Thread: venza vs subaru outback

hi gang. i'm hoping that there have been some members that have compared the subaru outback and the venza. i had a 1994 camry wagon that i absolutely loved. i had ~250K on her when i met a ford f-150 head on. the camry wagon was totaled (as was the f-150) in 2005. i've not had a car that i truly loved since (subaru wagon, vw passat wagon, volvo wagon, and honda element). i've moved to western nc and have been informed by the locals and co-workers that i'll need some sort of 4wd/awd for the winter). my first thought was subaru but i'm sold on toyota reliability (i just found out the venza is offered in awd! . anyone care to give their .02?
thanks for any input. i'll be test driving both cars next week.
cheers!

I drove both and purchased the AWD Venza last week. Quieter, smoother ride, higher build quality and heat & AC vent for the back seat..

You should check out both for yourself. It can be argued that Subaru offers a better AWD system than Toyota, but you really can't compare the rest of the vehicle. Looks are subjective but I consider the Venza to be in a different league over the Outback. The Subaru may be more attractive to the utiliatarian type, but the Venza feels more like a "luxury" brand when compared to the Subaru.

As a "Subaru guy" I really hoped my wife would like the new Outback, but after we drove both vehicles, it was no contest. Needless to say that we bought the Venza and we are glad we did. But then again, we don't go out in snowstorms.