By Riyad Jaffer
Former South African motor racer, Attorney and car enthusiast
With the original RAV4 unveiled in 1994, Toyota single-handedly created the SUV crossover category; and it’s that same pioneering spirit in the all-new fifth generation RAV4 that sees this iconic SUV enter a new era of striking design, performance, capability and safety. The new RAV4 takes a bold leap forward with a dynamic new design characterised by a front grille with an assertive, angular bumper, and LED headlights, as well as taillights. The interior exudes a high-quality cabin characterised by soft-touch surfaces, including the dashboard and door panels. The new platform also means Toyota’s designers could create a vehicle that is slightly shorter than its predecessor (by 5mm), yet has a longer wheelbase (by 30mm) – and that means more interior space. It’s wider too (by 10mm), allowing for a larger, open centre console between the front seats – something more typical of larger SUVS – along with wider seats for rear passengers and increased opening-angle of the rear doors. Along with plenty of useful and easily accessible storage for the driver and front passenger, the load space behind the rear seats is notably bigger thanks to a fully flat floor that’s 60mm longer than the previous generation’s. It now boasts a best-in-class capacity of 580 litres (a 79 litre improvement) that, when the 60:40 split rear seats are folded down, can accommodate a 29-inch mountain bike without any wheels having to be removed. There are more storage nets on each side of the boot, clever details that include a hand grip on the tailgate that serve as a hanger, and a power-operated tailgate with hands-free function. Our test car was the 152kW 2.5-litre engine VX 8 speed Auto transmission which included the all-wheel drive (AWD) technology. “Mud & Sand” and “Rock & Dirt” are the modes available. Needless to say this SUV has great power and torque, however that same power results in a combined fuel consumption figure of just under 10km/litre which is understandable for a normally aspirated SUV.
On the road both in urban and rural areas the RAV 4 is a comfortable, luxurious and spacious vehicle to commute in. The AWD system provides enormous traction thus making it safer for all occupants on board. The only real dilemma encountered was the optional (standard on the VX model) lane departure warning feature which works well at low speeds around 60km/h but anything higher posed a problem as the system fails to react in time to the road surface accordingly. Other safety features as standard specifications are a set of airbags including knee and curtain airbags fitted to all models, with electronic driver aids in the form of ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Hill Assist Control (HAC) and Trailer Sway Control all catered for. The VX model introduces Toyota Safety Sense for the first time on RAV4, which includes Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Departure Alert (LDA) with Steering Control, Blind-Spot Monitor (BSM) and Pre-Crash System (PCS). With steering assist, as well as radar-controlled braking in conjunction with acceleration functions, these Adaptive Cruise Control and LDA systems essentially end a level of autonomous driving to the VX models. The VX package includes the GX-R package but adds 19-inch high-gloss alloy wheels, Auto High Beam (AHB), Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, memory seats, power-operated tailgate, Panoramic View Monitor plus front PDC. The instrument cluster gets a TFT multi-information display (MID), providing key driver information, including a large LCD speedometer.
Pricing for the Toyota RAV4 2.5 VX 8 speed AT AWD was R577 900 at the time of testing. All models carry a 6-services/90 000 km service plan with 12-month/15 000 km intervals. A 3-year/100 000 km Warranty is also included.
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