel Economy
Although the Venza isn’t the most enjoyable SUV to drive, it achieves outstanding fuel efficiency rates. The Venza is one of the most fuel-efficient two-row midsize SUVs, with an EPA rating of 40/37/39 mpg in the city, highway, and combined. This indicates that we are not only using less fuel, but we are also spending less time at gas stations. On our road trips, we’ve been getting about 35 mpg on average, which is at least partially a function of the high speed restrictions and strong winds.
We Don’t Like: Infotainment System
The Venza continues to use the outdated infotainment system, which is a little slow to respond and could use better graphics, while Toyota develops an entirely new system for all of its new vehicles. The 12.3-inch touchscreen is sizable and, at first appearance, appears to be a high-end device, although it could use a higher resolution. Since the system appears to have been designed a decade ago, it ranks low on the list when compared to the new systems we’ve seen in the Venza’s rivals.
We Like: Power
The Toyota Venza doesn’t put much emphasis on performance, but it nevertheless provides a passable driving. The Venza’s electric motor provides immediate power to the wheels, allowing the gas engine to develop additional force as the vehicle speeds up. The Venza feels faster on the road than its performance stats indicate0 to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds and the quarter-mile in 15.4 seconds at 90.4 mph. The engine makes a stressed-out sound when the throttle is fully open, but it will rapidly give power.
Is the 2021 Venza a quality vehicle?
The Venza XLE model is the most economical option, and it sits between the LE and Limited models in the portfolio. We were able to get heated and ventilated imitation leather seats with the $510 SofTex package. During the sweltering summer days, we were grateful that vegan leather was made to retain less heat than typical leather. The 12.3-inch touchscreen with capacitive controls, navigation, and a nine-speaker JBL audio system were included as part of the $2,050 Premium Audio package. The huge screen was a wonderful update, but the touch controls for the HVAC and screen were more difficult to use than the conventional physical buttons. We also missed having knobs for the volume and radio tuning because the touch controls were so sensitive. Our Venza totaled $39,735, which is a great price given its outstanding equipment.
Even though the Venza excelled at its main task, it wasn’t flawless. Its 2.5-liter l-4 hybrid engine, which has three electric motors and a combined output of 219 horsepower, is stressed at medium throttle input and roars loudly when moving forward or passing on the motorway. Its traction control system was also finicky. When pressing the brakes while driving over a bump, rough pavement, or a steel plate, the system might momentarily stop power and lock the wheels. Even while it didn’t happen frequently, I did see it several times throughout the year.
We also criticized its cramped interior and inadequate packaging for a product of its size. Despite being longer than the RAV4, the Venza offers less room for passengers and freight. Its swoopy roofline, high cargo floor, and constrained overall design reduce the amount of cargo room.
Going to the dealer was simple. We were reminded when it was ready for service thanks to the Toyota Connected Services app, and making an appointment through the app was simple. Customers don’t spend a dime because Toyota’s maintenance plan includes typical factory scheduled services for the first two years or 25,000 miles. (We had to, though; we spent less than $200 across four visits because our Venza was a member of a fleet.)
The Venza was less expensive to maintain over time than other two-row midsize SUVs. In total, our 2015 Nissan Murano SL AWD cost us $589.76 during the course of a year. The Venza and the $77.90 we spent for our 2018 Dodge Durango V-8 long-termer are more pricey than that. Even while the two years of free maintenance are nice, we’d rather go to the dealer less frequently; the Venza has scheduled maintenance every 5,000 miles. Despite this, we never needed to go to the dealer outside of scheduled maintenance. Over the course of the year, we stayed clear of any unexpected surprises like flat tires or windshield chips.
We made a couple gas stops, and they weren’t ignored. For an SUV this size, the Venza gets 40/37/39 mpg in the city, on the highway, and in the combined cycle, according to the EPA. On average, we didn’t quite reach those statistics, but we weren’t too far off. Even so, we were able to save money at the pump, which was helpful given how much gas prices had increased by the end of 2021.
Overall, the 2021 Toyota Venza long-termer met all of our expectations. It isn’t always a fun SUV to drive, and it has flaws, but it excels at a number of things. Many people will appreciate the fact that it is cozy, has many elegant features, and is affordable. Even if its technology isn’t the best, it’s sufficient to meet some of your daily commuting needs. And the Venza is a very alluring bundle, with outstanding dependability and an IIHS Top Safety Pick certification.
Is buying a hybrid car worthwhile?
We’re getting this one fundamental query more frequently: Is a hybrid worth it? as more hybrid cars hit the market and prices slowly decline.
Although there are numerous factors to consider before making the decision to spend more money on a hybrid car, for the majority of drivers, cost is the primary consideration. In order for you to determine whether a hybrid vehicle makes sense for the way you drive, we’ll go over some fundamental hybrid arithmetic here.
It’s important to keep in mind that the answer to the question is not straightforward until we run some calculations. The value of lowering carbon dioxide emissions and the satisfaction you have from doing so, the sort of power generation in your area, or the cradle-to-grave emissions for a vehicle and its lithium-ion battery might all be taken into account. You may even attempt to place a value on the pleasure of driving an electric vehicle that accelerates instantly or the added comfort of getting into a vehicle that has been preheated by mains power.
To keep things straightforward, though, we’ll concentrate on the price difference between a comparable ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle and a hybrid, and determine how long it will take to make up the difference in fuel savings.
Your driving habits
A few numbers will be necessary for this. The first is an estimate of how much of your driving is done in cities versus on highways. City driving is regarded as stop-and-go traffic for testing purposes, with an average speed of 34 km/h and a top speed of 90 km/h. Highway driving is defined as traveling at speeds between 78 and 97 km/h on interstates and rural roads. According to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the ratio of gasoline consumption is 55 percent city and 45 percent highway. The division between your city and highway may be significantly different. When driving in cities, hybrids typically give the greatest fuel savings.
The cost of gasoline where you reside is the second important factor to know. According to Statistics Canada, the average price of regular gas in Edmonton as of January 2019 is $0.92/litre. In Vancouver, a litre costs $1.34. In Toronto, a litre costs $1.02.
How many kilometers you drive annually is the last figure you’ll need to know. It will take much longer to repay the additional expense of a hybrid vehicle if you travel 10,000 less miles per year than if you drive 25,000 more.
Types of hybrids
Hybrids are not created equally. Some people use electricity far more than others. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have larger battery packs that can be recharged from an electrical outlet in comparison to mild hybrids that can charge on their own. PHEVs produce no tailpipe emissions when operating exclusively on electricity. Your driving style has a significant impact on the annual operating cost of plug-in vehicles. A PHEV makes sense if you primarily do short trips (3050 km) and have access to overnight charging.
The calculation
Take the difference in purchase price and divide it by the difference in annual fuel cost to determine whether a hybrid is cost-effective. That will tell you how many years of driving it will take to make up for the higher initial cost of a hybrid.
In other words: Years to recover hybrid cost = Purchase Price Delta / Annual Cost Delta.
A helpful tool for evaluating vehicles is the online “fuel consumption ratings search tool” from NRCan.
We’ll make the same assumptions as NRCan for the examples below: 20,000 miles per year, 55 percent city, ordinary gas at $1.02 per litre, and electricity at $0.13 per kWh.
Toyota Rav4
Costing $32,090, the 2019 Toyota Rav4 hybrid AWD. Costs for a standard Rav4 AWD are $30,690. The difference in buying price is $1,400. Fuel costs for the hybrid will be $1,224 annually, while those for the standard Rav4 will be $1,693. The difference in cost per year is $469.
Continue with us? As a result, 1,400/469 = 2.99 years. After that, owning a hybrid will be less expensive.
Honda Accord
Costs for the 2019 Accord Hybrid Touring are $41,876 plus $1,020 in year fuel costs. The Touring grade without a hybrid costs $37,876 and $1,550 annually. To make up the gap in this example, it would take around 7.5 years. It would take 5.8 years if you reside in Vancouver, where the cost of gas is $1.32 a litre.
You’ll recover the additional cost of the hybrid in 1.2 years when compared to the Accord 2.0 Touring, which costs $40,876 and features a thirstier 2.0-litre engine.
Kia Niro and the trouble with estimating PHEV cost
Fuel expenditures for the standard Kia Niro hybrid are $938 per year. The annual maintenance fee for the front-wheel drive Kia Sportage SUV is $1,877. After only a few months, the Niro hybrid will become more affordable because the difference in purchase price is only $200.
The Niro is also offered as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which has annual gas and energy expenses of $33,965 and $753/year. Compare that to a similarly equipped Niro hybrid’s $29,695 and $979 yearly cost. You won’t make back the additional expense until you drive the PHEV for more than 17 years. That may sound terrible for a PHEV, but it can be deceptive. Depending on how you drive, the NRCan annual cost estimate that we are providing here may be drastically off. You might quickly recoup the investment if you generally make short journeys and run down the battery before starting the gas engine. Or, if you never plug the PHEV in, you might never recoup the additional expense. Remember that the NRCan estimate uses an assumed power price of $0.13 per kWh, but if you charge overnight, as most people do, the price in Ontario is now $0.065 per kWh, which is half that amount. The employment of different PHEVs’ gas and electric motors creates comparative challenges, which further complicates problems. But we’re now getting really lost in the weeds.
Is it worth it?
There isn’t a firm rule in this situation, so I apologize if you didn’t want to perform all that arithmetic. As you can see, the time it takes for any hybrid to make up for the extra cost depends greatly on your driving habits, the cost of petrol where you reside, and how far you go. From brand to brand and model to model, there are huge differences in the extra pricing for hybrids. If you reside in British Columbia or Quebec, the government provides sizeable discounts on PHEVs, which frequently tips the cost equation in favor of greener options. However, conducting your research could end up saving you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the course of your next vehicle.