Featured Rumourmill: Venza and Sienna to Come in Hybrid Form Only

The hybrid Venza would be a better replacement for the Prius than the Rav4.

I remember a kid in a commercial that billed it as the "geek family vehicle."

 

Hate to do this to you twice, but don't forget the new 2020 Yaris Sedan to round out the sedan sizing.

Somehow Toyota has been able to profit with 4 sedans and 6 SUVs each of varying size and capability. And that's before you count in the Lexuses.

I mentioned earlier- it feels crowded to me too. But it seems to be working for them.

 

With the Yaris, that gives them something for the, perhaps not truly EPA, subcompact, compact, midsize, and large car segments. The Venza will fill their currently empty midsize slot in their SUV/crossover line up, as the Rav4 is a 'compact'.

 

Yes, when I see a Venza and Sienna on the horizon - I couldn't say which was which. They both look like minivans to me. The only minivan that's hybridized is the one that we got. The Chrysler Pacifica. And it's plug-in. Though ..... Toyota says eventually all their vehicles will be hybridized. Would love to get a timeline.
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And yet, I almost bought a 2012 Rav4 with a third row of seats.

It's really disappointing that such options are no longer available all but the most humongous vehicles - except in the Model Y

 

You do not represent the majority of the population.

 

With so many models, it would seem that making this an option on one or two of them would make sense.

 

How many 7-8 passenger cars are sold in a year? Is that a market worth the development costs?

 

A lot.

There are tons of 7-8 passenger vehicles out there. I just don't want one as big as a Sienna, Highlander, Tahoe, Suburban, Sequoia, etc.

I want a choice between vehicles with a third-row with almost no cargo area behind it and those with a cargo area behind it. I want the one without. It used to be you could get these. When I was shopping for my last car, it ended up between a 2012 Rav4 with third row and a Mazda5 with third row. I bought the Mazda because I didn't like the way the Rav4 drove. Now you can't even get a car like that. It's a bummer because it means I have to either buy a land-barge like the vehicles stated above, or take two cars when we need to take more than 5 people somewhere. It's so incredibly rare that I need to take more than 5 people *and* cargo that it doesn't bear mentioning. For that reason, I just want a third row to pop-up from the cargo area, just like in my Mazda5. But I'd like a more modern car, a PHEV, and four-wheel-drive. If the new Rav4 PHEV were available with a third row of pop-up seats in the cargo area, it would be a much more interesting vehicle for me. I might buy it anyway and just strap the 6th person to the roof rack like aunt Edna.

 

Just offering the option has a cost. If not enough buy the option, then the company loses money. With the Mazda5 and other small SUVs with a third row gone, it appears it simply isn't worth the investment to offer them in the US for most companies as most Americans buying the third row also want the cargo space. You know, for those long trips beyond charger availability that is the majority of miles.

If a third row with no cargo, in a smaller vehicle is a top priority, there is the Mitsubishi Outlander(not the PHEV) and Dodge Journey.

 

I find it hard to believe that my use-case is unusual.

I have a family of four. When we go on a trip, we need cargo space and four chairs.

My kids have friends. When we go around town with the friends, we don't need cargo space, we need butt-space for the friends.

This can't be unusual.

 

It's not, but from the carmaker's perspective? Why should they let you sue them for 6 seats worth of injuries unless they can get you (the royal you, including many others) on the hook for a $50k minivan?

 

Maybe I'm just the only one not gullible enough to fall for that. I spent $17k on the Mazda5 instead.

 

Makes sense to me. There used to be a bigger spread of minivans on the market, now only the biggest ones remain. I think that's your real dilemma.

 

It may not be unusual, but the priority buyers gave it was only good for 132k sales of Outlanders and Journeys last year.

Americans feel the third row needs to be big enough for tall adults, and that they will still need space for carrying all their stuff with the seats full. Like AWD, they don't really need it, but car companies make more money meeting that need, and the other portion of buyers might be too small to bother with.

 

We did get the Mazda5 stuck in the snow last month. AWD would have been nice.

The chances of me buying a vehicle big enough to haul 7 people plus cargo are exactly zero. I never even looked at one, and that's not going to change.

 

My wife had the Venza. She loved that car. It had massive cargo room plus it was rather wide so it sat 5 people comfortably. Her’s was the vehicle of choice when her and her friends went to Sam’s Club, now Costco, or garden/craft shows. A hybrid Venza with AWD would be a nice replacement for the Prius. A Venza Prime even better. I told my wife about the Venza coming back, but her reply didn’t sound like she’s willing to part with her Lexus.


iPad ? Pro

 

One seats 5, & the other 7. Other than that ...
One is not a minivan?

 

Hmmm...Pacifica Hybrid is awesome...I would be curious what Toyota does with the Sienna Prime, could they get more mileage? Better entertainment options for the kids?