Toyota is introducing two new SUVs in China that are actually one and the same car. The most interesting of the bunch is the Venza, which has a striking snout.
Like Honda and Volkswagen, Toyota has several joint ventures in China that separately sell several of the same models, although they often differ slightly in name and appearance. GAC Auto, for example, sells the RAV4 with a different front as Wildlander, while joint venture FAW Auto simply calls the model RAV4. At GAC Toyota, the C-HR is simply called C-HR again, while that model is again called Izoa in the showrooms of FAW Toyota. Toyota is now also bringing the Harrier, unknown in Europe, to the market in China, and it also comes in two variants.
Toyota Venza
The Toyota Harrier is an SUV called Venza in the United States, which fills the gap between the RAV4 and the Highlander. That Harrier is now also coming to China, and is being sold by FAW Toyota as a Harrier, while the GAC Toyota version will be called Venza, just like in the American variant. The Venza now has a striking snout compared to the Harrier and is also marketed as a sportier model.
The Chinese Toyota Venza gets different headlights that, although they share their shape with those of the Harrier, have a different layout. More striking is the way Toyota fills the plastic part between the large lower and closed lower ‘grille’ and the hood. The Venza has a plastic part here, so that some Supra similarities can be observed in the front of the SUV. Compared to the Harrier, the Venza has a different lower grille and its own rear bumper.
The Harrier and Venza technically related to the RAV4 – they share the same wheelbase – will be launched in China with a naturally aspirated 2.0 petrol engine that delivers 171 hp. That front-wheel drive variant also gets two hybrid brothers with the well-known 2.5 Hybrid powertrain.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl