Category: Small 4x4s 
Price Range: £19,155 to £25,905
Excellent quality, great diesel, car-like driving dynamics, Toyota reliability.
Petrol engine not powerful enough, some versions expensive, now five-door only, no joie de vivre.
The RAV4 has become all sensible and grown-up. It's a great car, but where's the fun gone?
The new RAV4 should be cheaper to run than its predecessor, as its part-time 4WD system should reduce fuel consumption under normal driving conditions compared to the old model's full-time 4WD.
Official figures for the combined cycle are 32.8mpg for the manual petrol, 31.4mpg for the petrol auto, 42.8mpg for the low-powered diesel and 40.4mpg for the T180 diesel an improvement over the last range, and economy better than for most rival 4x4s. Carbon dioxide output (determining tax bandings) is also improved.
The initial purchase price of the RAV4 is a little higher than for most rivals, but its additional standard equipment should make up for this. Servicing is every 10,000miles or 12 months, with major work occurring every other year. Residual (resale) values have traditionally been strong for the RAV4, with high demand on the secondhand market.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Toyota RAV4
wrote on 18 03 2008
wrote on 16 03 2007
wrote on 10 12 2006