Home / Toyota News, Pricing and Reviews
2021 Toyota Venza Limited Ruby Flare Pearl profile view front end
Jeff Teague's picture
By Jeff Teague Jan 16 2021 - 12:59pm

How Comfortable is 2021 Toyota Venza? New Owners Speak Out

We asked new owners of 2021 Venza about comfort in their new rides. Their answers were eye-opening.
Advertisement

When a new vehicle is first launched, potential buyers do research based on several resources. They can look at third-party evaluations, manufacturer websites and YouTube videos found on channels like my “Toyotajeff” channel.

They can also read owner reviews. By the way, I will include myself in this section. I recently evaluated a Venza Limited for a week – with StarGaze Panoramic Roof.

2021 Toyota Venza Limited Coastal Gray profile view front end

And guess what – I just bought a 2021 Venza Limited myself, too. In Coastal Gray. I will give my impressions after everyone else. They deserve the spotlight here.

People comment on 2021 Toyota Venza

Some of the best vehicle owner and fan forums can be found on Facebook.

I invited members of two popular groups, “Toyota Venza Owners Group” and “2021+ Toyota Venza Hybrid Club – USA/Canada,” to give their thoughts and impressions.

Specifically, I asked for feedback on just how comfortable 2021 Venza is or is not. Most of the comments were positive. You be the judge.

2021 Toyota Venza Limited interior front seats ash color

Tim weighed in. “The seats on my XLE are very comfortable. The ride is extremely comfortable and feels solid on the ground without being too stiff. Very pleased with just about everything…”

Terrin commented. “I bought my Venza (Limited) in Blueprint back in October. It came with stargaze, tech package as well as a safe. I absolutely love the stargaze. Anyone who rides in my car I show, and it’s an absolute fun conversation starter, and it looks awesome.

2021 Toyota Venza Limited interior StarGaze Panoramic Roof

RELATED VIDEO: My full review of 2021 Toyota Venza Limited. I hope it helps with your research.

The seats are so comfy, definitely more comfortable than most anything I’ve ever ridden in. I love the safe. We can go to the gym and just throw our wallet in there and not worry that it could be snatched. Gives me peace of mind, if you will. The drive, the way it handles, the quietness of it while driving is so nice. Every single feature and detail is so luxurious without the high price tag.”

Cindy purchased her new 2021 Venza XLE in Blizzard Pearl in October. “Seats are SO comfy! Getting ready to take her on her first road trip next month! Can’t wait to see the MPG’s!”

Alan had this to say about his 2021 Venza. “I bought the Limited plus the StarGaze. It took me awhile to get up to speed with all the new tech. Plus I love the JBL Premium sound. The 12.3” display is very nice. Plus, the interior is first class!

Haakon added. “Seats are very comfortable, and my only complaint is that on high heat they really aren’t that hot. I wish it had more cubbies, like for sunglasses and change like my Avalon did but all the other features far outweigh those deficiencies.”

I came over from Honda (owned Honda for the past 20 years). Everything about this Venza is a joy to drive!”

2021 Toyota Venza Limited interior multimedia

I did not even know about this feature Breanne found on her 2021 XLE in Blueprint. “Very comfortable and fun to drive. I love when it welcomes me when I cross a state border, ‘Welcome to Wyoming.’”

My impressions of 2021 Toyota Venza

During my evaluation of 2021 Toyota Venza Limited, I have fallen in love with it.

2021 Toyota Venza Limited Ruby Flare Pearl profile view front end

I really cannot believe how soft, supportive and comfortable the seats are. Plus, the heated and cooled seats combo is a nice feature I will use all year long.

Toyota Venza is smooth and quiet even at highway speeds. Toyota said they soundproofed it well and I believe them now. Car handles well around curves and on straight roads.

I am averaging low 30s for MPG, but I know I can do better by driving slower and not accelerating so quickly. I am what you would call a lead foot driver. I want to achieve or surpass the estimated 40 city / 37 highway ratings. I will keep you all posted.

Even though the cargo space is not as large as 1st generation Venza, it has adequate space for my needs. I found I can lie flat (at an angle) in it, which was a surprise.

2021 Toyota Venza Limited interior cargo space cargo capacity

I recommend you upgrade to the JBL sound system. It comes with a 1200-watt amplifier and is billed as the most powerful Toyota sound system to-date.

In short, I feel it is worth a drive to your local Toyota dealership so you can test one for yourself. Drive it both in the city and on the highway. Let me know what you think.

Time for your thoughts on 2021 Venza

What are your impressions of 2021 Toyota Venza so far? Do you own one, and if so, feel free to write your experiences with mpg and driving comfort and other factors.

RELATED:
- I can't believe 2021 Venza LE has this much standard equipment.
- Does your 2021 Venza have remote engine start. We reveal all.
- 4 must-see features on 2021 Venza

Have you been researching Venza? Tell us what you think.

Thanks for reading everyone. See you next story when I show video and pictures of what 2021 RAV4 Hybrid looks like at night.

Follow Jeff Teague on social media:

- My Toyotajeff.com website
- My Torque News / Toyota News column
- YouTube channel - My "Toyotajeff" Toyota reviews
- My Facebook page
- Instagram @toyotajeff1
- Twitter @toyotajeff1

Thank you everyone for following me.

Automotive News
Toyota News, Pricing and Reviews

Subscribe to Torque News on YouTube.
Follow Torque News on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

Michael Brennan wrote on January 16, 2021 - 2:03pm
Hello, I am not in the market for a Venzs at this time. I enjoy reading Jeff's articles. The writing style keeps this reader engaged as well as entertained. Brings me back to my college Elements of Exposition papers. I would like to think that the driving experience of the Venza would be a great way to de stress after a long day at work or the stress of meeting a deadline for an important work project or better yet having had to read one of my 4th grade book reports. :/ Hats off to all the great teachers.
Doug Gilbert wrote on January 17, 2021 - 3:58pm
I wanted to purchase a hybrid so I researched test drove the Honda that everyone was saying was the best on the market. I wanted to test the Rav4 to compare so went Toyota dealer and they had a couple of the Venza (Haier) on the lot so I asked to drive it. The rest is history for me. I purchased a Venza Limited with all the bells a whistle. I new as soon as got in it I was going to purchase the interior was very impressive luxurious and comfortable. JBL speakers, 12" infotainment system, heads up speedometer, interior lighting and star gaze. Then I test drove it and was sold quiet with all the power I need. I
Robert Loblaw wrote on January 17, 2021 - 5:05pm
"I can lie flat (at an angle) in it." followed by a picture of you *not* lying flat in it. Going by your logic, I can lie flat (rotated, at multiple angles) inside my own shoes. You literally bent the truth. This is a work of fiction.
Michael Brennan wrote on January 18, 2021 - 1:36pm
Hi Robert, I think Jeff's reviews of the new Venza should be based on Jeff's physical height. He does state in his reviews he is 5'8" tall. Im not sure of your physical height. I dont recommend sleeping in a car . I have had to sleep in a 1995 Honda Civic with the back seat folded down and my legs extended into the trunck. Thankfully I have not had to do that in many years. Jeff does explain his reviews and videos are ment to have a touch of comedy to them. Take care..
Lisa Voss wrote on January 24, 2022 - 7:52pm
So he posted a pic of himself lying flat but at an angle. He clearly is angled lying in the car.
NormT wrote on January 17, 2021 - 9:03pm
Looks like Toyota finds their Buick! For ride comfort, amenities, and torque vectoring AWD, the Buick Envision is probably the best in the segment. Just need a PHEV version for best fuel economy.
AC wrote on May 24, 2021 - 6:35pm
Evision is not a hybrid and has half the MPG numbers. So not really a fair comparison. Everything is a trade off though... I am sure you could get some things that are missing from Venza - interior size, height, perhaps real leather
Polette Vázquez wrote on January 17, 2021 - 9:18pm
I have the 2009 Toyota Venza and I honestly love it so much I don’t know if I like the new version of it but I will have to actually see it!!
Shannon Erickson wrote on January 21, 2021 - 8:32pm
We just bought our 2021 Toyota in December and I pretty much love everything about it. It doesn't have extra bells and whistles but I don't need them. I've never had a brand new car and this is my dream. Quiet and comfortable. I'm getting 38-40 mpg. 2 complaints I do have...not much cargo room and passenger side doesn't have controls to lower the seat. I hit my head when I ride in the passenger side. Still, so very happy with new Venza.
Roman wrote on April 12, 2021 - 2:55pm
Leased Venza XLE for my wife, she is excited about many things in it. Comfortable seats, nice tech features, AWD that you can even feel that it works like it should in poor road conditions. But there are several things that may make you think you've made a mistake buying it, and the first and the worst is the sound insulation. I've owned several different vehicles from this price range and driven much more from that. Poor sound dampening reduces admiration gauge of this car. The wind noise breaks into the interior just after 40mph and driving 70 on a highway in addition to buzzing from the wheels on a large-fraction asphalt or whistling on a concrete will make you head blow in just couple of hours. I felt like I was piloting a plane. We did not pay much attention to it on test-drive and regret about that. Other than that the interior started squeaking after less than 3 months and 3k miles. Never expected this from Toyota. If you drive it in the city with radio on this is not a problem, but that is not true for long highway trips and not what you expect from the car of this price range. The second tricky thing it is the navigation. Poor POI, tricky routing compared to smartphone, and sometimes hazardous paths: it led me to an UNBUILT ramp in Corpus Christi on 65mph which could be fatal if I was driving at nighttime and trusted the navigation. Fortunately it was day, I was focused and knew that navigation is awful. The construction barriers were not visible till the last seconds because of the traffic. That is nonsense, but Toyota thinks that this particular road is completely built, however there is only ramp skeleton there and there was NO road before cause the ramp goes over another highway. Me and my wife are using only smartphone navigation after that moment. I bet this is not the only hazardous path in this navigation system and other recent Toyota models could be affected. By the way, the only place you can put your phone without obstructing the view or screen is the vent left to the steering wheel, which is not that comfortable. Or use the CarPlay. And you cannot buy a normal tech package without navigation, at least there was no such option when we leased our Venza, so we are paying for things that are dangerous to use in certain circumstances. Lane keep assistance is buggy too, I have driven tons of rental Corollas and they just keep you in the center like they should. Our Venza jumps from one markup line to another and you have to force steering every second with LKA turned on which makes no sense compared even to the cheaper Corolla. Other safety features work great: speed limit sign recognition, blind spot monitors, adaptive cruise and so on work perfectly in any weather and lightening conditions. But Lane Keep Assistance is something we turned off in the first couple days and never used again. The interior looks great from the first sight, and from the second. But after 3 months the black interior is covered in scratches on the cheap crappy plastic below the line of sight. Kids will damage the interior very quickly. The vinyl seats also get damage from kids much more that any leather or cloth. This is not a big problem, but it is the thing that definitely could be better especially in the above-lowest trim. Also there is no sunroof you can open to let fresh air inside, there is no such option at all. I do not know why designers thought that looking at the sky is much more important than fresh non-AC air but this is fact. You definitely can open the windows, but on the highway speed they will make much-much louder noise than any average sunroof. Other than above it looks nice, drives like you expect and feels reliable. At least feels, time will show but people used to trust Toyota and hope this model will not become an exception. Even such a simple thing like spare wheel which is not available in many modern SUVs of this class makes you feel more comfortable on the long trips. It has a good and enough large trunk space, the rear bench is comfortable to seat even for 6ft+ persons, and the driver's visibility is much nicer than in some rivals of this class and even upper classes.
Ivan Doneshefsky wrote on July 20, 2021 - 10:16am
I couldn’t agree more. I leased a limited about 2 months ago. Everything you said plus the following have driven me to “buyers remorse” No light in the console or glove compartment is a joke for a 44K vehicle Weak interior lighting throughout vehicle Can’t put more than 10.5 gallons into tank when gas gauge and mileage indicator reads empty. They say it has 14.5 gallon capacity so I GUESS that when it reads empty or O miles to fill up, I can go an extra 50 or so miles on highway driving? The console is one big hole. I bought a after market tray for $20.00 which Toyota could have supplied as standard. When new, it’s like a Lexus, as you own it longer, it’s definitely a Toyota. The 12.3 touch screen has poor graphics compared to my 4 year old Kia. It’s also slower to respond. At almost $44,000, this vehicle is 10K overpriced IMO. I test drove Mazda, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Audi, Lexus, Buick and Acura SUV’s and chose the Venza for Toyota quality, MPG, driving smoothness, comfort and highway driving distance. 2 months in, I’m not impressed and will go back to Korean brands.
Mamie Williams wrote on September 2, 2021 - 4:38pm
I’m waiting on a Ruby Red Flare Limited with all the bells and whistles in the Java color with the skyroof and large digital screen. The all black color feels cheap and is boring, no sparkle. For $46K I want to love this SUV for the next 10 years
Ivan Doneshefsky wrote on September 3, 2021 - 5:23pm
My dog and I just finished a 10-day roundtrip of driving 2600 miles from Minnesota to the east coast in my 21 Venza limited. Overall it did well with no problems except for the highway range which in no certain terms, is the worse of any of the 16 vehicles I’ve owned in my lifetime. The mpg for the trip was 38.7 which is fantastic for a compact 4wd. SUV. However, the # of times having to fill the tank approaching empty is ridiculous. The car NEVER took more than 10.5 gallons on fill up and at my best, only went 420 miles. The Venza manual says it has a 14.5 gallon tank but in over 5000 miles in 3 months, I’ve never filled it past 11 gallons when empty. The car drove well, was roomy enough for my dog and I (if you have a family, the space is very limited) and very comfortable and quiet which was surprising. I did turn off many if the nannies like lane centering and swerve control which over assisted and just made the car less manageable and tiring to drive IMO. It’s a good car, but I’d trade the silly non opening roof for a opening sunroof and beg for more interior lighting especially in the back. Would I pay $44,000 for this car if I had to do it over again - NO. Too many other good choices at that price point.