The New Rav4,.... A Must If You Carry A Hairbrush And A Banana....

[crustyclam]

I will be hanging on to my T180 for now as it still out performs many similar sized vehicles, in fact I still prefer it than having a newer RAV. Currently I am sitting on the fence with new RAV shape, my opinion keeps changing. Got to say though they do have the best looking roof rails. It does seem 0-60 times are getting worse in pursuit of economy (understandable). I have considered trading in recently but don't want to take a big loss, which I would.

However when i do it will be for an Infiniti fx...lesser mpg, but fab power. Two makes I won't be going for are audi and vs, too many seen billowing black smoke when booted!

[silly sausage]

I wasn't 'struck' on the 4.4 when I first saw it. It certainly grew on me and impressed me when I drove one for the first time. Despite being bigger than the 4.3 and with a lower seating position, it still drives like a Rav and the build quality is very good, in these times of weight saving and 'economy-obsession' it feels very safe and solid. The biggest transformation is on the open road, with the torque vectoring in sport mode it feels leech like for such a big car.

The Infiniti is an interesting choice Lee, not sure what the depreciation will be like ?

[Plutus]

Yes I too keep changing my mind about the appearance of the new Rav.

I also test drove a Kia sorrento (sportage too cramped for me), a q3, a q5 and XC60 ( well I am retired and have a bit of time on my hands ).

Q3 too boomy, aluminium bits. Expensive for what it is.

Kia sorrento, awful ride and noisy.

Xc60 my kind of car but too pricey and thirsty for what it is.

Q5 very nice but could not find a comfortable seat position.

No doubt I will buy another Rav.

[WelshRav]

The warranty offered by Kia may well be 7 years, but from a few people I know who have or do own a Sportage, the feedback is the same...you will need a 7 year warranty!!

[anchorman]

I think Kia's and Hyundai's are excellent cars and would not have any hesitation in buying one if it fit the bill. However, the Kia warranty is broken down into sections with exhaust and Battery running out at 3 years and then others at 5 years with only the drive line and some of the running gear at 7 years. It should be clear that it is not a full warranty at 7 years. Don't know if the Hyundai breaks down in a similar way.

You pay for a Toyota warranty up front. For eveidence of that you only need look at the Aygo, 107, C1 but the service and support is unsurpassed in my experience.

[WelshRav]

I have owned 9 Toyota's over the last 18 years, and all have been fantastic cars, hence why I always seem to come back to them when I stray to another manufacturer

Our next car will probably be a later RAV4.3 for sure, but at the moment the 4.4 does not appeal, purely on looks! If I was to change tomorrow, my choice would be the XC60!!!

[philip42h]

It's taken me a while to come to terms with the look of the 4.4 compared with the 4.3 but at the end of the day the look is coherent and contemporary without looking gimmicky and all in all the 4.4 is a much better car than the 4.3.

Last time around (when I own a Volvo S60) I test drove the SR180 against the XC60 (and Kuga) and the RAV won easily by being by far the better drive. Each to his own as they say, but I've 'rejected' the XC60 twice now ... :)

[CharlieFarlie]

I too am getting "used to" the new shape Rav... Or is it im fed up looking for the right SR 4.3.. Not entirely convinced yet though and it may come down to which car drops in the lap first.....

Am I the only one struggling to understand the telly advert with the dogs an all ? It shows more dogs than car ?

Looking often as I do it is possible to buy an Icon car for much the same price as a very late 4.3 SR which to me says they aint shifting many. That and the quite generous discounts.

I was destined to test drive a new Icon yesterday but things went wrong at the dealers and I had a call to say the car was not there..

I'm struggling to see what a Honda has that a RAV does not ?

Im also struggling to see why the chap with the 300 odd horsepower car would settle for a boring drive ? If anything I think it makes a good driving car with decent power more important !

On German cars of which I had many I had just one problem with a DMF on a 2.0 TDI A4 which was fixed without quibble under warranty.. The rest including several RS versions were faultless not only for fit and finish but reliability. I would have another in a heartbeat..

[silly sausage]

Just home from the first proper run out in the new Rav, a 280 mile round trip to visit the boys at Newcastle Uni, I took a short detour on the way back to take in some good 'A' roads. I have to say it's a fabulous car, 41.9 overall mpg, averaged 47.1 on the outbound journey which was 95% motorway with no queues or delays. Sport mode is very impressive as is the overall ride quality. I've no real criticism of the car, the Bridgestones 'hum' a bit compared with the Yoko Geolanders and even the Conti Winter Contacts I had on the last 4.3. but it's quite tolerable. The gear 'shift' lights occasionally defy my driving style but again I can live with that.

All in all, very pleased with it and highly recommended.

I'm aware some people haven't yet come to terms with the look of the thing, it took me a while, the best s*x I ever had wasn't with the prettiest woman , having said that I didn't marry her ......

[GreyRacer]

I'm very much enjoying driving mine as well. Big step up from our 4.3.5. Just averaged a respectable 42.2 mpg on a full tank of V-Power over mixed roads at legal speeds. No motorways.

[philip42h]

Over the first 1,500 or so miles in mine I've averaged 39.5 mpg (brim to brim) in a 'nottymatic' - mostly motorway driving at the legal limit or whatever I could actually do with a fair amount of traffic jam delays and at one point an interesting diversion at the whim of the sat nav through the village of Denshaw on the way back from York (again a university visit). As Paul says, Bridgestones 'hum' a bit, but actually I suspect that they are no noisier than the were on the 4.3 - it's just that everything else is so much quieter.

[Big Kev]

Just home from the first proper run out in the new Rav, a 280 mile round trip to visit the boys at Newcastle Uni, I took a short detour on the way back to take in some good 'A' roads. I have to say it's a fabulous car, 41.9 overall mpg, averaged 47.1 on the outbound journey which was 95% motorway with no queues or delays. Sport mode is very impressive as is the overall ride quality. I've no real criticism of the car, the Bridgestones 'hum' a bit compared with the Yoko Geolanders and even the Conti Winter Contacts I had on the last 4.3. but it's quite tolerable. The gear 'shift' lights occasionally defy my driving style but again I can live with that.

All in all, very pleased with it and highly recommended.

I'm aware some people haven't yet come to terms with the look of the thing, it took me a while, the best sex I ever had wasn't with the prettiest woman , having said that I didn't marry her ......

Disgraceful admission, Paul.......the best sex I ever had WAS with the prettiest EVER woman, and I most cetainly DID marry her.

Now.........must send Kingo a cheque for his Lindop Chip Kit thingy......is that ok, dear.....?

[CharlieFarlie]

All this talk if 40 plus MPG from an automatic Rav is playing mind games with me. !! Reports from owners of 4.3 cars suggests this is nowhere near what is achievable ????? Guys are we taking these figures from the OBC or are the actual. IE brim to brim and checked. ??

[silly sausage]

Charlie, Mine is manual and figures are from OBC, however, Philip is doing well at almost 40mpg in his auto. I brimmed mine with v-power yesterday and will report back on next fill up for those with a manual disposition.

Three Pedals............

[GreyRacer]

Mine is also manual and from OBC with full to empty tanks. Will do a real one with this tank full.

[CharlieFarlie]

Ah now gentlemen we know only to well that those OBCs lie like..... Well better not say it but they do tell the occasional fibs...............................

If the Automatic does deliver 40MPG then that may seal the deal and be the final decider on whether is a 4.3.5SR or a new invincible.... I do get a mileage allowance but I get that but I get it whether my car does 10 or 100 MPG so the better the MPG the happier I will be.....

[Big Kev]

I presume my 4.3.5 (daft name.....let's call it a Runoot Rav......RR for short unless that's already taken) has the same 2AF engine and gearbox as the 4.4 or is it me spouting forth widdle again.....?

I will shortly publish my secret details on the Lindop Chip difference on my fourth tanka diesel, but for anybody good at sums (not you, Jamesy) take 5 aff the 40 I am seeing published hereon, and that is a 10% increase on what I was getting before the Chip, on average.

Bear in mind I am also the first to admit to having shoes like Jacques Cousteau's crew members, and do NOT in any way doubt someone else's BRIM tests. As for OBC tests, the same guy invented these who built Pinnochio ffs......

[CharlieFarlie]

Now Now Kev who built Pinnochio is a wee bit off topic if you don't mind me saying...........

[Davrav]

Now Now Kev who built Pinnochio is a wee bit off topic if you don't mind me saying...........

True, Pinnochio didn't have need for a hairbrush 'cos his hair was made of wood and he didn't have the digestive facilities to eat bananas.................

[Big Kev]

Any more of this off topic stuff and your posts will be off to the For Sale, or worse still, the detailing section..........solitary confinement is much busier.......

[anchorman]

I can't get any better than 30-32 (mixed) with my auto and that is by calculation. I think it did 35ish on my last trip to the county of scotlandshire.

[philip42h]

I'm not fibbing, honest ... though I would say that wouldn't I?

Basically, I picked-up the car, pottered about a bit using up the third of a tank the car was delivered with and then brimmed it. I've started mileage and consumption measurements from there. Then basically I've done four 300ish mile trips and a spot of pottering around in between returning per tank figures between 38.7 and 40.6 for an overall average of 39.5 mpg. All brim-to-brim measurements - I've never seriously looked at the OBC.

Now, its a brand new car / engine so I'm driving reasonably sensibly and gently and getting used to an automatic [again] but otherwise my driving style is pretty much the same as when I was driving the SR180 - I aim to drive at the speed limit rather than above; I aim to get to my cruising speed as quickly as possible (the auto box just doesn't move up through the gears as quickly as I would); I aim to use anticipation rather than brakes (but again with the auto I'm going to need to do more braking!); I'm doing the right sort of mileage to get reasonable fuel consumption (longish journeys on motorways and A roads - relatively little stop-start city crawl. All in all the same sort of mix that got me an average 37.5 mpg over 56,000 miles in the SR180.

The 4.4 auto is higher geared that the SR180 - at 70mph the 4.4 sits at 2000 rpm; with the SR180 70mph took us to around 2,300 rpm. And based on the level of wind noise I could well believe that at 4.4 is aerodynamically more slippery than the 4.3 - it certainly drags less crud onto it's rear end.

I have also to admit I'm using a lot more Eco than Sport and I'm not [yet] sure what difference it would make if I used Sport enthusiastically. It's jolly good fun in Sport but I'm not sure whether the difference is more real or psychological - it certainly shifts if I stamp my boot down in Eco. And for motorway cruising it really shouldn't make any difference at all.

If the engine 'runs in' in the same way as the SR180 did, the figures should improve a bit once I get a few thousand miles on the clock ... On the other hand, I might start having a little more 'fun' with it a wreck my fuel consumption figures entirely. :)

[dave.m]

Any more of this off topic stuff and your posts will be off to the For Sale, or worse still, the Detailing section..........solitary confinement is much busier.......

Or if you are REALLY naughty, the Urban Cruiser forum.

[Big Kev]

Your reply is exactly why I stressed I do NOT disbelieve, Philip.......you are driving much more sensibly than me, but what I am doing is trying to drive as I normally would in order to get a fair representation of the difference the Lindop Kit would REALLY make. It was really a note from Hoovie that made the most sense......if the car is now even MORE enjoyable to drive (and it is) and you get 10% better mpg returns(and I do), but the payback period is twice as long as ye thought..........so the Dickens what.......? I honestly was aiming at Charlie type returns of an extra 5/6 mpg, but I just do not do the journeys anymore that bring about these improvements.

The revised OBC readings with the Chip Kit are just............widdle.

[glorydad]

Just to add more to the data to the thread, I have maxed at 36 and a bit mpg but I am driving too enthusiastically on the motorway and have to make a memo to myself to curb my speed to near legal velocity. ;) also need to get used to a nottybox as this is the first auto I have owned.

By the way "Kev"had a fight in the hotel car park overnight with an unknown assailant ( white van man??) and is booked into the bodyshop for a rear bumper and repair to rear nearside dent :(