Compare the2023 Ford EdgeVS 2023 Toyota Venza

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Edge have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Toyota Venza doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Ford Edge has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Venza doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Both the Edge and the Venza have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available front and rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Edge is safer than the Toyota Venza:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Edge is safer than the Toyota Venza:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

There are over 2 times as many Ford dealers as there are Toyota dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Edge’s warranty.

The Edge has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Venza doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

The Edge’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 31 more horsepower (250 vs. 219) than the Venza’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Edge ST’s standard 2.7 turbo V6 produces 116 more horsepower (335 vs. 219) than the Venza’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the Ford Edge turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Toyota Venza:

Both the Edge and Venza have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Edge has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Edge has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Venza (18.5 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Edge has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Venza doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the Edge’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Venza:

The Edge ST’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Venza are solid, not vented.

The Edge stops much shorter than the Venza:

For better traction, the Edge has larger standard tires than the Venza (245/60R18 vs. 225/60R18). The Edge ST’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Venza (265/40R21 vs. 225/60R18).

The Edge ST’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Venza XLE/Nightshade/Limited’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Edge ST offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Venza’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The Edge has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Venza doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Edge’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Venza doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Edge’s wheelbase is 6.3 inches longer than on the Venza (112.2 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Edge is 1.8 inches wider in the front and .9 inches wider in the rear than on the Venza.

The Edge ST handles at .83 G’s, while the Venza Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Edge ST executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the Venza Limited (26 seconds @ .7 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

The Edge ST uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Venza doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Edge has 15.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Venza (113.9 vs. 98.3).

The Edge has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 1.7 inches more front legroom, 1.5 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom, 12.3 inches more rear hip room and 3.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Venza.

The Edge has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Venza with its rear seat up (39.2 vs. 28.8 cubic feet). The Edge has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Venza with its rear seat folded (73.4 vs. 55.1 cubic feet).

The Edge’s cargo area is larger than the Venza’s in every dimension:

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Edge SEL/Titanium/ST’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Venza doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Edge has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The Venza has no towing capacity.

The Edge ST can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Edge can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Venza can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Optional Trailer Sway Control on the Edge (except SE) uses the AdvanceTrac® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Venza doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Edge uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Venza uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Edge offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Venza doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Edge’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Venza’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Edge’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Venza’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Edge Titanium/ST offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Venza doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Edge SEL/ST-Line/ST/Titanium’s standard rear view mirror and optional side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Venza offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Edge and the Venza offer available heated front seats. The Edge Titanium/ST also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Venza.

The Edge (except SE) offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Venza doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Edge Titanium/ST’s optional Active Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Venza doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Ford Edge has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

The Ford Edge outsold the Toyota Venza by almost three to one during 2022.