"MUSASHI66" (musashi66)
05/18/2020 at 11:20 • Filed to: None
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"MUSASHI66" (musashi66)
05/18/2020 at 11:20 • Filed to: None | 3
| 26 |
“The Venza’s shapes are more organic and flowing, which is a contrast to the macho RAV4.”
First time in history a RAV4 was called “macho”.
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avalonian
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 11:27 |
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The OG venza was actually pretty nice. A d a phenomenal deal in the used car market.
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MUSASHI66
> avalonian
05/18/2020 at 11:29 |
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With the V6, it was somewhat of a sleeper. I actually really liked it.
camarov6rs
> avalonian
05/18/2020 at 11:38 |
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For a car to not be successful enough to warrant keeping around I find it interesting that the Venza inspired Honda to make the Crosstour
DasWauto
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 11:45 |
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I wonder if the demographics of buyers will be the same as the first generation. Here in southern Ontario they seemed to be driven by older people going right on the speed limit on rural 2-lane roads, or absolute lunatics in their late 40s/early 50s trying to go 40km/h over the limit on a crowded highway.
Boxer_4
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 11:49 |
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The original Venza was pretty much what my dad was looking for back in 2012 - the 19” wheels and low profile tires are what killed it for him. He ended up with an Outback 3.6R. He’ll be in the market for something new in the next few years, and the hybrid only drivetrain will kill it for him this time around - and I don’t blame him.
Also, I want to grab the screen with both hands and break it off the dash. I don’t think I could bring myself to buy a car with a screen setup like that.
Editor_In_Grief
> avalonian
05/18/2020 at 11:54 |
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I always liked the first gen Venza, but it seemed to get an entire palette of paint options developed for and rejected by Lexus. They were all too densely metallic and/or pearlescent with hardly any depth. It made them look, for lack of a better word, fuzzy, like you couldn’t get an in-focus photo of one. This new one looks pretty nice. Appreciably wagony.
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MUSASHI66
> camarov6rs
05/18/2020 at 12:05 |
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Do you remember Crosstour test mules? Euro Accord Wagon with a lift and fender flares. It looked so damn good. I was ready to buy it. Then they released the production version. Back home we have a saying - “it looked like a dead body spat out after a flood”. Probably one of the ugliest cars on the century.
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MUSASHI66
> DasWauto
05/18/2020 at 12:06 |
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Let’s see how many people find a RAV4 too small, Highlander too big, and 4runner too rough.
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MUSASHI66
> Boxer_4
05/18/2020 at 12:07 |
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It seems they are 5 years behind the curve on screen placement.
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Boxer_4
05/18/2020 at 12:20 |
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This is an absolutely terrible screen setup. Why?
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 12:25 |
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This is just a badge job on the Harrier. I think it’s pretty handsome...but do we really need another Toyota SUV between the RAV 4 and the Highlander???
https://global.toyota/en/mobility/toyota-brand/gallery/harrier.html
Mike Farber
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/18/2020 at 12:34 |
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I mean the mid-size 2-row crossover gap has been wide open in Toyota’s lineup for some time, since they discontinued the old Venza 5 years ago. The automotive industry is going the way of the crossover, I have to reluctantly say. That’s why H onda rushed to chop the Pilot in half and revive the Passport name. They couldn’t afford the time needed for R&D for a separate model, and at this point, neither could toyota.
Neat looking car, though. Gives me 2nd gen Mirai vibes. I wonder how the RX will fare now that this new Venza is out.
carcrasher88
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 12:34 |
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It’s also a LHD US-spec version of the fourth-gen JDM Harrier, marking the third generation of Harrier to be sold in the US (first two were sold here as the Lexus RX, before the RX split off as it’s own independent model).
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MUSASHI66
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/18/2020 at 12:38 |
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I guess bean counters did their thing and decided that YES was the answer. With Passport and Edge and Trailblazer and Murano as competition, why not have a slice of the pie when federalization was the only obstacle?
dogisbadob
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 12:39 |
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Yay
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Mike Farber
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 12:41 |
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I remember reading about how the Harrier could potentially enter the US market a couple weeks ago. And this is literally it. My main question now is how the Lexus RX will fare now that this is out. Considering that: 1. The 1st and 2nd gen RX was literally the Harrier in JDM. 2. This newly revived Venza looks pretty damn nice. The screen is bigger in the Venza and is touch, making it FAR more intuitive than Lexus Enform. Plus that saddle and black interior with the alcantara accents looks stunning. Above and beyond from Toyota, I must say.
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MUSASHI66
> Mike Farber
05/18/2020 at 12:49 |
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RX is so solid in it s place, I doubt anyone will jump down to Toyota. The badge is worth a lot for many, and I presume RX will continue to have better NVH levels than Toyota models. Plus, engine options are way, way better.
gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 13:43 |
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I wouldn’t use macho, to describe the angry headlights.
This is a much better front.
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camarov6rs
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 13:46 |
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Objectively the crosstour could’ve been awesome. It could be had with a Honda V6 and AWD in something smaller than a midsize crossover
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camarov6rs
> Mike Farber
05/18/2020 at 13:49 |
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I feel like Toyota is being driven too much by the bean counters now. The CEO promised more excitement and achieved that by bank rolling two other companies to design cars for them rather than doing it all themselves.
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MUSASHI66
> gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
05/18/2020 at 14:33 |
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Same here. RAV4 screams suburban mom to me, but I might be wrong.
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MUSASHI66
> camarov6rs
05/18/2020 at 14:36 |
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It had so much potential. It’s just unfortunate looking.
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/18/2020 at 14:39 |
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Well they made the Rav4 more angry like the 4Runner, so if a mom wants a more docile looking vehicle it may work. I built the Toyota booth for the auto show a couple times, I remember driving the new Rav4 in thinking some soccer moms may not like the new aggressive look that some others would like instead of a larger 4Runner.
I used to live in Japan and my wife is from there, apparently Venza sounds like toilet seat in Japanese, so we call them that when we see one.
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ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
05/18/2020 at 15:06 |
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Good point about the RAV4. In some trims it looks OK as far as looking “professional” goes but agreed that the best looking trims are also the tough/outdoorsy vibe ones - which maybe for Karen from HR isn’t the vibe she’s looking to give out. But...isn’t there a Lexus for that (i.e. RX? fun fact - a few generations ago the Harrier was a re-badged RX) ? I suspect this will be quite a bit pricier than the RAV4, so between this an a Lexus equivalent again we’re getting to Mercedes levels of market segmentation.
Where in Japan did you live? My brother’s wife is Japanese too, they actually just moved there. (she’s from Nagasaki, they’re in the process of moving to Fukuoka over the coming weeks). My brother pointed out that this now explains why the new JDM Harrier has Toyota badges all over it, instead of the traditional “Harrier” badge they’ve used in prior generations -
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415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/18/2020 at 15:15 |
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Yeah that’s true, the Harrier did have those badges . My wife is from the Mt. Fuji area, Lake Kawaguchiko. I lived in Yokohama mostly and she was in college back then when I met her. Fukuoka gets a sumo tournament , they are held every two months and go for two weeks. T hey can go to that, it’s quite an experience, I got hooked on sumo twenty years ago and I go to a tournament any chance I get.
But yeah they better think about pricing, the RX is everywhere, I live in Marin now and that is a staple vehicle for a certain demographic.
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Mike Farber
> MUSASHI66
05/18/2020 at 15:45 |
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I’d have to agree. Lexus just gave the RX a mid-cycle refresh, so it should be on its way out within the next couple years. Given it’s their best-selling model, they’d better up their ante if they want to separate themselves from the Venza and catch up with the Germans and now Genesis. It’s a critical model, and the loyalists that keep the RX badge so solidified can’t be disappointed.