Between 2008 and 2015, GM’s long-time rival, Toyota Motor Corporation, marketed a vehicle called the Toyota Venza. Though production of the midsize crossover didn’t last very long, the Venza – along with the Nissan Murano – helped to create the modern midsize crossover segment. And now, rumors are swirling that the Venza is slated to make a return. And when it does, it will slot in as a direct rival to GM’s new Chevrolet Blazer.
In the U.S., the Toyota Venza was discontinued after the 2015 model year following lackluster sales throughout the model’s lifecycle. The Venza enjoyed tepid demand due to various factors, including the fact that the vehicle was mostly available in high-spec, relatively pricey trims, while being smaller than the much more popular Highlander.
In addition, the Venza had a wagon body style that didn’t really line up with U.S. customer preferences at the time. To that point, the Toyota Venza didn’t have a the rugged, off-roader attitude needed to pique the interest of buyers on these shores. In many ways, the Venza was essentially ahead of its time in many ways, bowing out of the segment it helped create much earlier than it should have.
| Segment | Subcompact | Compact | Large | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Trax / Trailblazer | Equinox | Blazer | |
| Toyota | C-HR | RAV4 | - | Highlander |
| Honda | HR-V | CR-V | Passport | Pilot |
| Nissan | Juke / Kicks | Rogue Sport / Rogue | Murano | Pathfinder |
| Volkswagen | - | Tiguan | Atlas Cross Sport | Atlas |
Nevertheless, the rumored return of the Toyota Venza nameplate isn’t terribly surprising, especially when considering the gaping hole in Toyota’s current crossover lineup: Toyota doesn’t have anything between the compact RAV4 (that competes with the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain) and the large Toyota Highlander (which competes with the Chevrolet Traverse). Hence, a future Toyota Venza would slot between the RAV4 and Highlander as a direct rival to current Chevrolet Blazer.
This is a big deal for General Motors, as it would add yet another entry to the ever-growing midsize crossover segment – and from an extremely competent rival with significant cachet among many consumers, at that.
In fact, Toyota has shown impressive strength for several years running in its sales numbers, selling sedans like the Corolla and Camry in very high volumes but in shrinking segments, something that GM has been unable to do for a while. In fact, the Japanese automaker continues to see consistent sales volumes of those two models. Meanwhile, GM discontinued the Chevrolet Cruze (its direct Corolla rival) while the Chevrolet Malibu (GM’s direct Camry rival) flounders in no-man’s land from a sales standpoint. As such, a properly executed, next-gen Toyota Venza could deliver quite a gut punch to Chevrolet Blazer sales, which have been on the rise ever since the crossover’s launch in 2019.
We’ll keep an eye on this story to see how it develops. In the meantime, make sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Blazer news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
Hopefully it will be a more creative effort than the Honda Passport.
Great. Another appliance from Toileta. This should make Steve very happy. Too bad it will have just anther cheap interior from the king of cheap interiors compared to Buick. But it will sell well because of the logo stuck to it, only due to the massive amounts of sheep out there.
oh dan, don’t you know that buick is a premium brand competing with the likes of bmw? 3 cylinders and a CVT baby!!!!
Haha. The carp took the bait! Now back to your Toyonda site.
junior, i’m agreeing with you. buicks are awesome. they are in a class above toyotas. keep posting videos of buicks outclassing bmws. i love those.
when that senior salesman position comes up, you’ll be first in line. keep up the good work.
Heard it’s gonna be a Hybrid like the next Sienna.
Pretty sure the 2001 Aztec and 2002 Buick Rendezvous beat out the 2008 Venza and the 2003 Murano to market as the first midsize crossovers to create the segment.
You’re kidding right? Aztec? Rendezvous? Good examples there mate.
The Aztec was the first midsized CUV to market, just making a factual statement.
looks like the venza will only come in as a hybrid. same for the sienna. so gm has abandoned the hybrid segment while it appears toyota(and honda) is ramping up.
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/01/14/toyota-venza-hybrid-sienna-tundra/
My wife drives a 2012 Venza and we both LOVE it. Most reliable car we’ve ever owned as we approach 200k. Large enough for us empty nesters and very comfortable.
Great just what the world needs is another Toyota appliance on the road . It will be a force to compete with because of its reliability image . GM needs to address the price of the Blazer and all of the cheap plastic interior which gets the Blazer bad press in many auto related articles .
Plus if that Venza gets built in the USA that would be a black eye for the General , IMO .
The previous Venza was assembled in Kentucky. If Toyota repeats that, perhaps the Venza will be a good alternative to Blazer intenders seeking an American made option.
@Android19:
Although i agree with you onBlazer way too high priced, what I don’t agree with is putting the Blazer down for “cheap plastic” interiors compared to the Toyota’s. Have you been in any (and I mean any) Toyota’s over the past 5-8 years? The other day I traded in a 2018 Toyota CH-R. One owner in perfect condition. He traded on a Mazda 3 because he said the drive of the Toyota was not good and he just hated the car. Although not bad looking on the outside, once I opened the door to drive to the back lot, I can tell you I would NEVER buy one. Every inch of every door was totally covered in very hard plastic. The dash was cheap, the touch points cheap. All I can tell you is that 2018 CH-R couldn’t come within a mile of my 2018 Buick Encore!