TOC Reviews
Rav4 Moves Forward
By Ian
Mar 31, 2006 - 4:00:00 PM

In the late 90’s, there was a sudden upturn in people buying Off Road vehicles, and while previously the choice of farmers and people wanting to drive up mountains, these new buyers were families. They were buying them because it made them, and more importantly, their children feel safe and protected, and all manufacturers scrambled to bring out, so called Soft-roaders to provide to this emerging market.

Toyota were no stranger to this market, having arguably the best ‘off road’ car on sale with the Landcruiser, and while Land Rover certainly had the image, you just need to ask any Australian which car to take into the outback. The response is likely to be a shrug and ‘any’, but most importantly, he’ll follow up with, “But if you want to come back, take a Landcrusier”.

However, Toyota realised the nearest these 4x4’s were going to get to of roading was a muddy field taking the kids to a horse riding lesson. So they did what no other manufacturer had done before, they designed the car to be good on road first and foremost. It was targeted towards the smaller versions, which with a small wheelbase were much better for driving, and more importantly, parking in the city. While other manufacturers were doing everything to make their’s butch and rugged looking, Toyota gave the Rav4 a cheeky and fun look, and where it really excelled was, the fun part was more than skin deep.

Yes, the Rav4 was truly original, it was fun to drive, and I mean, really fun, a red GTi badge wouldn’t have been out of place on the boot lid, and while ground clearance wasn’t great, it still could mount the kerb outside the school while still being a reasonably comfortable motorway cruiser.

There was a new model in 2000, which saw the car grow 100mm longer and 50mm wider, and the look matured with age, but the drivability and fun was still there, it was just in a more family friendly package.

The brand new Rav4 has a hard act to follow.

At first glance, its certainly grown up, the style has continued to mature, and it has continued to grow, and is now 200mm longer and 100mm wider than the outgoing model, meaning there is a vast improvement in rear leg space, and the ability to slide the back seats means you can increase either leg or boot space. The latter needs all the help it can get, although there is some additional storage under the floor, there really isn’t much space, and the side opening door stops before it reaches 90 degrees, meaning it will awkward to put the flat packs in. The price too has grown, with a starting price of just short of £19,000, stretching to £27,000 for the top spec T180.

The build quality is improved too, the new Rav feeling very solid and well built, the interior too, while still a vast expanse of plastic, feels well put together, and the trip computer under the speedo flashes a Rav4 graphic as you switch on the engine. Infact, the only thing that lets the interior down was the silver plastic around the stereo heating console, while trying to look like aluminium, it just made the dash look cheap, something not helped by the basic climate control digital screen which could have been stolen from a 1987 Casio Calculator.

Once your moving, your attention is drawn to the large, more steeply raked windscreen, giving an excellent view of the road ahead, coupled with large wing mirrors, which counteract the limited rear view from the rear view mirror the new Rav offers good all round visibility. The test car was a 2.0 Petrol Xt4, the only petrol engine on offer, which offers 142bhp and a casual 10.6 seconds dash to 62. The only other choice as far as engines are concerned is the 2.2 diesel, which comes either in a 140bhp variant, or if you opt for the T180, you get the 180bhp oil burner from the Avensis which also comes with a 6-speed gearbox.

On the road, the Rav is comfortable, easy to drive, the electric power steering is speed sensitive, and around town it made the Rav light and easy to manoeuvre. It rides well, giving smooth comfortable progress, soaking up potholes and bumps, and as you leave town, you accelerate up to the national speed limit easier than the torque of the engine would suggest, and this is where things start to look less rosy. The steering, while not as light as in town, is still far too overassited, offering very little feedback, the gearbox is clunky and ungainly, a definite fly in the otherwise relaxing soup that is driving the Rav.

This is more due to their ADS (Active Drive System), and more than just another TLA (three letter acronym) this is a computer controlled system to combine the power steering, electrically adjustable permanent 4 wheel drive and VSC (vehicle stability control), a system similar to that on the Nissan Skyline GTR which send the torque to different wheels depending on the road conditions, which Toyota say combined with their ABS and EBFD vastly improves safety, and should all these electrics fail to keep you out of trouble, the new Rav has enough airbags to turn the interior into a bouncy castle.

Where the original excelled was out on the A-roads, and the new Rav certainly destroys it’s competition on the bends, the lack of bodyroll making the driver feel reassured, but unfortunately, you can never get away from the high centre of gravity, and you have to work hard to keep the nose in and stop the car running wide, not an easy task when the steering is providing you less information than you'd get in a sensory deprevation chamber.

Don’t get me wrong, the car corners well, is comfortable, and apart from the slight issue of wind noise at motorway speeds, you could drive for hours in the Rav and arrive as fresh as when you left, and while it felt like a numbed driving experience, when compared to the Rav4’s competitors in the market, it is still a vast improvement, but when compared to the B-road stormer it replaces, you can’t help but be disappointed.

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