By RYAN DIONNE
Last month, on a trip to review gear and explore the desert around Sedona, Ariz., I had the chance to test drive the Toyota Venza, a new all-wheel-drive crossover sedan aiming to take market share from cars like the Subaru Outback.
Launched late last year, the Venza rides like a car but is made to handle bad roads, ruts, and mild off-road terrain. Indeed, driving the car on back roads in Arizona, I purposely hit potholes and football-size rocks at considerable speed, and the Venza sucked up the bumps without major issue. Its roughly eight inches of ground clearance kept most objects from contacting the undercarriage.
Toyota Venza
On my rough ride, there were numerous times when the suspension sounded as if it topped out. But I was on a test drive and having fun. Most drivers would be more kind with their own vehicle.
The Venza comes with optional all-wheel-drive, which is what I drove, as well as an optional six-cylinder engine. I drove the four-cylinder model, which lagged in the acceleration category: The 2.7-liter, 182-horsepower engine wasn’t worse than other four-bangers on the market, but it certainly was not overly exciting either.
The car is available with automatic transmission only. But it does have a “sportshift” feature, which lets you select a gear for rough terrain or for downshifting instead of braking on descents.
Toyota Venza front interior
Driving bumpy gravel roads at 70mph — and cornering nearly as fast — wasn’t a problem for the Venza’s AWD. As much as I tried to get the vehicle to slide, it fought hard to stay on the road.
But despite Toyota’s “active torque control” that shifts torque to different wheels as needed, I consistently felt like the AWD was front-wheel heavy. On a gravel road, I put the Venza in first gear, turned the steering wheel tight, and mashed on the gas. It acted like a front-wheel-drive car plowing forward instead of powering through the turn like other AWD vehicles I have tested.
Driving the Venza around town was like driving a regular car. Its optional amenities included a front and rear “panoramic” moon roof, backup camera, backseat DVD system, and more.
