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

Makes sense... At this point Toyota's hybrid system is so well refined and proven, it's probably more profitable to put them in all their passenger cars. Not only does it make it cheaper to maintain MPG rating, but maximum amount of parts per vehicle means more parts sold over life of vehicle, as well as more low end power and as they always claim: nobody wants all-electric cars, they only want hybrid cars, right?

 

Honda brought back the Passport. Wasn't the first one a rebadged Isuzu?

About time Toyota started making more models hybrid only. I believe they did so for the Camry in Japan.

 

Humm, Sienna PRIME... That's the ticket. When it come to the market, I will replace our Pathfinder Hybrid. Maybe...

 

I always said the Venza, based on the Camry, would make a great hybrid/phev by just porting over the HyCam stuff to it.

Glad they finally listened to me.

 

Better still, it was a rebadged Isuzu contract-built by Subaru.

 

We saw one at the Toyota Georgetown factory about 10 years ago. I was there to see the Camry line that also made hybrids. At the time, Toyota couldn't figure out how to put the hybrid drive in the sporty Camry, the Solara, nor the Venza.

I am glad Toyota decided to expand the hybrid drive train to most if not all of their line. Now if they could just add a plug and say +50 mile EV range . . .

Bob Wilson

 

Going by the Wiki, the plant that made the Passport was a joint venture between Subaru and Isuzu during that time. Subaru took over when Isuzu started pulling out of the personal vehicle market in the US. They still sell commercial trucks here.

A factiod of interest for here. Hino, which is Toyota's commercial truck arm now, was originally part of Isuzu back in the 1940's.

 

Forgive me, but I haven't followed SUVs for the last 20 years.

What's the point of having four different SUVs, all of only modest differences in size?

Rav4
Venza
4Runner
Highlander

 

Add the C-HR at the top and the Sequoia at the bottom of your list and you can call it a full spectrum. They all have their niches.

I'd agree that it looks like a crowded lineup, but it's not so different than the Corolla/Camry/Avalon overlaps.

 

Have you checked sedan sales recently

A graph of sedan sales over the last decade will give you the answer.

 

The answer to why there are four (I guess six?) similarly-sized SUVs in the lineup?

 

Remember, there are other important differentiators beyond size. The C-HR and RAV4 are available as FWD for those who know they'll never leave a prepared road.

The 4Runner has deep truck roots- it still has a frame, real 4WD with lockers and other truck trimmings not found in the unibody/AWD classes of SUVs.

The Highlander is a minivan for people who need to drive minivans but worry about being seen in minivans.

 

Yep. buyers find teeny difference. And (more & more) buyers in the USA want bigger.
the same head scratchers can be made for some the the (lack of) differences between Lexus & Toyota. Take the Hyhi for instance. It can be just as well appointed as the Lexus RX model. The only reason we went with the RX, was because when the hybrid RX1st came out ... it was only available on the RX.
.

 

Simple answer: They are not similarly sized. The Highlander is significantly larger than the Rav4, the CH-R significantly smaller.

Do you consider the Corolla "similarly sized" compared to a Camry or a Yaris?

 

or the Avalon?
.

 

Because with the decline of actual car sales, their model choices decrease, and the SUV ones increase. With the C-HR, the Rav4, Venza, and Highlander gives Toyota a FWD/AWD unibody SUV line up comparable to Ford's(Ecosport, Escape, Edge, Explorer*), Chevy(Trax, Equinox, Blazer, Transverse), and Honda's(H-RV, C-RV, Passport, Pilot).

The 4runner is a RWD full frame truck, which some prefer when actually doing truck work, is a legacy model, and is Toyota's closest competitor to the Wrangler.

*new one now RWD based.

 

I can see a reason for about three sizes - small, medium, and large. Kind of like the Ford Explorer, Expedition and Excursion, which was the last time I paid attention to the SUV segment.

Like Corolla - Camera - Avalon.

 

And the Venza, although called an SUV by some, was more like a station wagon, a practical alternative to an SUV.