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Well its looking a lot like another RAV4


Rav Rob
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My 2019 RAV4 AWD Excel lease is up later in the year so its time to start car shopping again. Its a company car, my company is abandoning fuel cards for all vehicles including normal, hybrid, PHEV and EV's. They will only pay the HMRC advisory fuel rates in future.

Even though we have a vast choice list, this new policy has made the list tiny in reality. Anything, be it diesel, hybrid or PHEV's 2 litres or less get only 12p a mile for business mile reimbursement, which mean whatever it is it has to do at least 47mpg average or I end up out of pocket, not a comfortable situation. Cars over 2.0L get 18p per mile! so you only need to do over 30mpg to actually make a small profit. The RAV4 of course easily does way more than 30 so its a safe bet.


So that means only 2 car make sense, the Ford Kuga (hybrid or PHEV) and the RAV4, both 2.5L  (can't afford the RAV PHEV) oh and the odd Lexus (too small), nothing else is over 2.0L.


The Kuga is OK but the RAV4 Excel can be AWD and the Kuga can't, the better residual value makes Toyota lease cheap and the RAV Excel comes with almost every thing you could ever want. The RAV is quicker too and the interior superior.

I have even looked at EV's but the advisory rate for those is only 4p (frozen since 2018) and looking at the recent rises in energy cost for domestic electricity there is a real risk of being out of pocket per business mile (and I do lots of those)

So out of 100's of choices, another RAV4 looks like the only sensible and obvious choice, and I am glad about that!  

Anyone know how long new orders are taking these days?

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I got mine in 10 days. Excel in a choice of 4 colours. 

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14 minutes ago, Sealiedog said:

I got mine in 10 days. Excel in a choice of 4 colours. 

Maybe I won't place an order just yet then!

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Not sure what factory order time is, but there seems to be a bit of stock around at the moment. I'd check with your dealer though, there might be a bit of a rush with lockdown ending. 

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I went for a look around at my local dealer , and they had one in stock, just arrived.

Didn't had to think twice and 4 days later i had my Rav4 Excel on the drive...

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6 hours ago, Shootgun said:

I went for a look around at my local dealer , and they had one in stock, just arrived.

Didn't had to think twice and 4 days later i had my Rav4 Excel on the drive...

That is sort of a problem for me, as not actually due a new car until September, we start looking early to give time for test drives and such, but apart from slight bigger wheels I don't suppose a 2021 will drive any different to a 2019!

But the longer I wait to order, the more risk the prices may rise and put the lease up, the discounts to the lease company from the manufacturer can vary quite often too.
It would ironically suit me better to have the usual 12 week factory order sort of delay (most people are eager to get the car ASAP!). Will speak to the lease company.

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I was in the market for a new 4x4 SUV , as my old one wasn't ULEZ compliant , and i work in Central London.

I never actually driven a RAV4 before, but because my partner she  a 14 plate Yaris from new, and never missed a beat, i thought to give Toyota a go. I was tempted in initially by the larger Highlander , but it was a bit over my price tag.

Needless to say, once i took the RAV4 for a spin, i fell in love with it.

Love the leather memory seats, the larger boot and overall the way it drives , even though i have to get use with the CVT gear box. The only let down imho , is the nav system and the fact that apart from the driver window switch, al the controls on the door are not illuminated.

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9 hours ago, Rav Rob said:

... apart from slight bigger wheels I don't suppose a 2021 will drive any different to a 2019!...

Sorry if you've seen this elsewhere, but you do know that the spare wheel has gone and is now the gunge (aka Tyre Repair Kit)?

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4 minutes ago, PeteB said:

Sorry if you've seen this elsewhere, but you do know that the spare wheel has gone and is now the gunge (aka Tyre Repair Kit)?

That’s pretty easily resolved with either a space saver or better yet a full size spare wheel, from memory it’s only the foam block that needs removing for it to sit on the higher floor setting.

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I really wish there was a spare rather than junk.  I’m going to source a spare that will suite the 19” wheels. The US cars are fitted as standard with a T165/90D18 107M (18x4T) which is don’t seem to be able to source fro Toyota previous models of the Lexus have used it. I’d rather have an alloy than steel as this will reduce the weight slightly and I can get easily a 155/85R18 which is designed for the Toyota RAV4 and has the correct wheel hole spacing etc.  (It’s about 2% smaller than the standard road tyre but we’ll writhing the accepted 10% variation when using a doughnut at 50mph) I’d prefer a full size wheel and tyre but from what I’ve seen it will go in but makes it very tight to close the boot floor. So overall I’d rather have a doughnut tyre than the junk.

I'm just waiting to get the car to eyeball it myself.

(the fitted road tyres are 235/55R19)

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My full size 18" spare (225/60R18 100H) is a snug fit under the boot floor (which can now only be at its higher position), so it might be worrth checking how the 19" wheels will fit, especially if the tyres are wider.

[My Ex once had a top spec 2003 Nissan Micra which had fairly wide tyres but a very narrow space saver.  Once when we had a puncture with a full car and full boot, the (wet and dirty) full size wheel taken off the car wouldn't go anywhere in the boot and it was a real pain to squash it in somewhere!]

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@peterb, thanks.  That’s why I figure I’ll go for the doughnut tyre as supplied in the US.  The UK one I’ve sourced is slightly smaller so should go in OK?  I’ll get the car and measure what space I have to play with.

This is another example of the differences between the various national Toyota  companies supposedly selecting the options to be fitted that they feel are most appropriate for the country and at the same time disallowing the buyer to select them as an additional item.

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14 hours ago, PeteB said:

Sorry if you've seen this elsewhere, but you do know that the spare wheel has gone and is now the gunge (aka Tyre Repair Kit)?

Ah, that is annoying, I suspect they were struggling at least on some versions, even in 2wd to get under 130g/km which otherwise could bump the car off some company choice lists as its a common ceiling figure. Will definitely get a cheap 3rd party space saver though as it will be from my pocket not the companies.

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5 hours ago, Rav Rob said:

...Will definitely get a cheap 3rd party space saver though as it will be from my pocket not the companies.

and a jack, wheel brace and the bolt to secure the wheel into the well!

Makes one wonder how they expect people to obey their instructions to rotate the wheels regularly - visit the dealer each time perhaps?

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4 minutes ago, PeteB said:

and a jack, wheel brace and the bolt to secure the wheel into the well!

Makes one wonder how they expect people to obey their instructions to rotate the wheels regularly - visit the dealer each time perhaps?

 

I ordered a spare wheel from my dealer, but funny enough i can't have a 19'' like the rest of the wheels, as it won't fit in the boot.

They will supply an 18'' one, on a funny looking alloy rim, but i was assured it will take the load, even with passangers and luggage in.

All kit including jack, wheel brace and new foam insert to fit the spare, for only £219.99 including VAT... And i get to keep the gunk and the tire repair kit as well 😆

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@Shootgun,  What was the size anything like I'm after? T165/90D18 107M (18x4T),  Thanks

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1 hour ago, ernieb said:

@Shootgun,  What was the size anything like I'm after? T165/90D18 107M (18x4T),  Thanks

Sorry , i can't tell as the spare haven't arrived yet. I'll let you know as soon  as it comes.

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20 minutes ago, Shootgun said:

Sorry , i can't tell as the spare haven't arrived yet. I'll let you know as soon  as it comes.

That would be really useful, thank you.

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4 hours ago, PeteB said:

and a jack, wheel brace and the bolt to secure the wheel into the well!

Makes one wonder how they expect people to obey their instructions to rotate the wheels regularly - visit the dealer each time perhaps?

Assuming I do go for another RAV, at the swap over perhaps I can accidentally lock the delivery guy in  the toilet for 5 minutes whilst the gunk kit and my old spare wheel get 'magically' swapped Haha!

But no doubt the spare is on the inventory.
 

Big decision at the moment is 2wd or 4wd, on the lease its quite a big difference, performance is virtually the same, its just if I would miss the better traction on damp junction getaways to be worth stumping up the extra lease contributions from my pocket. Hmmm

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2WD vs 4WD, probably not in the example you give - tyre choice is vastly more important on UK roads/conditions than the number of driven wheels, same in snow/ice for that matter - the ancient YouTube video of a RWD BMW? vs a 4WD on snow/ice, the RWD with snow tyres is fine, the 4WD with all season is useless.

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@Shootgun, I contacted my dealer today and asked if they did a spare wheel kit for the car and the reply was no, they were not allowed to order the parts either as a kit or individually.  The system would not allow then to access the parts.  That does seem very strange when you’ve ordered yours?

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2 hours ago, ernieb said:

@Shootgun, I contacted my dealer today and asked if they did a spare wheel kit for the car and the reply was no, they were not allowed to order the parts either as a kit or individually.  The system would not allow then to access the parts.  That does seem very strange when you’ve ordered yours?

Sorry to say but your dealer is just being difficult... i ordered mine at the point of sale and supposed to be fitted when i took the car back to have the Toyota dash cams fitted, but Toyota sent the wrong one, which only fits in gen 4 RAV4.

The new one is due 2nd of june, together with the protection pack.

Please see below a screenshot from the vehicle invoice, spare wheel listed second to bottom, i'm not making this up.

IMG_1219(1).jpg

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Toyota have a policy of seemingly only wanting to ever ever sell you a part that was originally specified for your car. Retrofitted heated seats and decide you want the OE buttons? Tough. Want to add cruise control using the official stalk because everything right down to the bulb in the cluster is present on your car? Nope. This time it’s emissions/weight related from what has been said, so if you want a full size or normal size spare, the official answer is no. John aka @Kingomay be able to assist you if you want to order a spare wheel, but realistically Toyota have deemed parts as a non customer facing function in each dealership and other than John, you’re basically stuck in ‘computer says no’ or supplying registration numbers for cars that had whatever you want as standard. In this case it’s about £9 for the retaining bolt to lock the alloy in place, £60 ish for a space saver and a few hundred up for a full size alloy and tyre depending on what we are talking about. Don’t forget you still want the jack etc. (70 ish iirc) and are probably better off trying eBay for that.

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12 minutes ago, Avalon said:

T £9 for the retaining bolt to lock the alloy in place, £60 ish for a space saver and a few hundred up for a full size alloy and tyre depending on what we are talking about. Don’t forget you still want the jack etc. (70 ish iirc) and are probably better off trying ebay for that.

i think £220 i quite reasonable for all of the above , including jack and foam insert to fit, don't you think?

Remember, you can't have a full size rim on the  spare as it won't fit in the boot. What they did instead, they're offering an 18'' alloy with a tire to compensate for the difference to 19'' or 20'' , whatever size your wheels are.

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@Shootgun, thanks for that information, BTY I didn’t doubt you, it’s just reinforced the view that dealers make up there own rules and just about every UK car importing company I’ve used seems hell bent on frustrating the customer, it all seems so negative. 

If, when you get the wheel kit, could you see if these is any Toyota part number and I’ll search around for something similar.  The non OEM kits I’ve sourced are more expensive than you’re paying but would be better than nothing. Information like the true size etc., would help me.

@Avalon, agree with your comments, the reality is once you own the car you can do more or less what you want in terms of modifications without fouling registration, emission rules just make sure the insurance company is on board.  You see plenty of people lowering or raising cars, changing  wheel sizes, braking and suspension systems none of which is type tested. I could see it being an issue if you were involved in an accident but as I was once told by a dealer having just bought a car that he’d change out the wheels and offset but he could not do it as it would go against the franchise rules as a garage but he could do it as an owner.

 

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