2021 Toyota Venza Ad Uses Rain and Lost Dog to Promote Standard All-Wheel Drive

“Lifesaver” comes courtesy of Saatchi & Saatchi, an advertising agency from the United Kingdom. The ad starts with a dog running in the rain and a woman shouting after the cutesy canine to no avail. Her boyfriend then shows up with the Venza, and they ultimately find the dog after the rain has stopped. The clip ends with the “everything you need, when you need it” tagline, which is an exaggeration.

Also exaggerated is the typical crossover buyer’s obsession for all-wheel drive in rainy conditions, more so if you remember that AWD defeats the purpose of fuel-saving technologies. Speaking of rainy weather, the choice of tires makes a much bigger difference than all-wheel drive in terms of braking and cornering performance on tarmac.

There’s also the problem of people underutilizing AWD in their crossovers, and there are also owners who don’t know that an AWD system is designed to run in front-wheel mode in regular driving scenarios. Yes, what Toyota calls all-wheel drive in the Venza is very different from the 4WD system in a Wrangler, a part-time system that can handle rocks and trails in the right hands.

Known as the Harrier in Japan, the mid-size crossover is produced in the Land of the Rising Sun in three trim levels for the United States market. These are the LE, XLE, and Limited, and all of them feature a hybrid powertrain. A 2.5-liter engine from the Dynamic Force family is hiding under the hood, paired to an e-CVT that offers a worse sense of control compared to a torque-converter automatic because there’s no actual upshifting and downshifting to speak of.

As for pricing and equipment, the entry-level LE offers a lot for $32,470 excluding destination charge. LED headlights and taillights, Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 and Star Safety System, and the hands-free power tailgate are a few of the highlight features that come standard, and the EPA fuel economy rating is 39 miles on the combined driving cycle.