Back In A Rav4

[Bainite1964]

Left the fold for a while when my 08 Rav contract was up. Ended up getting a Lexus ct200h worst decision ever, will never touch a hybrid again. What can I say what the hell was I thinking. After toying with the idea of ditching the Lexus after 4 months I eventually get a call out of the blue from our local Toyota dealership saying we've just had a 60 plate Rav 4 diesel in with only 11000 miles on the clock are you interested. Needless to say never moved so quick in my life, hopefully pick it up Monday, so glad to go back to 4x4 Rav wheels.

Really regret having had the lexus but can put that behind me now. So glad to be back in a Rav.

[silly sausage]

Hi David,

Welcome back ! You will love the 150 engine, mine came to life at about 15k miles and they pull like a train. We are considering replacing our Yaris with a hybrid Yaris at the end of this year, what was it you disliked about running one ? Maybe a diesel would be a better option....

[jolly-friar]

Welcome back..

Like Paul, we are also considering a Yaris hybrid soonish, so would be interested to hear any comments...

[Big Kev]

Perosnally speaking, I don't see the point in getting as small a car as the Yaris in hybrid guise, with its extra servicing issues if kept until Battery pack expires, when the petrol ones probably return great mpg figures anyways.....naw? Please do not misunnerstaun me when I say small.......Yaris is a stonking package.

[silly sausage]

Perosnally speaking, I don't see the point in getting as small a car as the Yaris in diesel guise, with its extra servicing issues, when the petrol ones probably return great mpg figures anyways.....naw? Please do not misunnerstaun me when I say small.......Yaris is a stonking package.

Petrol Yaris is a stonking car Kev, our 1.33 has done 61k in three and a half years without missing a beat, average fuel economy is approx 50/ 70/ 80 petrol, diesel, hybrid.

[Tony Barnsley]

I didn't like the hybrid Yaris I had as a courtesy car. It felt very light and susceptible to side winds . . . I found I was clenching my teeth and tensing up waiting for it to wander around all by itself.

I also didn't like the 'auto' transmission either

. . . . But that was just my impression . . . I was glad to get the RAV back

[Bainite1964]

Thanks for the replies, where can I start.

i will assume the ct200 is a similar drive train to the general Toyota hybrids such as the auris, yaris etc. The Lexus I think is a far heavier vehicle. The ct has 1.8 litre Atkinson engine. I always felt this was very underpowered the 2.5l engine may be better if it becomes available. Three modes of drive eco which was very slow to pull away and in some ways dangerous as no power to accelerate out of situations. I always changed to sport to pull away at islands. Normal mode a bit faster than eco and sport which adds a few extra volts to the motor and improves steering. Did manage to get 61 mpg on a motorway and about 50mpg round town though this has dropped to 46mpg with the cooler weather. This is not much better than a good diesel.

The ct was also quite low had to watch a few areas with high kerbs for door clearance.

Other niggles seemed to be the overly soft paint, prone to chips on the aluminium bonnet and burning of bird droppings. The finish on the alloys also seemed poor compared to the rav wheels. The CVT gearbox always seemed poor and driving up a hill the engine always seemed to rev excessively. Also considering the degree of regenerative braking I have never owned a car that had generated so much brake dust and a good lip on the discs for a car 18 months old. The residual values seem to be very low. The original owner must have took a loss of nearly 7k compared with the original price.

Although I have had to take a bit of a loss on the part ex I am not a hybrid convert and will certainly not be buying another hybrid. On a positive note I did feel quite smug sitting in traffic not using any fuel.

Sooo glad to get back to a Rav

[Grumpy stumpy]

I have a hybrid lexus RX400h and have to say its the best car i have ever owned, pulls like a train 0-60 7.4 and the CVT gearbox really smooth, excellent traction in winter also. Maybe the smaller hybrids aren't as good but can't fault mine. My 2004 petrol Rav i have is also excellent but less refined. Agree with the alloys, have had a set replaced under warranty and then had to get them refurbed myself. Also fined the 3.3 V6 engine returns 35 ish mpg much the same as my rav.

[anchorman]

Actually Atkinson didn't make engines, it would have been Gardner, Rolls Royce or Cummins!!!

It made me smile nevertheless.

[Big Kev]

Actually Atkinson didn't make engines, it would have been Gardner, Rolls Royce or Cummins!!!It made me smile nevertheless.

Can only hope wee Tommy Atkinson, who worked at Cummins Engines, Shotts, all his life, disnae take offence........

[firemac]

Think he meant Atkinson Cycle engine.

[silly sausage]

Think he meant Atkinson Cycle engine.

I'm sure he did, and before you jump in Kev, it has no connection to Rowan ;)

[firemac]

Think he meant Atkinson Cycle engine.

I'm sure he did, and before you jump in Kev, it has no connection to Rowan ;)

Or to bicycles!

[dwilson]

I previously owned a Gen2 Prius that had a 1.5 litre engine. The main thing I didn't like was the gearbox and that was linked to the engine using the Atkinson cycle; press hard on the accelerator and the engine would rev excessively making a quite unpleasant noise and the increase in revs didn't match the increase in road speed for a significant time. Hard to describe but perhaps a bit like a slipping clutch combined with a horrible engine note. The fuel economy was good and it improved my technique for driving economically but I much prefer the RAV (or even my little Aygo). It was because of this bad experience with the Prius auto gearbox (that admittedly wasn't a true CVT) that I was asking, on another thread, if anyone had driven a petrol CVT RAV.

David

[Big Kev]

If not covered elsewhere, WTF is a CVT gearbox....? Nae big techy screed required thanks, just the basics.

[silly sausage]

I understand there are several variations on the same principle Kev, infinite gear ratios possible by using a chain or belt to link variable sized, often cone shaped pulleys. Lots of 'stuff' on You Tube if you're curious, CVT applications from Toyotas to Tanks.

[Bainite1964]

Big kev

A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a transmission that can change seamlessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios. The flexibility of a CVT allows the input shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity over a range of output velocities.

Extracted from Wikipedia

Some work better than others but as dwilson said the Toyota Lexus CVT variant was associated with high revs and no gear change for ages. This was worst uphill and did have a sound similar to a slipping clutch.

[Davrav]

'Forward to go forward and back to go back'

[Big Kev]

Cor Stroof.....does anyone remember those wee daft Daf cars, made in Hollandshire by memory.....?

Is that the principle, the rubber band drivey thing.....?

[dwilson]

Cor Stroof.....does anyone remember those wee daft Daf cars, made in Hollandshire by memory.....?

Is that the principle, the rubber band drivey thing.....?

Yes I think so. The Prius is not a true CVT but I can't remember the details.

David

[Cyker]

Yeah, it's not a 'proper' CVT, but it behaves enough like one that it's a good-enough term to call it. Most CVTs have that sounds-like-a-slipping-clutch-high-rev thing under hard acceleration, it's not just something the HSD does.

As for the choice of Yaris, I'd say the HSD Yaris wins if you are after an automatic, but if you don't care then a tossup between the diesel and the HSD :)

The petrol doesn't really have much going for it these days except it's the cheapest of the three and has better reliability than the diesel if you only ever drive it around town. Otherwise both the HSD and diesel are more economical and have the torque advantage (And torque is what makes driving fun! :D)

[firemac]

Yeah, it's not a 'proper' CVT, but it behaves enough like one that it's a good-enough term to call it. Most CVTs have that sounds-like-a-slipping-clutch-high-rev thing under hard acceleration, it's not just something the HSD does.

As for the choice of Yaris, I'd say the HSD Yaris wins if you are after an automatic, but if you don't care then a tossup between the diesel and the HSD :)

The petrol doesn't really have much going for it these days except it's the cheapest of the three and has better reliability than the diesel if you only ever drive it around town. Otherwise both the HSD and diesel are more economical and have the torque advantage (And torque is what makes driving fun! :D)

Yet the CVT in the 4.3 petrol that I test drove recently was indiscernible from the conventional auto in our 4.2.

However it was not set up for economy at all costs in the same way as the hybrids are.

[anchorman]

You can buy a RAV with a CVT box now and that has steel hi tec belts. They have also lost the revving tendancy these days. I had a Nissan in the USA with a CVT and I really liked it. It never went above 1500rpm.

Anyway, going back to this new RAV, you will love the 150 engine.

[Cyker]

Oh, really?? Neat... Do they even do that if you floor it up a steep hill?

Apparently I've missed out on a lot of CVT advancement!

Must admit, never driven anything with a CVT, belt-driven or otherwise, with an engine bigger than 2.2L. Maybe with the more powerful engines they don't need to rev so high for torque so they just limited the max revs?

I remember older CVTs didn't stand up to well to the higher torque, and it was much more common to mate bigger engines with torque converters.

Can these new CVT-equipped RAVs also tow stuff?

[anchorman]

Yeah they can tow. Don't know how high you could rev one if you paste it - I didn't try.

They provide a 7 speed box on a RAV by stepping the change.