2021 Toyota Venza vs 2020 Mazda CX-5

According to a Harvard Business Review marketing study, there is such a thing as too much choice. And when the marketplace presents consumers with too much choice, there is a chance they won’t buy anything at all.

For the 2020 model year, there are more than 40 small or compact SUVs available, half of them sold by luxury brands. Small and scrappy Mazda offers three of them: the CX-3, the CX-30, and the CX-5. However, in a marketplace awash in Chevys, Fords, Hondas, and Toyotas, Mazda has trouble standing apart from the established crowd.

What’s the solution? Move upscale into “premium” territory.

Premium is where Buick, Fiat, GMC, Jeep, Mini, and Volkswagen play to varying levels of success. Combining the value inherent in a mainstream brand with the design, materials, and technology common to luxury brands, these premium vehicles attempt to provide more than mainstream for less than luxury.

At the same time, less is more. Because the 2020 Mazda CX-5 has but four similarly sized competitors in the premium class, that makes it easier for a consumer to choose, and more likely that a consumer will buy. The trick is convincing people that Mazda is a premium brand, and the automaker is taking a pragmatic approach to this emotionally charged solution.

At first glance, the 2021 Toyota Venza looks more like a Lexus than a typical Toyota, which is fitting, because the Venza is anything but typical. The new Venza blends a new approach to in-car technology with fresh exterior and interior design.

Like the Nissan Murano, Honda Passport, Ford Edge, and Chevrolet Blazer, the 2021 Venza is a two-row SUV meant to be more sophisticated than the family-friendly Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Equinox, and Toyota RAV4. There is no three-row Venza option.

It also comes only with a hybrid powertrain—for better or worse—something that its competition is lacking. All-wheel drive is also standard.

The Venza’s $38,490 Canadian starting price is slightly higher than the Murano and Blazer, but it comes with the traditionally more expensive hybrid powertrain. Is the hybrid worth shelling out a little more for in a new vehicle?