5th Generation Toyota RAV4 Master Thread

[Motor]

The RAV4 TRD Off-Road was a pleasant surprise...IMO...it needs a TRD front skid plate, too. Yeah, I know, not a single soul buying one of these is going to take it off-road.

 

[mmcartalk]

The RAV4 TRD Off-Road was a pleasant surprise...IMO...it needs a TRD front skid plate, too. Yeah, I know, not a single soul buying one of these is going to take it off-road.

......either that, or simply out of ignorance, TRD-spec or not, someone will overdo it off-road and damage it. No matter how Toyota modifies it, a RAV-4 is not going to be a Jeep Wrangler....particularly a Wrangler Rubicon.

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

No matter how Toyota modifies it, a RAV-4 is not going to be a Jeep Wrangler....particularly a Wrangler Rubicon.

Very true, but Jeep has been slapping Trail Rated badges on Trailhawk versions of its Renegade, Compass and Cherokee FWD-centric crossovers, and this seems to be what Toyota is going after with its TRD Off-Road RAV4. It'll be interesting to see if Highlander, C-HR and the rumored Euro Yaris-derived TNGA-B crossover also eventually offer Adventure and TRD Off-Road variants.

 

[Motor]

 

[Motor]

 

[Motor]

I think Toyota should make a RAV4 TRD On-Road based off of the XSE Hybrid with chassis, suspension, wheel/tire etc. upgrades. I find that more appealing than the TRD Off-Road.

 

[mikeavelli]

So my first one in the wild at Costco. I think it was a pretty base spec so I barely noticed it.

 

[Motor]

 

[Motor]

 

[Gecko]

I have seen some sticker shock comments about Rav4s in the realm of $38-40k, but my 2013 Limited AWD was I think $36k sticker? When I build a 2019, it ends up being about $1,500 more than that but the new one has so many options and features the old Rav4 lacked. If you want to saddle it up with panoramic roof and tons of other extras... yeah... you are hovering around $40k. But those are pretty top-end features that well... are expensive.

 

[Motor]

The MSRP on my 17 Limited 2WD was $37K and after deals/discounts I ended up paying a little less than $30K (before tax). I can't think of a vehicle where the next generation model didn't trend upward slightly in price. On another note, I contacted two of my local Toyota dealers to let me know when they get an XSE Hybrid in for a test drive.

 

[Gecko]

@Motor let us know when you have a chance to drive it - and take pics!

While I am still happy with my 4Runner, the 5th gen Rav4 really is appealing. I am particularly fond of the Limited Hybrid... but also like the Adventure, except for the orange interior accents.

I've seen pics of a few black/black Adventures, and that is a seriously upscale looking vehicle IMO.

 

[Motor]

 

[Bluesuprarcf52]

I hope the RAV4 gets a dynamic force turbocharged four cylinder as upper engine option in the future. It would be nice.

 

[Motor]

 

[Motor]

Bad verdict.

 

[Motor]

 

[Tragic Bronson]

Just waiting on savagegeese to review one

 

[spwolf]

@Motor let us know when you have a chance to drive it - and take pics!

While I am still happy with my 4Runner, the 5th gen Rav4 really is appealing. I am particularly fond of the Limited Hybrid... but also like the Adventure, except for the orange interior accents.

I've seen pics of a few black/black Adventures, and that is a seriously upscale looking vehicle IMO.

I drove hybrid FWD in europe few days ago... it is much improved Rav4 that is for sure, and interior is certainly almost premium now where it was pretty basic before. Drove CX-5 same day, and they are pretty different vehicles. CX-5 interior in version i drove is more luxurious but Rav4 isnt bad either, with a lot of deep soft touch fake leather everywhere. Rav4 was much bigger inside though and had way more comfy seats, also hybrid is just superior to even great Mazda diesel... Hybrid was pretty noisy at WOT but kind of sporty noisy now, much preferable to diesel clatter and 6AT. Also Rav4 had 6.0l average consumption, CX-5 had 9.2l. CX5 was sportier drive, easier to place in sharp curves, but a touch too uncomfortable and left me feel too much of those small potholes that city roads are filled with. Rav4 was harder to place but handled fine enough (wasnt boaty) and best of all, those same bumps were not felt at all. Deal breaker for CX-5 that i wanted to love was that seats were too uncomfortable for by big arse, they seem to be imitating germans but also having pretty short JDM style thigh support. Rav4 seats were much bigger in regular variant, very comfy, more like Land Cruiser seats while style version had a touch too strong side bolsters.

Also the sport version called style is by far the best looking rav4 in europe with dual tone paint... every other version is just ok, while Style is head turner for sure.

Both were pretty expensive vehicles here, with similar price - roughly $58k or so. I might end up buying some 2yr old german v6 with >250hp for same money.

 

[Gecko]

I drove hybrid FWD in europe few days ago... it is much improved Rav4 that is for sure, and interior is certainly almost premium now where it was pretty basic before. Drove CX-5 same day, and they are pretty different vehicles. CX-5 interior in version i drove is more luxurious but Rav4 isnt bad either, with a lot of deep soft touch fake leather everywhere. Rav4 was much bigger inside though and had way more comfy seats, also hybrid is just superior to even great Mazda diesel... Hybrid was pretty noisy at WOT but kind of sporty noisy now, much preferable to diesel clatter and 6AT. Also Rav4 had 6.0l average consumption, CX-5 had 9.2l. CX5 was sportier drive, easier to place in sharp curves, but a touch too uncomfortable and left me feel too much of those small potholes that city roads are filled with. Rav4 was harder to place but handled fine enough (wasnt boaty) and best of all, those same bumps were not felt at all. Deal breaker for CX-5 that i wanted to love was that seats were too uncomfortable for by big arse, they seem to be imitating germans but also having pretty short JDM style thigh support. Rav4 seats were much bigger in regular variant, very comfy, more like Land Cruiser seats while style version had a touch too strong side bolsters.

Also the sport version called style is by far the best looking rav4 in europe with dual tone paint... every other version is just ok, while Style is head turner for sure.

Both were pretty expensive vehicles here, with similar price - roughly $58k or so. I might end up buying some 2yr old german v6 with >250hp for same money.

Thanks so much for your overview - I enjoyed reading it! When I bought my Rav4 in 2013, it also came down to CX-5 and Rav4, and I felt the exact same as you: Rav4 interior was much larger and more comfortable for me (I am 6 ft 1 in). I'm happy to hear the new one is even more comfortable!