Other Reviews
My Review
Back in November of 2000 I began searching for a new
vehicle. The lease on my '98 Nissan Altima was going to be up in February
and I still didn't have any Idea what I wanted to replace it with. I was
leaning toward a sports car, but I kept being pushed away from that decision
based on the impracticality. I have a wife, a 6 year old daughter and a
100 pound Labrador Retriever who goes everywhere with us. Getting a sports
car (or even another sedan) would mean that my vehicle would be left in the
garage on the weekend when I was out with the family. Since I don't have a
long commute it would mean that I wasn't spending much time in my nice new
sports car. I really hadn't thought much about getting an SUV
before. I didn't want a really big vehicle. My wife has a Nissan
Quest mini-van that is the ideal family utility vehicle and I certainly didn't
want another mini-van. One day at work I noticed a Suzuki Grand Vitara in
the parking lot. I really liked the way it looked - kind of like a reduced
size version of a big muscular SUV. This got me thinking about small SUVs
for the first time. Here was a vehicle that was as compact as the sedans I
was used to driving but would allow me to load in the family as well. At
that point I started my quest for a small SUV. I looked at all of the
models on the market and quickly narrowed it down to a couple.
I really liked the Suzuki Grand Vitara for it's looks, price
and 6 cylinder engine. The Honda CRV was in in the running because of
Honda's reputation although I never really liked its looks much. The Ford
Escape and Mazda Tribute were also on my list but all these still seemed a bit
big to me. They are by no means full size SUVs, but they just didn't have
the feel I was looking for (and were a bit more pricey as well). I
also considered the Hyundai Santa Fe, but a combination of the looks and fact
that it was a brand new model from Hyundai made me shy away from it.
Hyundai's reputation for quality has improved significantly in the last few
years, but I was still worried about the new model aspect. Because I was
so happy with the Nissans that I had owned over the past 6 years and the quality
of service from my local Nissan dealer I felt that I had to at least consider
the Xterra. I quickly ruled this out based on size and other
characteristics. Finally came the RAV4. I had never really liked the
first generation RAV4 based on looks alone, although as I said I had never
considered an SUV before. I still hadn't seen one of the 2001 RAVs yet -
just pictures. I liked the new styling, the size was right and I liked the
fact that it was a Toyota. The specs sounded good and all of the reviews I
had read were positive. This was enough to put the RAV on the short
list. I had test driven the Suzuki and liked it enough to negotiate a
price with the dealer. I told him my decision was pending a test drive of
the RAV4. It took me two weeks to get to the Toyota dealer due to bad
weather and other obstacles. In the mean time my wife and I want to the
Northeast Auto Show in January and I got my first up close look at the
RAV. It was even better than the pictures! I liked everything about
the styling, size, interior, etc. My only reservation now was how it was
going to perform with its 4 cylinder engine versus the Grand Vitara 6. The
next week I finally got to a Toyota dealer and took a test drive. That was
it - I was hooked! Everything about the RAV was better than the Grand
Vitara. The ride, handling, styling, comfort, interior room and even the
performance were far superior. Four days later I was the owner of a
new white loaded RAV4 L. After two months of driving this vehicle I
couldn't be happier. It's lived up to all my expectations and then
some. For those who I haven't bored to death yet, the rest of my review
follows.
Exterior
What can you say about the styling of the '01 RAV4 other than
it's gorgeous! It has the best styling elements of the Lexus RX300 (its
Toyota-made big brother), the BMW X5 and the Mercedes M-Class - three of the
best looking SUVs on the road. Particularly in the L Package trim (U.S.
model) with the color matched door handles, painted trim, bumpers and fender
flares, hard spare tire cover, spoiler, 16" alloy wheels and wide
tires. The fit and finish is typical Toyota - flawless. Paint, trim,
body panel fitment are all perfect and the doors close with the solid thunk that
signals a well made vehicle.
Interior
The RAV4 interior lives up to the expectations set
outside. The controls are well laid out in typical Toyota fashion with
everything in easy reach. The stereo is placed above the heater/vent
controls which allows the driver to better keep his eyes on the road while
adjusting the stereo controls. While on the subject, the stereo performs
pretty well - see the details on the Stereo Page on
this site. The cabin is very quiet at highway speeds. There is
virtually no road noise or wind noise at 75-80 MPH. The ride and handling
are also very comfortable at that speed. There is of course the infamous
dash rattle that seems to plague most RAVs, however Toyota has A TSB to fix this
and some other less common rattles. See The Rattle!
for more info. Some owners have also reported wind noise and rattles from
the roof, but this is usually due to the roof rack bars either being installed
backwards or not being tightened securely.
There are many storage compartments including console, all
four doors, under dash, etc. There is a combination garage door opener and
sunglasses holder above the rear view mirror (holds one or the other).
Pictures of this option can be found Here.
There are multiple power outlets including the cigarette lighter in the dash,
another in the console and one in the rear cargo area. Another appreciated
option is the heated rearview mirrors (included with the L package) which are
activated with the rear defogger. No review would be complete without
mentioning cup
holders and ones in the RAV are really cool. The front pair are adjustable
to securely hold anything from a small coffee cup to a Big Gulp. The rear
ones are in a closed compartment in the back of the console that folds down to
reveal two rear cup holders.
The seats are comfortable and supportive. Although there
are no power seat options the drivers seat has a manual seat height
adjustment. The fabric is both attractive and sturdy. It doesn't
look cheap like the fabric in many SUVs. There is plenty of leg room both
in front and back and headroom is sufficient for pretty much any size driver or
passenger. The rear seats are one of the RAVs best features. They
begin as a 50/50 split folding configuration with seatbacks able to nearly fully
recline as well. The seat backs can be folded forward flat on the seat
bottom (not flat with the cargo surface). For a bit more room the entire
seat can be slid forward. For more room yet the whole seat can be tumbled
against that back of the front seat. Finally the entire seat can be
removed. With both seats removed the cargo space is 68 cubic feet! This is
more than some full size SUVs. Note that the seats are very light weight
and easy to remove.
Ride and Handling
The overall construction of the RAV is very solid and the
overall ride and handling are excellent. The suspension is tuned to behave
like a sports sedan and may be a bit harsh if you are looking for a cushy
ride. It makes driving the RAV a whole lot more fun however. One
note here - Toyota ships vehicles from the factory with the tire pressure at 50+
PSI and some dealers have neglected to reset this to the recommended 29-32 PSI
before delivery.
Steering is precise and overall road feel is excellent.
The RAV doesn't feel at all top heavy and can be driven rather aggressively without feeling out of control. There has been a lot of recent concern
about SUV rollovers, and while the NHTSA
rollover ratings for the RAV4 aren't out yet they are expected to be
good. It's also worth noting that the RAV got a 4 star NHTSA
crash safety rating.
The RAV can be had in both 2WD and full time 4WD
versions. I opted for the 4WD and am very happy that I did. The
system is in four wheel drive mode at all times with a 50/50 split of power to
front and rear wheels. This configuration allows driving on dry pavement
in 4WD and not having to worry about when to shift into 4WD when things get
slippery like shift on the fly systems do. While it has the disadvantage
of not having a low range 4WD setting this is really only necessary for serious
off-roading. For driving in rain, snow, dirt roads or on the beach the
RAVs system works great. I've always hated New England winters for having
to drive in the snow. With the RAV it actually becomes fun! As far
as the RAVs off road ability, there are some photos
posted on the eGroups NewRAV4 forum that seem to indicate the RAV has pretty
good potential here! Not that you will need to join the forum to view the
pictures - but it's worth being a member anyway.
In my opinion Toyota did make a couple of mistakes here.
First, very few RAVs are being equipped with anti-lock brakes (and they
obviously can't be added after the fact). They aren't included in any
package and I didn't see a single RAV with ABS on the sticker during my
search. ABS should be included in the L package as a standard feature and
should be included on a much higher percentage of RAVs in general to at least
give the buyer a choice. It's a similar situation with the limited slip differential
(LSD) option. LSD is a very useful option for AWD vehicles and although
Toyota does offer it they aren't providing it on many vehicles.
Performance
The overall performance of the RAV is very good. The
combination of the new 148hp VVT-i engine in a 2900 lb vehicle provides
reasonable acceleration under most conditions. With automatic and 4-wheel
drive the performance suffers a bit. When the engine is cold (first 1-2
miles in cold weather) it tends to be a bit sluggish. If you need to
get on highway right after leaving home (as I do) merging into traffic can be a
bit challenging. Once the engine is warm the sluggishness mostly
disappears. Low speed acceleration is good and highway speed acceleration
is acceptable. What I have found improves highway passing performance is
to use the OD switch to shift out of overdrive before hitting the gas to
pass. This causes the transmission to shift more quickly than by just
jumping on the gas and improves passing time quite a bit. The "OD
off" trick also works well at lower speed to give a kick without flooring
the gas pedal and can also be used to provide engine braking when slowing from
highway speed. So far there are not many aftermarket performance options
for the 2001 RAV. See the Performance page
for more details. What would make the RAV nearly perfect is having the
Camry V6 as an option. Maybe by the time I'm ready for my next RAV...
Miscellaneous Options
There are mixed reviews on the RAV4 options. The two
available packages (Quick Order and L Package) are both rather expensive for
what you get. Regardless of cost, I opted for the L Package and have no
regrets. The improved exterior appearance and convenience options were
worth the cost to me. I also got a moonroof functions very well, but I was
surprised to find out that it's plastic and not glass. It will be
interesting to see how it holds up over time since the manual warns about being
careful when cleaning so as not to scratch it. The rear spoiler is a
separate option that requires the L Package (seems like it should be included)
but again I think it's worth it. It adds to the appearance of the vehicle
and serves to keep dirt off the rear window.
Surprisingly, neither keyless entry or a security system is
included in any option package. They also don't seem to be included on
many vehicles by the factory based on what I saw on dealers lots during my
search. My RAV4 L was pretty well loaded including moonroof, wheel locks,
spoiler, roof rack, etc. but didn't have either keyless entry or security
system. I think this may be a blessing in disguise since you can add an
aftermarket alarm system including keyless entry for much less than the factory
option cost and get better features in the bargain. See the Alarms
page for more details.
The roof rack is an option that seems to be included on most
RAVs (again based on my search) which is a good thing since Toyota is not yet
offering this as a later option. One down side to the rack is that it is
rated at only 75 pounds (which is just about enough for my two light weight
kayaks). See the Roof Rack page for more
details.
Conclusion
I just can't find enough good things to say about this
vehicle. It's fun to drive, looks great and provides excellent
utility. I've had a number of vehicles that I really liked in the past,
but none quite as much as this. So much in fact that it has inspired this
web site. To anyone debating buying a RAV4 and having any doubts all I can
say is - BUY IT, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!
Other Reviews
The Rating column in the review table
ranks the content of the review from 1-5 where 1 is the least detail and
5 is the most.
Link |
Description |
Rating |
MSN
Carpoint |
Review, pricing, specs, test
drives, consumer reviews |
5 |
Carpoint
Consumer Reviews |
Consumer reviews and ratings |
3 |
Edmunds |
Review, pricing, specs, test
drives, consumer reviews |
4 |
Kelly
Blue Book 1 |
KBB Review |
3 |
Kelly
Blue Book 2 |
KBB Review |
3 |
New
Car Test Drive |
Very complete review, test drive
and specs |
4 |
Truckin'
Magazine |
Truckin's 2001 SUV of the Year
Contender RAV4 Review |
3 |
Truckin' Magazine |
Truckin's complete 2001. SUV of
the Year Review (10 SUVs) |
4 |
MotorWeek Road Test |
MotorWeek Television Road Test |
2 |
Auto
World Magazine |
2001 RAV4, CR-V, Tribute
Comparison Test |
3 |
Cars Everything |
2001 RAV4 Review with CR-V,
Tribute, Forrester comparison |
3 |
Popular
Mechanics |
Review of the new 2.0 VVT-i engine |
4 |
Magazine Reviews
Excerpts from magazine and other reviews that aren't on the
web...
Bushdriver Magazine - April 2001
In this month's edition of the Australian "Bushdriver"
Magazine, Toyota's
RAV4 Cruiser (5-door) took out the "Small Wagon of the Year 2000"
Award. The summary is as follows:
"RAV4's victory over rivals CR-V and Forester in Bushdriver's last issue,
handed it the crown in the small all-wheel drive wagon segment this year and
qualified it for a shoot out with the bigger guns. Although, that attempt was
denied by its bigger stable mate (Toyota's 100 Series GXL Turbo Diesel), RAV4
impressed all judges with its fine handling and spirited performance.
The panel also agreed that the modern stylish cult machine was impossible to top
in the enjoyment stakes. RAV's bigger and more roomier dimensions, improved NVH
level and sorted out front
end suspension geometry has made it a far better proposition than the
original model. It scored well in a number of categories, including styling,
interior design, engine performance and ride and handling.
Obviously, not in the same class as the
others (ie the big 4WD's), RAV4 Cruiser showed a much broader all terrain
capability than expected and not only distinguished itself well during the shoot
out, but topped the softer all-wheel drive segment to justifiably earn the
award.
'A fun car with limited off road ability, but I'd take it on most forest trails
and beaches' said George White.
'Sporty and great fun to drive - a good thing' said Fred Black."