budwom

Ha, true, but we tend to keep our cars 12 years or so, hence the cost doesn't seem like a huge factor. We wanted to like the Venza or Highlander as our nearest Lexus dealers are three hours away, but they didn't come close to the RX 350 in our opinion.

ericsan13

Definitely agree with you. My plan is to upgrade each generation and pass my old car down to my parents.

I sat in both the Venza and Highlander and both were definitely lacking on the interior refinement. Not even close!

justin1203

The Venza is really its own animal.

We've had an '09 Venza, and now a '13 Limited model. Build quality definitely got better ('09 panels misaligned, gaps, etc). Front-end refresh is a major improvement (at least with the Limited which comes with LED's). Not as many squeaks as the '09 (same 20" V6 setup). It's a nice vehicle, but as others have said, it's not a Lexus.

The salesman for our '09 had told us this car *began* as one that would be developed for Lexus, but became a Toyota instead (I've done no research on this, simply repeating what we were told). The auto up and down on all window switches, and the placement of the shifter seem to be the only similarities I see on the inside when comparing to a 3RX.

For anyone else that has a Toyota in the family, are there any other models that have the same power windows setup?

TechNut

Yes, our 2010 Toyota Prius has auto up/down switches for all windows. The previous 2006 did as well. The Prius is available in various model levels and both of ours were the top model numerically so this could be a feature that distinguishes the different model levels. For example, the model two doesn't have keyless entry on the passenger door but model groups three through five do.

shawndh

Just to add to this old thread for anyone considering a used Venza vs an RX, we chose the Venza. We got a 2013 XLE V6 with the 20" wheels with everything but the sunroof and AWD for like 21k out the door. It has nav, heated seats, leather with contrast piping(looks very nice), backup camera, Bluetooth integration, auto dim mirrors, ect. We shopped the RX350 but the price jump was significant and the space in the RX was tight for a family of tall people.

The ride quality and materials were way better in the Lexus though. We like the rear seat space in the Venza, the adjustable center console with the phone dock and cord routing, generous cup holders, cargo space, and the rear seats recline. It's very easy to get in and out (we have an 80 year old grandmother) because it's not too high but higher than a sedan. Interior quality improved in this year but still a lot of hard plastics, I appreciated the black carpet because my ladies don't know how to take care of a light colored interior car, as evidenced by they way they treat our ES with tan interior. We are not interested in carrying 7 passengers but rather 4 comfortably on road trips or 5 occasionally and this car is perfect for that. The dumb thing about this car is you can't get the roof rack kit on the models with the panoramic sunroof. You can only add it to the models without a sunroof. We didn't need the sunroof but I do have mountain bikes and road bikes I like to mount on he roof so this worked better for me having a lower roof. But it would have been nice to have both.

If you have a small family and or under 6' the RX is the way to go if you can afford it. But if you need the extra space, the Venza is an awesome car. But nothing rides like a Lexus. My wife likes the Venza as the shared family vehicle but she has already said she's going to get the RX350 to replace her ES when the time comes.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The only thing the Venza has over the RX is the cost.The only thing.

warminwisc

I have a highlander big wallowy vehicle, kinda noisey. Venza is quieter built off the RX platform I was told won't pull 5 k lbs. Looked at many SUVs then pulled trigger on 014 Touareg Exec for $46k got 1k back in dieselgate. The 3.0 liter Diesel is one of the best motors ever built. The Urea system is another story but I imagine with dieselgate it will get blanket coverage when the judge steps on VW.

Should be some really good deals when they start to sell em again. They come with a 10/100k powertrain warrantee and can get full VW plat warrantee for 1700 bucks to 110k miles if bought before 10k miles.

The perpetual Toyota 3.5 V6 motor is nice also just kind of whiney in my Highlander soon to be sold. The RX is a chick suv floaty quiet just kind of wanted a car that is not so common, they are everywhere. the low end torque and 8 speed tranny of the Touareg is one of a kind till the X5 got an 8 speed in 014 but their motor is not as good noisier. Other diesel is the Motori diesel in Grand Cherokee very problematic. Made my choice easy drive the 3.0 for the hell of it.

warminwisc

Saw a full loader 015 Venza XLE go out the door for 31k last week when I popped into the dealer. I will take that over an Outback any day and it has a V6. Buddy has an Outback 016 sorry he bought it. The Venza suffered as the Outback was the next closest wagon type vehicle their 4 is questionably better that Toyota but gets good mileage. Head gasket, oil consumption 013 and maybe above but 013 for sure. 015 the Venza is done came with poopy EL400 Bridgey tires though. One that sold had Toyo's though.

carguy75

LOL.

That is like comparing a VW Jetta to an Audi A4.

Yes, both cars are similar but the Audi is the nicer model by far due to having everything that the Jetta has; but has it in an nicer luxury package.

The same for the RX compared to a Venza.

Both are nice vehicles, however both are aimed at two different types of consumers.

The Venza can be up-scaled to only near-luxury status, whereas the RX is luxury standard and can be upgraded to near ultra-luxury.

I actually like the odd-looking Venza styling, but my wife was like heck no when see looked at it in person so the styling is not for everyone.

However, the same could be said of the RX.

If you are on a budget, i guess the Venza would be a great alternative to the more expensive RX without sacrificing too much in functionality and reliability that you would have gotten with the RX.

Timi

Another thing, when I read here why you people chose a Lexus for their quality etc, then 2 years
later trade it off, just don't make sense to me.[/QUOTE]

i think the real question is WHAT did they trade it in for?

a lot of folks have issues with The NAV on older models- thats a trade off reason already

xxjeffxx

When buying my rx i did consider buying a new venza compared to a used rx, but after looking at the materials quality and attention to detail in the lexus i have to say it is above and beyond anything toyota can deliver.

budwom

Apropos to this discussion: despite a vigorous advertising campaign last year, the
Venza is no longer...I can see why. We really tried to like it when we test drove it, but
too many drawbacks vs the Lexus...rear visibility was horrible, for example.

Thus far, fingers crossed, happy with the Lexus, three years old, zero issues...may it continue!

Timi

Lol. Please don't be so mean