Compare the2025 Mazda CX-70VS 2024 Toyota Venza

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-70 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 Mazda CX-70 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the CX-70’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Venza doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-70 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Rear Cross Traffic Braking, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the Venza XLE/Nightshade/Limited offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the CX-70 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Mazda CX-70 weighs 950 to 1351 pounds more than the Toyota Venza. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mazda CX-70 is safer than the Venza:

The Mazda CX-70 achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Venza last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

The CX-70’s standard 3.3 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid produces 61 more horsepower (280 vs. 219) than the Venza’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The CX-70 PHEV’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 104 more horsepower (323 vs. 219) than the Venza’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The CX-70 Turbo S’ standard 3.3 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid produces 121 more horsepower (340 vs. 219) than the Venza’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the CX-70 PHEV 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid is faster than the Toyota Venza:

The CX-70 PHEV can travel with zero emissions for 26 miles. The Venza has to start its internal combustion engine after only 1.6 miles.

Both the CX-70 and Venza have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The CX-70 has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The CX-70’s standard fuel tank has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Venza (18.5 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The CX-70 Turbo S’ standard fuel tank has 5.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Venza (19.6 vs. 14.5 gallons).

For better stopping power the CX-70’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Venza:

The CX-70’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 CX-70 stops shorter than the Venza:

For better traction, the CX-70 has larger standard tires than the Venza (265/55R19 vs. 225/60R18). The CX-70 Premium’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Venza (275/45R21 vs. 225/60R18).

The CX-70’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Venza LE’s standard 60 series tires. The CX-70 Premium’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Venza XLE/Nightshade/Limited’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CX-70 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Venza LE. The CX-70 Premium’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Venza XLE/Nightshade/Limited.

The CX-70 has 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-70’s wheelbase is 16.9 inches longer than on the Venza (122.8 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the CX-70 is 4.1 inches wider in the front and 3.4 inches wider in the rear than on the Venza.

The CX-70 PHEV Premium Plus handles at .82 G’s, while the Venza Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CX-70 PHEV Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Venza Limited (26.9 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

The CX-70 has 43.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Venza (141.6 vs. 98.3).

The CX-70 has 1.1 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 1.6 inches more rear legroom, 10.3 inches more rear hip room and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Venza.

The CX-70 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Venza with its rear seat up (39.6 vs. 28.8 cubic feet). The CX-70 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Venza with its rear seat folded (75.3 vs. 55.1 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CX-70 easier. The CX-70’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 31.2 inches, while the Venza’s liftover is 32.9 inches.

The CX-70’s cargo area is larger than the Venza’s in almost every dimension:

Pressing a button automatically lowers the CX-70’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Venza doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The CX-70 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The Venza has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the CX-70 uses the Dynamic Stability Control 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 CX-70 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 engine in the CX-70 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Venza. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The CX-70’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Venza’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The CX-70’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Venza’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the CX-70 Turbo S has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Venza doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the CX-70 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Venza doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the CX-70 Turbo S is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Venza’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The CX-70 Premium’s standard rear and 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.

The CX-70 has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats are only available on the Venza XLE/Nightshade/Limited. The CX-70 Premium Plus/Turbo S also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Venza.

The CX-70 Premium Plus has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, 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.