Tom:

Due to continuing reliability issues with an early production CUV from a big name Asian manufacturer, a couple of years ago I happily traded it in for a 2011 Toyota Venza AWD. It's designed in America, built only in America solely for the North American market.

I've taken it on a long trip to the desert southwest with 3 adults last fall & it is simply a wonderful vehicle. The 270 HP V6 has been used for eons in many of their models & is therefore now quite bullet-proof. It maintains good power up in the high country that might make the the 180 HP 4 Cyl strain a bit. The AWD is a must even though we infrequently get snow here either. But when we do - it's always that wet, heavy stuff & lots of it - AWD is worth every penny.

The only downside that I've found is that I'm kinda dreading having to change the rubber down the road as the rims are big 20 inchers. Could be expensive; however, these OEM tires seem to be wearing much better than my previous CUV that were toast in 20,000 miles - ridiculous.

Check the Venza out...

TAM