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Toyota’s long and successful history in the US owes a lot to the Baby Boom generation. Now in their mid-forties into their sixties, Boomers have always been agents for change. The various cultural revolutions of the 60s and 70s? Those were driven by young Baby Boomers. How about acceptance of Japanese cars (and Toyotas in particular) at a time when many Americans thought of anything from the land of the rising sun as cheap junk? Again, it was the Baby Boomers.
Today, more and more Baby Boomers are entering the “empty nest” stage of their lives. Their kids have left the house, and many are looking to consolidate and simplify their lives. Many have spent the last few years driving minivans and SUVs in order to accommodate family life. But now, they don’t need three rows of seats or that domesticated family vehicle image.

Enter the Toyota Venza. You can think of Venza as a great big “Thank You” from Toyota to its original customer base. Venza is a crossover in the truest sense of the word; it provides sedan-like efficiency and performance, SUV-like seating height for great visibility, and a minivan-like low floor/high roof architecture that makes it tremendously easy to get in and out of the vehicle. Oh, and it’s got limo-like rear leg room for those double-date nights out on the town. It exists under the hypothesis that many empty nesters no longer want an SUV or minivan, but don’t want to give up on the seating height, driver’s visibility, and utility that those vehicles provided. And it also understands that Boomers, while getting older, are NOT slowing down.
I think that the Venza perhaps represents the next step in passenger car design; a post-sedan, so to speak. It takes the best of SUV and minivan thinking and applies them to a sedan-like package. Thus, it’s a better sedan than most, in my opinion. It’s nimble and quick, feeling nothing like a ponderous SUV, but it’s got an interior package that is simply fantastic. The rear seat in particularly noteworthy; it is extremely comfortable for full-size adults – which is important as empty nesters will continue to have very social lifestyles. And for the active part of their lifestyles, the rear seats fold down with a single pull of a lever, revealing a massive and flat cargo area that would be perfect for trips to Home Depot, antiquing sprees, or surfing trips.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the clever center console. The entire surface slides back to reveal a cavernous hole. There is also a spring-loaded holder for MP3 players that has an opening for the audio cable to come out of the center console storage and plug into the player. Simple, effective, and it works. But you gotta wonder why there isn’t built-in iPod connectivity that allows you to control your iPod through the audio system interface. If it comes standard on cheaper Scions, why not here? And seriously, everyone I know over the age of 45 does in fact have an iPod.
Though Venza may have been designed with empty nesters in mind, it by no means should be pigeon-holed as being appropriate only to that life stage. It would make a fantastic family sedan too; in my opinion it’s far better and more useful than a Camry. It’s roomier and more flexible, and to my eyes it looks better too. Stylistically, it still may be an appliance, but this one’s more of a stainless steel LG rather than an apartment-spec white Whirlpool.
So once again, Boomers have inspired change, in this case inspiring a better “sedan” package that is relevant to anyone considering a traditional 3-box sedan. It’s only fitting that Toyota would come up with a vehicle like this as those Boomers helped the brand get off the ground back in the day. There’s a real innovative spirit that is core to that generation, and so too does it thrive in the Venza.