The Venza had disappeared for a while, but was brought back to life in 2021 as a hybrid-only CUV. It’s an excellent little utility with great gas mileage and, offering owners a slightly more premium feel. Apparently, Toyota seems to think that’s not good enough and wants to attract the cool kids to the 2023 Venza with a new Nightshade Edition. Will it be a shot in the dark or will it attract those young, savvy owners Toyota is searching for?
The 2023 Toyota Venza Nightshade Edition starts off as an XLE trim, which comes standard with a 12.3 inch Toyota Audio Multimedia touch screen, two USB C ports, fourth-generation Qi wireless charger, front and rear parking assist with auto braking, seven-inch multi information display (MID), and Smart Key System on top of the standard features of the Venza LE like Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 with Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Automatic High Beams, rear seat minder, and more. The Nightshade Edition adds three premium exterior colors of Celestial Black, Wind Chill Pearl, and Ruby Flare Red. Wind Chill Pearl is a replacement for Blizzard Pearl and is available for all 2023 Venzas as a premium white color.
Those exterior colors are accented with black trim both inside and out. The exterior chrome trim pieces are all replaced by black painted parts including the acrylic front grille trim, outer mirror caps, door handles, shark fin antenna, rear badges, and rocker panels. The roof rails, if an owner chooses that option, will also be painted black. The lower portions of the front and rear bumpers are treated to smoked chrome while the standard 19 inch multi-spoke wheels are painted in gloss black. Some improved forward visibility on this dark-themed hybrid comes in the form of LED fog lights, which are also now standard on regular XLE trim Venzas. Finally, for those who want more of an open-air feeling, you can add the Star Gaze panoramic roof to your 2023 Venza Nightshade.
Inside, you’ll get treated to the XLE’s standard interior—including the eight-way power driver’s seat—with the addition of black trim. You can also option for a set of heated and ventilated front seats for greater comfort in addition to the S-Flow air conditioning system technology. This system directs cooling air only to occupied seats and is controlled by the 12.3 inch screen’s capacitive controls. While the standard eight speaker sound system is great, you can option for the JBL Premium Audio System that features nine speakers, rear subwoofer, and a 12 channel 1,200 watt amplifier.
The best part is that these owners will have a CUV that’s bigger on the inside than it seems on the outside. You get 28.8 cu-ft of cargo room with the seats up, but that increases to 55.1 cu-ft when the rear seatbacks are folded down. If you’re worried about people spying on what you’re carrying, a tonneau cover can keep things hidden but can be stored under the cargo area deck.
Owners will also feel like the Venza Nightshade is smaller than it really is when it comes to its fuel consumption. Thanks to its hybrid system, the Venza’s 2.5 liter I-4 gets 40 mpg highway and 37 mpg in the city. It also doesn’t drive like a vehicle of its size with its on-demand AWD, which can transfer up to 80 percent of driving force to the rear wheels, despite its ICE being a FWD powertrain. The rear wheels are driven by an electric motor, giving it excellent acceleration from a dead stop and can even help with cornering agility by powering the rear wheels to reduce understeer.
The 2023 Toyota Venza Nightshade Edition is set to go on sale this fall.
Keyword: The 2023 Toyota Venza Hybrid Goes Dark With New Nightshade Edition