The Toyota RAV4 is one of the most important cars on the market. Globally, this is Toyota’s best-seller, having usurped the Corolla a few years ago as part of the market’s inexorable shift to crossover type models. It is generally the best-selling passenger car in the crucial US market, and whilst it does not top the sales charts in Europe in the same way, it also sells strongly there, as it does in many of the world’s developing markets. The first RAV4, launched in 1994, could well be credited with inspiring the current genre of Crossovers, though those first models came with just three doors and a short wheelbase so were aimed more at fun than families. That quickly changed and successive generations of the RAV4 have focused ever more clearly on providing no-nonsense family transport in an affordable package. We are now on the fifth generation model. This was unveiled at the March 2018 New York International Auto Show, the design having been previewed by the FT-AC concept shown at the December 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show. It is built on the same TNGA-K (GA-K) platform as the XV70 series Camry. Both 4-cylinder petrol-powered and petrol-electric hybrid (Hybrid Synergy Drive) variants are on offer, but for this generation there is no diesel engine option. After the cautious styling evolutions through the preceding three generations, this one looked really quite different with a bold new rather more angular look and some almost Jeep-esque squared off wheelarches. This striking new image brought with it a handful of dimensional alterations too. The RAV4’s roofline is now 10mm closer to the ground, and its wheelbase has been stretched by 30mm, too, with a view to increasing rear leg room. Its body is stiffer than that of its predecessor, while its centre of gravity is also lower down – which should bode well for the way in which it handles the twisty stuff. Certainly all the early press reports suggested that this car seemed to have found a way of retaining all the strengths which had contributed to the millions of sales of RAV4 models to date and yet making this one just “better” in lots of ways.
The RAV4 features in many a rental fleet, though not in the numbers that used to be the case in America, so it is a bit of a surprise that nearly four years after launch, I’d still not driven one. That would change when I went to the Hertz desk at Helsinki airport and they said that I had been upgraded from a “Corolla or similar” into a RAV4, which turned out to be painted in a sort of pale khaki green colour that Toyota call “Urban Khaki”. It would be mine for 5 days, to find out not just what I thought of one of the world’s best-selling cars, but also to see how it would compare with its predecessor.
European market RAV4 cars all come with a hybrid powertrain. There are two options: Plug-In and self-charging. The test car was the latter. The petrol engine is 2.5 litres in capacity and for the two wheel drive models, like the test car, puts out 218PS and 221Nm of torque and there is an additional 120Nm of torque from the electric motor. All-wheel-drive versions get slightly more power, at 222PS. They offer the same torque figure from the front electric motor, but bolstered by 121Nm from the additional motor on the rear axle. The PHEV version uses the same 2.5-litre petrol engine matched to two electric motors and a battery. This combination provides 306PS and will hit 62mph. Even with the least powerful option, which is what I had, the RAV4 goes pretty well. Smoothness is the watchword here, rather than excitement. The RAV4 starts on the battery and the petrol engine only kicks in when the speed exceeds a few mph. You can hear it, of course, but it is not at all jerky as can be the case with some hybrid technology cars. Once underway, the CVT transmission does a good job of helping to ensure you can access the extra urge that you need and acceleration is pretty much instant. There is quite a roar when you work the engine hard, but this is not an unpleasant sound, more a purposeful one. Generally, the RAV4 is quiet and certainly it will cruise very peacefully at a steady speed. Fuel economy has always been a strength of the RAV4 and this one was no exception. I covered 620 km before putting any more fuel in, and when I did, it took 38.5 litres, which works out at 46.3 mpg. In the time I had the car, I covered a total of 1457 km and it consumed 83.6 litres which averages out to an even more impressive 49.45 mpg.
Whilst the RAV4 is not designed to feel particularly sporty, Toyota did make changes with this generation to make it less anodyne from behind the wheel, and they have largely succeeded. The steering is now best described as “OK”, with some feel and some weight to it, something previous generations lacked. It’s still not as good as a Mazda CX-5, but then it was not intended to go down that path. Certainly I always felt I had some idea as to what the steered wheels were going to do, and yet the car is still light and easy to manoeuvre in town and when parking up. The handling is of the safe and predictable sort, with plenty of grip, and a tendency to understeer if you tackle the twisty bits with some enthusiasm. The ride, on the standard 225/65 R17 wheels was pretty good, with the Toyota coping with what were generally quite well surfaced and smooth roads with aplomb. All around visibility is as good as you get these days and the inclusion of the rear-view camera certainly helped when reversing. There is the full complement of the latest safety features, of course. Of these, the Lane Keep Assist and Lane Departure Warning were thankfully not too intrusive.
The interior of this RAV4 is definitely quite an improvement on that of the previous generation. On this trim, leather is used for the steering wheel and the upper dash and the gunmetal trim highlights add some visual variety. There are plenty of soft-touch surfaces and everything operates with both a precision and a feeling that it would last for a very long time. There is a traditional instrument layout with the electronic dials grouped together in a single cluster. The speedometer is a half moon shape, in the middle with a combined dial for fuel level and water temperature to the right and an eco gauge to the left. The various trip computer display functions in the centre of the display are selected from a button on the left hand steering wheel spoke. Other functions on the wheel include the usual audio repeaters and cruise control. There are both auto wipers and lights, operated from their respective column stalks. The 10.5” info touch screen is mounted high up in the centre of the dash. There is a touch interface, but thankfully there are still a number of buttons to either side of the screen. The system was relatively slow to load but generally quite easy to use. As well as audio functions including DAB radio, there is compatibility with Apple Car Play and Android Auto (neither included) and navigation, as well as two things which were particularly useful in a country which is infested with speed cameras, which were speed limit recognition and also a beep for every camera. Under this unit there is a mix of dials and buttons for the automated climate control system. Not needed at the time of my visit in September, but definitely worth having for the winter months here would be the heated screen and steering wheel.
This version of the RAV4 has cloth upholstery which looks OK and should prove hard-wearing. Getting in is easy, with wide-opening doors. There is a wide range of adjustment, all of it manual. Add in height adjustable seat belts and a telescoping steering wheel and it was easy to get the right driving position. There is a nice feeling of space here, with particularly generous headroom.
The rear passenger area of the RAV4 is nicely spacious, with ample leg room even if the front seats are set well back. The central console unit does not come back unduly far and there is not much of a central tunnel, so a middle seat passenger should be decently comfortable here. You can vary the seat backrest angle. The SUV styling means that there is plenty of headroom. There is a drop-down central armrest, with cupholders in the upper surface. Just one map pocket on the seat backs and small door pockets mean oddment space is a bit limited. There are two USB ports on the rear face of the central console unit as well as couple of air vents.
There is a good sized boot, with plenty of space and a nice regular shape to it, the load area being particularly long for the class. The tailgate has an electric close, which whilst not strictly necessary is always a convenient feature. There is a reversible floor which will be useful if you ever want to put some less than clean loads in here and there is a useful net and a well on one side of the luggage area. More space can be created by dropping the asymmetrically split rear seat backrests down, creating a long and flat load bay. There is a space saver spare under the floor and a bit of space for odds and ends around it. Inside the cabin, there is a modestly sized glovebox, a lipped shelf on the dash, a central armrest cubby, a recess in front of the gearlever and pockets on the doors.
All European market RAV4s come with Hybrid technology, whereas in the US, you can still have pure petrol power. The available trims do vary a bit by market. In the UK, for instance, there are four different levels available. Toyota doesn’t skimp on kit, so all versions have a good list of standard equipment. All the safety tech is included, plus a tyre pressure warning system, dual zone air-conditioning, rear parking sensors and tilt/reach adjustment on the steering wheel. Then there’s more interesting stuff like Drive Mode Select, the Toyota Smart Connect+ infotainment system, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, the MyT app and LED daytime running lights. At launch there were four specification levels: Icon, Design, Dynamic and Excel. Entry-level Icon models came well kitted out, with an 8.0in infotainment display, rear parking sensors, 17in wheels, LED headlights, a rear-view camera and Toyota Safety Sense 2, which includes pre-collision detection, adaptive cruise control and blindspot monitoring. Design added 18in wheels, keyless entry, an electric tailgate, front parking sensors and sat-nav. Excel had more in the way of high-end gear, such as more powerful LED headlights, heated leather seats, a heated steering wheel and windscreen wiper de-icer. Dynamic, meanwhile, offers sporty design features such as 18in wheels and other kit seen on the Excel spec. It’s only worth seeking if you want to stand out from the crowd. It was not long before various other versions were added to the range and then in 2021 they were all revised, with the range now kicking off with the Toyota RAV4 Design model, which has 18-inch dark silver alloy wheels, an electrically operated tailgate, brushed aluminium exterior trim and front and rear parking sensors. It also comes with black cloth upholstery, a ‘Hey Toyota’ virtual assistant and compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Toyota RAV4 Excel versions have leather seat upholstery, heated front seats, 360-degree panoramic view cameras, a heated steering wheel, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support and blue ambient lighting for the front console and cup-holders. The Excel also gains some silver brightwork on the wheels and grille to make it look a bit more upmarket. It’s not quite the ‘GR’ of the Toyota Yaris or Toyota Supra, but the Toyota RAV4 GR Sport does have a modicum of sporty character, with 19-inch GR Sport alloy wheels, a darker grille and GR Sport badges. Inside, it gets GR Sport Alcantara seats and gearshift paddles mounted on the steering wheel. The Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid has the same features as the Design and GR Sport models, depending on which you choose, but the Design version gets unique 18-inch grey alloys. It also has a slightly smaller boot. With so much standard kit, the options list for the Toyota RAV4 isn’t that long, although it does include an opening panoramic glass roof or sunroof, which are available only on the Excel and GR versions. There are some optional upholstery choices, notably leather or Alcantara, and you’ll pay a bit extra for most of the metallic paints, but that’s about it. Finnish market RAV models seem to come in three different levels, the entry level model, the Plus and the Style. The differences between them would seem to be quite small, but even with the aid of google translate, delving into Finnish websites proved a bit too challenging to get all the details.
It’s not hard to see why the RAV4 sells so strongly. This is not the sort of car that you really lust after, but when you look at what you need, it ticks pretty much every proverbial box, with no significant weak points at all. Being a Toyota, it has a proven reliability record that is second to none, so the ownership proposition here is very strong even if the excitement levels are not. I certainly thought that this generation model represents a significant improvement over the last, and although cars like the Mazda CX-5 are better to drive and to look at, and the Hyundai Tucson also has looks on its side, the case for the Toyota is now stronger than ever before.