Category: Small 4x4s 
Price Range: £19,095 to £25,845
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?
Another marked improvement over the previous model: the RAV4 is now refined, quiet and roomier than before for all five occupants. Head, leg and elbow room is good in all seats and especially in the rear.
The rear seats can slide back and forth to increase boot space, although this does reduce legroom. They are split 60:40 and can be folded flat with a quick pull of a boot-mounted lever, giving a maximum load space of 1469litres, or 586litres with the seats in place.
Four trim levels are offered: XT3, XT4, XT5 and T180. The top-spec T180 trim is exclusively available with the 174bhp 2.2-litre diesel, with the three other trim levels available with the petrol or 134bhp diesel engines.
XT3 models have 17" alloys, air con, a single-CD player with MP3 capability, electric mirrors and windows, roof rails and nine airbags. Additional equipment for XT4 models include front fog lights, folding door mirrors, dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery, electric sunroof, six-disc CD autochanger and VSC+ (stability control). XT5 models gain heated seats, cruise control, colour-screen sat nav and Bluetooth phone kit. The 'premium level' T180 gets 18" alloy wheels (fitted with run-flat tyres, removing the need for a rear-mounted spare wheel), a chrome grille, wheel arch extensions and tinted rear windows.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Toyota RAV4
wrote on 18 03 2008
wrote on 16 03 2007
wrote on 10 12 2006