The short-lived SUV will die so the Crown Signia can live.
Raise your hand if you saw this coming. When Toyota unveiled the Crown Signia last night, many of us felt the company’s SUV lineup was getting too crowded. Toyota seemingly felt the same way, so the Venza will be dropped after the 2024 model year, replaced by the SUV-ified Crown. The Venza will retire just after its fourth birthday.
Dave Christ, general manager at Toyota North America, told Automotive News there was some internal debate about whether to keep the Venza in the lineup: “We were very happy with the Venza, and if it weren’t so close to Crown Signia, we would have kept it, but the dimensions are similar and it’s a very similar buyer, so we made the decision to sunset the Venza.”
2021 Toyota Venza: First Drive
Toyota has yet to announce pricing details for the 2025 Crown Signia, but Christ mentioned it’s going to cost “in the ballpark” as the Venza. For its final model year in the United States, the latter kicks off at $36,315 for the base LE and rises to $44,460 for the range-topping Limited trim.
Known as the Harrier in other markets, the Venza sits on the same TNGA-K platform as the Crown Signia, which also has an alter ego since it’s the Crown Estate in Japan. The new member of Toyota’s SUV lineup is also hybrid-only with standard all-wheel drive, like the Venza. While the soon-to-be-dead model has 219 horsepower, its successor delivers 243 hp.
According to preliminary estimates from Toyota, the Crown Signia will return 36 miles per gallon. The 2024 Venza is rated by the EPA at 39 mpg combined, so that’s three fewer miles per gallon than its predecessor. As for towing capacity, the new SUV can haul up to 2,700 pounds whereas the the Venza was not rated to tow a trailer.
Toyota USA will have the 2025 Crown Signia at dealers next summer when it will join the high-riding Crown sedan. Over in Japan, there are two additional models, a smaller Crown Sport crossover and a regular Crown sedan. It’s unclear whether these are also coming to North America but Toyota has made it clear it wants to transform Crown into a global lineup of its own.
In the Land of the Rising Sun, there are even dedicated Crown dealerships, which goes to show Toyota is serious about turning the Crown into a sub-brand. The more prestigious Century is also blossoming since there’s now an ultra-posh SUV as well.
Keyword: Toyota Is Killing The Venza