- #78 of 87
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Re: 2010 RX [houmi]
by petl
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May 06, 2009 (9:56 am)
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Replying to: houmi (May 05, 2009 12:46 pm)
Received my CR magazine yesterday. They tested a 6cyl AWD model. It appears they liked it, with reservations. "ride and handling, nothing special" "Venza's ride not up to usual Toyota standards" "interior looks classy but, noted many misaligned panels and some mismatched graining". The Highs include acceleration, powertrain refinement, access, rear seat and cabin storage. The Lows are steering feel, ride, rear visibality and AWD. Although it scored only 1 point lower than the Murano (#1), I got the feeling they were looking very hard to find fault with the Venza. Toyota seems to have fallen out of CR's good books lately. They are turning into another C&D, unless a vehicle drives in a sporty way CR does not like them (what happened to the unbiased evaluations?). The Venza is a good vehicle, not a great one, according CR.
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- #79 of 87
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Re: 2010 RX [petl]
by houmi
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May 06, 2009 (10:33 pm)
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Replying to: petl (May 06, 2009 9:56 am)
Thanks, I just check CR online and I see they updated Venza, you're right, 1 point lower than Murano. I still don't see the RX 350 2010 online in the SUV chart (they list the 2009 model)...
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- #80 of 87
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Re: Venza 4 cylinder [lberto]
by goinguns
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May 18, 2009 (12:28 am)
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Replying to: lberto (Feb 15, 2009 6:52 am)
yeah, tried the V4.. and it wasnt fun.. we live in the bay area so getting on ramps is noticeably a drag. we got the V6
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- #81 of 87
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Re: [lal_clt]
by goinguns
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May 18, 2009 (12:32 am)
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Replying to: lal_clt (Mar 02, 2009 6:10 am)
yeah, the backup cam without the NAV could have been better but it does the job.
the issue is when its bright sun outside and its gets harder to look at the reverse camera.. but again, you can make it work
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- #83 of 87
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Re: Venza Vs RX 350 [lancenicolase]
by kenym
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May 18, 2009 (7:05 am)
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The Venza is scheduled to hit the showroom in the fall
It is already in the showroom here
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- #84 of 87
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Re: [jkenley]
by cmlp1
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Sep 11, 2009 (12:44 pm)
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Replying to: jkenley (Jan 29, 2009 4:22 am)
Really it makes complete sense to compare these two cars, they are relatively the same size, and have the same engine and transmission (if you're looking at V6 AWD Venza). I'm not 100% sure about the AWD systems, but I'd bet they are very similar. It comes down to price...you can get a nicely optioned Venza for maybe around 34k and the 2010 Lexus RX is about 10k more. Part of that price difference is brand mark-up but having tested both car I know where that extra money was spent. The interior! The fit and finish in the Lexus is suburb. In the Venza, it is just not as nice or precise. The panels in the Toyota are not bad, but up close they are cheap in comparison to the Lexus. The wood is not real, it is just "wood-like". The leather in the Lexus probably cost $1k-2k more; it certainly feels way more luxurious. Don't rely on pictures...go sit in both vehicles and I guarantee you'll see and feel a noticable differnece. Then the question becomes how much is that "L" on the hood and this high quality interior worth to you? 10k is a lot of cash. I ended up going with the Venza b/c while I can appreciate the quality difference, it wasn't worth that much to me. BTW, I paid 31k for a V6 AWD Venza with a sticker of 36.5k. It has everything except nav and rearseat tv. For those who have the extra cash, go with the Lexus.
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- #85 of 87
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Re: [cmlp1]
by maximafan
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Sep 15, 2009 (9:28 pm)
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Replying to: cmlp1 (Sep 11, 2009 12:44 pm)
I agree with everything you say about these two cars. But the Lexus suckered me in with that really nice interior.
That's one of the reasons I purchased my '07 RX back in August of 2006. You also get memory seats in the Lexus. I do love memory seats, and also, I love the rain-sensing wipers. From my understanding you can't get that in either the Venza or the Highlander (the memory seats, not sure about rain-sensing wipers), even the top-of-the-line models.
Also, the first class treatment that I have gotten with Lexus (I had several Nissans before this), is outstanding.
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- #86 of 87
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Re: Venza vs RX350 [maximafan]
by md_outback
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Sep 16, 2009 (6:21 am)
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Replying to: maximafan (Sep 15, 2009 9:28 pm)
I test drove both the Venza and the ’10 RX350 extensively before deciding on the Venza. You are dead on with the interior comparison; the RX is definitely a notch or two better than the Venza in terms of materials and fit & finish. Interior styling and ease of use, in my opinion, is better in the Venza. You are correct that the Venza does not come with memory seats or the rain-sensing wipers, both of which I had in my ’07 RX350. But I really don’t miss either of them as I’m the only driver of the Venza and manually turning on the wipers is no big deal for me. The Venza beats the new RX in terms of exterior styling and overall performance. It’s a bit quicker than the RX and handles better, though that’s somewhat subjective on my part; I’d like to see a real comparison test between the two vehicles to get some real data about this. Ultimately I bought the Venza over the RX for two reasons: (1) It cost nearly $10K less (Lexus dealers were not negotiating much on new RXs this past April), and (2) The Venza is unique – you don’t see one every day, while there seems to be a Lexus RX on every corner and, to most eyes, the new RX looks just like the older one. I think I just got tired of seeing “my” vehicle everywhere I went. I never received any compliments on the RX, but I get positive comments about the Venza all the time. I’m amazed there are so many people who have never heard about the Venza, and they’ll just walk up to me to ask about it. I know, it’s a bit shallow, but we all like a little attention now and then. 
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- #87 of 87
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Re: Venza vs RX350 [md_outback]
by wwest
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Sep 17, 2009 (9:12 am)
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Replying to: md_outback (Sep 16, 2009 6:21 am)
Both the Venza and 2010 RX350 have the new F/awd system IMO a very significant improvement over the mostly non-functional (except for TRAC) system. I have an '01 F/awd RX300 and just as soon as the Venza I4 is adapted to DFI I will be purchasing one.
Unless something better turns up, say an RX225h using the new I4 w/DFI.
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