Greetings from Arizona! We decided to get a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday traffic by heading out to my folks a little early. I see every road trip as a potential for experimentation, and this time I decided to try a four-cylinder SUV.
The SUV is a Toyota Venza, and the four-cylinder is Toyota's 182 hp 2.7 liter, also found in the Sienna minivan and Tacoma pickup. And the results were pretty impressive. With two adults, two big kids, a dog, and enough luggage to fill the cargo bay, I expected some foot-to-the-floor action on the mountains to the east of Los Angeles. But the Venza did way better than I expected, sailing up the steepest grades with little drama. And our fuel economy for the trip -- with the driving split between law-abiding me and my speed-demon wife -- was 25.9 MPG, way better than we would have achieved with a V6.
Overall, I was impressed. Thanks to higher CAFE standards, small engines are here to stay. Okay, the Venza's engine isn't exactly small -- but it's a heck of a lot more modest than the big V6s usually found in 3,600 lb SUVs. I was glad to see that it worked so well. -- Aaron Gold
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