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FARMINGTON, PA – Many brands have tried to convince the public in recent years that all utility vehicles are not the same, and that some deserve special consideration for their unique attributes.
BMW favored the term “Sport Activity Vehicle” for its X5, and some have shopped the “tall wagon” moniker, namely Audi and Volvo.
At its debut at the Detroit auto show in January, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. instructed the media in a press release to call the new Venza a “crossover sedan.”
Uh huh.
Maybe Toyota was desperate for the term to take hold because the brand is late to enter the trendy, stylized cross/utility vehicle market and wanted to deflect that fact by creating its own category.
The Toyota Highlander was a CUV pioneer, but it is utilitarian and not much to look at, unlike the more dramatically styled Nissan Murano, Ford Edge, Mazda CX-7 and Buick Enclave.
With the new Venza, Toyota wants to play in this world, where passion trumps functionality. Rightly so, Toyota execs don’t want the Venza to be the 61st addition to a segment it has estimated at 60 in the U.S.
Despite their best efforts, after a day with the Venza, we conclude it is, indeed, a CUV, proving the point that you can put lipstick on a hockey mom, but she’s still a hockey mom.
