2021 Toyota Venza Review: Reliable Midsize SUV With Low Ownership Costs As It Ages

Steve on August 20, 2024

I purchased a low mileage pre owned venza xle and it is the nicest car I have owned. Rides like a luxury car, phenomenal gas mileage, decent power, loads of bells and whistles. And top it off with Toyota reliability, I do not regret it at all.

Robert Smith on July 20, 2024

I’ve owned my 21 Venza for 3 years and have been extremely happy with it. I have 31,000 miles on it and it still looks, feels and smells like a new car. I love the ventilated seats especially in the hot summer months. I drive a mixture of city and highway miles and average a high of 45 mpg and a low of 38 mpg. The car is very smooth and quiet and feels like an upscale luxury car. I couldn’t be happier with my Venza.

BK on May 29, 2024

It is more like a Lexus with reliability of RAV4. Great mileage of 40. The only problem is that if you get a flat tire on front, you will need to do alignment. As the spare tire is too small.

Gego on March 23, 2024

Acceleration is good for moving into traffic. Ride is great. Good on curves and going uphill. Cruise control works fine. Lights are perfect. Lacks front storage for sunglasses and interior lights could be brighter. Better method of cleaning carpet. All cars should come with maps, or the ability to add them. Window tint great. Heated seats should be standard, these work well. Radio excellent. Bluetooth great. Folding mirrors when locking car is great. Cruise control shold be controlled by voice. Lane control decent. Sonar great. Breaking great. Gas mileage with my lead foot is decent 37 mpg. Trunk, is decent for two people. Rear hatch opening options are great , dash, fob, and hatch door button option, close or close and lock, foot opening option, key fob lock option. Like the gas fill option on the right. Electric seats should be standard on both front seats. Love the voice phone calling. My car does not have maps miss maps. Subaru had my maps. Like the venza for the ability to exit car without having to swing and push up. It just swing my feet and step out. Great for seniors. Since I will be 82 this year I like this ability. No fog lights. All cars in California need it.

Jay Bee on March 20, 2024

The car has fives luxury features. It has a Lexus body shape. Smooth ride and a ton of safety. The model has been missed handle by Toyota, making it an instant classic

Bill S on November 26, 2023

I was seriously looking at the RAV 4 Hybrid but they are almost impossible to find now that Toyota is not accepting future orders for them at this time. Test drove the Venza and a regular gas driven RAV 4 before deciding that the Venza was definitely the better of the two. It has a bit less interior space but is much quieter, more comfortable, with a much better ride at highway speeds than the RAV 4. The interior refinements and features are Lexus like and combined with having hybrid and on-demand all-wheel drive with great gas mileage, the decision to buy the Venza instead of a Rav 4 was easy. I have had no regrets on my decision.

Chuck on May 3, 2023

Owning a hybrid is wonderful. We don’t get to stop for gas as often as we used to. It is a wonderful car for road trips. We would not think twice about buying another Venza hybrid.

SpunkyMom52 on January 25, 2023

This was by far the most expensive impulse buy I've ever made. In Nov 2022,my son began selling vehicles at a different manufacturer's dealer in Elkhart, IN and told me about a 2021 Venza Limited they took as a trade-in with just over 8k miles. I never would've thought of this vehicle as an option, because I really wanted a RAV4 XLE, but I wasn't in the market yet. A few months ago, a salesman from my local Toyota dealer told me about the Venza while I was waiting to have my Prius serviced. My last two vehicles had been Priuses, which caused me to fall in love with the Toyota brand. Since I drive a lot, I was really wanting an AWD vehicle, while still a hybrid. I always thought it would be the RAV4. First, the negatives: Not nearly as much front seat storage as my Priuses. The Prius used to have an overhead sunglasses holder, two glove boxes versus only one in the Venza, and deeper middle console. My 2013 Prius had space below the front of the console to hold a small purse. I wish I had a sunroof that opened to fresh air, but don't mind the clear to opaque feature on the moon roof on sunny days. The kick open feature for the hatch doesn't work great, and I can't seem to change the home address on the navigation to my home address. Finally, my 100 lb., 13 y/o Coonhound/ Rottie mix has very weak back legs, so he can't jump in the back seat without using a ramp. Unfortunately, the back doors do not open wide enough to adequately allow for a more stable ramp placement. Oh, and I absolutely hate the car payment, but that's my fault. Now the positives: The heated and cooling seats are amazing, as is the heated steering wheel. The vehicle drives like butter and the sound system sounds fantastic. I'm in love with comfort, stylishness, and beauty of this vehicle, and in the only couple of times I've had to drive in bad weather, it seems to handle just fine. I definitely feel safer than when I drove my Prius (mostly the 2013 versus the 2008). Finally, I love that I can start my vehicle and lock the doors when I forget to, through the app, and it works even from my lower level office, which doesn't have any windows.

Judy P on September 23, 2022

I am a new Toyota owner previously owned Volkswagen and Ford vehicles. Purchased the Venza 2021 in Nov of 2021. Like it very much BUT.... the windshield wiper motor has a lot to be desired. The fastest speed does not clear the window when on the highway when it is raining. Had it checked at my dealer and they said it’s fine. Definitely not satisfied. I know Toyota can do better, and should do better...this is dangerous. Needs to be investigated and possibly recalled. I have rode in a Rav4 and it’s is much better. Something is wrong in the Venza.

GSK on August 24, 2022

I got the 2021 Venza LE in June 2021 to replace the 2015 Outback. Since then I drove 12800 miles on it and spent $1002.74 on gas. I averaged 42 MPG (all pump mileage, not the trip computer mileage) and it was a huge improvements over my 2015 Outback that got me about 29 MPG (80/20, Highway/City) over 189000 miles. The MPG was affected greatly by the ambient temperature as the gas engine kicked in to charge the battery more frequently on a cold day. The best was 46 MPG and the worst was 36 MPG (Winter storm and winter tires on). All Wheel Drive was not as good as the Outback but good enough to survive bad road conditions. Overall I am happy with it.