First Drive Review
Toyota's RAV4 has been a hot-selling addition to the company's range since 1996, and the model has done much to establish the compact sport-ute category as a viable entity with its affordable blend of sportiness, utility, and charm.
Now there's a new RAV4, and instead of following a familiar trend and adding size, a lot of weight, and maybe a V-6, the Toyota people simply improved and refined the original concept. Good for you, we say, because the new RAV4 comes across immediately as a more stylish, more powerful, more roomy, and even more charming version of what was already a great little vehicle.
Enlarged by about an inch and a half in length and width, and just under an inch taller, the restyled RAV4 looks for all the world like a small BMW X5. Its formerly cute, toylike appearance has matured into an edgy, sculpted shape that is distinctly more sophisticated and upscale in comparison.
The added inches certainly provide enough room for tall drivers, and the almost straight roofline offers similarly good headroom for rear-seat passengers, even with the optional sunroof in place. Actually, the sunroof intrusion ends just ahead of rear-seat occupants' heads, presenting them with a convenient scallop in the ceiling where their noggins go.
The interior has a more modern, mechanical look to it, with titanium-color trim pieces that are so much in vogue now that Audi's TT has been recognized as the standard-bearer for interior design. The silvery trim strip that surrounds the center dash panel even has visible plated screw heads, and the instrument panel features a center-mounted tach in its own semi-detached barrel enclosure amid the other white-face gauges.
After so many predictable interiors, Toyota seems to have found a quirky new direction. We like it. We like the exterior, too, especially the restrained use of the peeled-back headlight treatment that one sees in more pronounced form on the Celica. Our L test vehicle wore optional leather upholstery, and we're pleased to say it didn't turn the RAV's interior into yet another executive padded cell. That's how well the youthful look expressed in the rest of the shapes and moldings manages to dominate the atmosphere.
Under the sharply creased skin is a new 2.0-liter in-line four, which harnesses 21 extra horses -- to 148 horsepower at 6000 rpm -- and 10 pound-feet more torque. The torque peaks at 4000 rpm instead of 4600, thanks to the addition of VVT-i, Toyota-speak for variable intake-valve timing, which increases the smallish engine's flexibility.
You can feel the motor's extra muscle in the way the car steps off from rest. As you toe in to the throttle, the RAV responds with a brisk surge of acceleration, accompanied -- in the automatic-transmission model -- by a satisfyingly crisp torque-converter engagement. Shifts are conducted with remarkable smoothness, and the sounds of the engine at work are broadcast into the cabin as a pleasantly muted tenor resonance that is free of mechanical thrash.
Despite a weight increase somewhere in the region of 100 pounds, Toyota expects the RAV4 to accelerate to 60 mph in about 10 seconds. Our automatic-transmission, all-wheel-drive RAV4L did it in 10.5 seconds, just 0.3 second slower than a previous-generation manual five-speed performed the same trick for our May 1998 issue.
The quarter-mile took 18.0 seconds at 77 mph, which looks a little slow on paper when you've been reading about BMW Z8 and Shelby Series 1 tests, but the RAV4L feels responsive about town and perfectly adequate in other situations. Sure, climbing long hills may take a dab at the overdrive lockout button on the selector to stay at 80 mph without occasional bouts of up- and downshifting, but what do you want from a 2.0-liter SUV?
Along with the well-integrated drive-train comes a nicely balanced chassis. With only some occasional front-wheel harshness interfering with a comfortable ride -- as if the front tires were too hard -- the RAV4's extra three inches of wheelbase helps the little ute resist pitching motions, greatly adding to its sense of poise.
