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Considering A Rav4


sotal
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I used to be a celica owner and used to be a regular on here,

Whilst driving down the motorway the other day we were discussing cars we'd like as the main family car.

We both quite like the Rav4. My wife prefers the smaller 3 door rather than the 5 door, and as she drives the 'family' car the most it will be more her choice.

But... I need to keep it practical.

We need to be able to tow the caravan, with stuff for a week packed up in the car.

I need to be able to fit my mountain bike in the back easily

We've currently got a Galaxy and it's been really good with no nasty breakdowns, it has been really reliable. I can put my bike straight in the back with removing the wheels etc, it does 50mpg on a good run and it tows the caravan really well with plenty of room for luggage in the car.

How will the Rav4 compare? I presume we're going to need the 5 door to cope with what we need?

I'd be looking around 02 to 03 reg. When did any major model changes occur?

How well do they do on fuel in the real world? Is it worth the extra for a D4D or is the saving great enough on a petrol to pay for the extra fuel? We only do about 7-8k per year in it.

Anything else to think about?

Thanks

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Hello.

We have recently purchased a 2008 RAV4 (i know you said 02/03 but i cant help with that im afraid) as a family car.

I have an Audi A4 avant, which is great for both mountain biking (using roof rails) and also carrying the dog (labrador) in the boot. It is also pretty good for touring as we have a roof box too.

However, with the recent arrival of our son, it just isnt big enough for all of the above plus him and his pushchair etc. My wife had a Seat Ibiza which was even more impracticle (albeit a cracking little car), hence the sale of the Seat and the purchase of the Rav.

We have found the Rav to be perfect. We can easily fit the wheels for the (baby) travel system in the boot along with the dog. The option of being able to slide the back seats forward a few inches also means that we can fit the carry cot part of the travel system in the boot too - there is no way we could fit all of that in the Audi.

The fact that we only need to slide one seat forward, still leaves plenty of room for the wee guy on his side of the back seats, and still leaves plenty of room to put a few bags in there.

I havent pruchased roof rails yet, but when i do, i will be able to carry all of the above AND a roof box AND a mountain bike - all at the same time without needing to put any bags in the car itself!

We have a 2.2 D4D which is currently running at 41 mpg (mostly town driving) so the fuel economy is great too. When we travel on the motorway it is usually running nearer to 47 mpg.

All in all, i am delighted with our purchased. It serves all our needs as both a family car and for touring and is something i would certainly recommend.

Saying all that, ive no idea how a 2008 model compares to a 02/03 model, so everything ive said may well have been a complete waste of time! Lol :lol:

ps I still use my Audi of course, and the Rav is the wifes car. Just seems to be that whenever we go anywhere as a family, the Rav is by far the better option.

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You wont get a bike in with the rear seats up and if you want a bike rack rack you will need one that attached to the towbar because of the rear spare.

The towbar will need to be detachable which is a huge pain and once in place you can't open the rear door.

Don't get me wrong the RAV is a great car but I don't honestly think it would be what you need.

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You wont get a bike in with the rear seats up and if you want a bike rack rack you will need one that attached to the towbar because of the rear spare.

The towbar will need to be detachable which is a huge pain and once in place you can't open the rear door.

Don't get me wrong the RAV is a great car but I don't honestly think it would be what you need.

Could he not fit a Roof Rack?

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Putting bikes on roofs has been discussed several times. It is of course possible but it helps if six foot six inches tall and you don't pass under those thingies that are designed to stop large vans going underneath them. Wouldn't fancy it with a strong crosswind either.

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hi

I've a 52 plate nrg 3 door vvti 2ltr petrol , returns around 32 mpg , i dont tow a caravan anymore but i would think you'd be down to low 20's towing with one. d4d would be a better towing machine , but you dont really do enough miles a year to warrant one , but that's up to you , but read the threads on DMF issues with the d4d rav

I dont think i would want to tow more than about a 14 to 16 footer with a 3 door due to the short wheelbase the 5 door would be a better proposition , stability wise. Memories of my st1600 celica being slung all over the road by an empty 18 foot portman executive tourer spring to mind.

space wise obviously the 5 doors the better choice , I just take the rear seats out of mine when i need more space (but i dont do bikes)for car boots and going over to france , and stick the Roof Rack on for when i run out of room inside. For 2 people and a dog my 3 doors bob on.

reliability wise , mine's on 125k and has never missed a beat , the only non service related item was a broken exhaust, and I've had her nearly 7 years.

All depends on the size of your van,and what you load into it, and your car. You might want something a bit bigger than a RAV.

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Thanks for the replies - I've never much liked the hassle of bike racks - either roof or tailgate etc. Would much prefer to put the bike in the car.

Generally when using the bike the car won't be carrying anything else.

I have one child at the moment with plans for another one. We also have 1 Labrador.

Is the issue with the tow bar on all models? Ie you can't open the rear door with a towbar on?

Do I take it from one of the comments above that the seats are removable in the Rav?

The Galaxy we have is a Diesel but it came along at a really good price at the time so was as a cheap as buying a petrol so it was a no brainer - it's been fantastic and the only real reason for wanting to change is we prefer the styling of something like a Rav4. I've always liked 4x4 style cars and have had a Discovery, Range Rover, and I've still got a Series 2a Land Rover.

Hi hate having the fear of DMF problems so if the D4D is prone to it, it may well make me avoid - but if the petrol does 30mpg then it's not terrible and for the relatively low mileage we do it may be worth it.

Taking into account the current price of fuel, and the miles I do, with an estimate of the petrol doing 30mpg average and the diesel doing 40mpg average then the diesel would only save me £255 per year.

Even taking a more pesimistic view and guessing at 25mpg average for the petrol and 40mpg average for the diesel it would still only save about £500 per year to have the diesel.

I've been looking at prices of <70k mile 5 doors and there seems to be about £2k difference in price so 4 years of fuel difference at the worst case - so if we did go for one I guess we'd go a 5 door Petrol.

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I went through the same thought process as you have described above, and ended buying a 5 door 4.2 petrol, mine is the later 2004 face lift model which has a few detail differences, they are easy to spot on the road, as they are the ones with the round fog lights.

As you guessed the rear seats can be double folded, or completely removed from the car very quickly and easily.

I cannot advise you on towing capabilities, but so far I am getting 25mpg if I drive it like I stole it, or 33mpg on normal mixed driving, which for me is a six mile trip to work and back most days with some of it on a dual carriageway and some in slow town traffic.

My annual mileage is only about 6000 and as you say it will take three or four years to start paying you back if buy a more expensive diesel model, and that DMF issue put me right off them.

I am very pleased with mine, and so far it is living up to expectations.

The previous car was an Audi A6 1.9Tdi.

Phil

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hi

all the RAVs your looking at will have the same rear door ,the ball height comes above the lower sill of the door, so will need a bar with a detachable ball.I dont think it's too much of an issue, there's plenty of RAVs with towbars on.

The seats in the 3 door are removable . I dont know about the 5 door , but I imagine they come out the same.

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