Which Rav4 For Me?

[cliffuk]

Hi I am Cliff from brighton & I am going to get a Rav 4 very soon, but I am lost to choose the one for me.

I drive about 5000 miles per year mainly normal road use. I have to carry stock for my business weighing up to 250k in boxes

Do I opt for petrol or diesel and if so what model?

I am looking at 2007 upwards , but not brand new 2010, can't afford it.

Oh, I have to let the wife drive it now & again!!!

[igormus]

Hi I am Cliff from brighton & I am going to get a Rav 4 very soon, but I am lost to choose the one for me.

I drive about 5000 miles per year mainly normal road use. I have to carry stock for my business weighing up to 250k in boxes

Do I opt for petrol or diesel and if so what model?

I am looking at 2007 upwards , but not brand new 2010, can't afford it.

Oh, I have to let the wife drive it now & again!!!

hi Mate

If you use it for a short distance the it is better petrol one and wise.

CHeers/Igor

[anchorman]

Hi Cliff.

Welcome to the club.

As Igor says, the petrol makes the most economic sense but I think you should drive both petrol and diesel as you might prefer the pulling power especially with a 250kg load. The newer 4.3s (as new as you can afford) have the easiest means of folding the seats but just look at a late 4.2 as the load space is much lower and the rear seats are easily removed altogether. The seats don't come out of a 4.3.

[bitman]

i can confirm anchorman as when we had the 5drs 4.2 we could sleep in the back with the seats removed the only thing is the back door but you can easy change that to replace the door stopper (search on this forum for more info)

[Hoovie]

Hi Cliff,

As has been said the load space on the RAV4.2 (2000- 2005) can be made enormous with the rear seats removed and I found that really useful on many occasions but ......  When the car is in this configuration, it is pretty noisy without the seats and parcel shelf to absorb the road and tyre noises from the rear. 

IMO, you would not want to have to be removing the rear seats and putting them back on a constant basis as it becomes a pain in the back!

I would go to a dealer with a complete set of (empty) boxes that you need to cart around and see how they fit into the 4.2 and the newer 4.3 so you can see which ones suit that aspect of your needs.

If you went for a 4.2, I would suggest Petrol over Diesel for a couple of reasons:

The Diesel engine in the 4.2 has this question mark about the DMF failing which - if it happens - is a very expensive repair.  

The Diesel version is more expensive to buy and I believe to service (including a belt change at 60k which the Petrol never needs as it does not have a belt!) 

The Petrol does drink fuel like it is going out of fashion (least under my right foot) but at 5,000 miles a year, the above reasons make it the better bet I think - and it goes really well on the road!

Only driven the 4.3 version a little, but I think I would go Diesel on 4.3 as I think the economy gap between petrol and diesel versions is greater and there are no DMF problems.

As Bitman mentions, the rear doors don't always open fully - this is on all RAVs that are fitted with a spare wheel but spending around £50 on a revised (longer) door check strap and five minutes of your time to fit is all that is needed to fix that.

Good Luck with your new RAV and have fun choosing