Most automakers offer a compact SUV and a midsize one. Toyota does the same with its RAV4 and Highlander. But it also slots one between the two for Goldilocks shoppers who find neither size just right. With standard all-wheel-drive and a hybrid powertrain, the Venza checks a lot of boxes.
It’s such a precise formula that Toyota finds little reason to tweak it from year to year. The 2023 Venza is largely the 2022 Venza, with just two significant changes. Toyota hasn’t released pricing yet. We expect to see the current model’s $33,240 starting price (plus shipping and handling) rise to keep pace with inflation.
One update applies to every 2023 Venza. The 2023 model gets Toyota’s Safety Sense 2.5 driver assistance system. That means automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, designed to work as well in turns as head-on. It also means adaptive cruise, lane tracing, road sign recognition, automatic high beams, and a rear-seat reminder that prompts you to check the back for kids or pets.
The 2023 Venza also comes with safety tech that isn’t considered part of TSS 2.5. This includes rear cross-traffic alerts, rear automatic braking, and blind-spot warning.
Toyota also adds a Nightshade Edition to the Venza lineup for 2023. Nightshade Editions are Toyota’s version of the blacked-out-trim look that has become so popular in recent years. On the Venza, it means darker “smoked chrome” trim and badges, plus gloss black mirror caps, door handles, roof rails, and sharkfin antenna.
It also adds a feature other Toyota Nightshade Edition vehicles don’t carry – a “Star Gaze” panoramic sunroof. Made of electrochromic glass, it turns from clear to frosted at the touch of a button. Previously, it was found only on the top-of-the-line Venza Limited trim. The Nightshade Edition is likely to be the least expensive way to get it.
