JDR76

How did you manage a '14 RAV4 XLE at $21k?

My parent's '13 Limited, just one notch above the XLE, was $32k.

ST430

There were some great rebates at the time ($2k if I remember correctly) off the $23K the dealer was already discounting it for. I believe Limiteds were going for ~$28k at the time (we were tempted as well). This is before everyone jumped on the SUV bandwagon and Toyota stopped discounting them altogether.

Fizzboy7

The gauges, specifically the speedometer, are the most stared at pieces sitting in front of a driver. You have to look at them several times each trip (or at least I hope people still do, in today's age of infotainment and phones). Touching the dash.... I can't recall the last time I touched mine other than to clean it. Door-pulls and armrests, yes. Important too.

Toys4RJill

Funny, enough most of the posts (and the review) in this forum have barely anything to do with what the Rav4 was design for; light 4WD use, cargo carrying, people moving. Soft materials here and there are barely an issue, almost all CUVs in this segment have plastic here or there on the dash.

Although the Rav4 is not my cup of tea, the interior is good enough, the harder materials are not the end of the world, smaller children (most Rav4 buyers have these) will try to destroy an interior and the Rav4 cleans up easy and should withstand any abuse if using it to move cargo.

mmarshall

Sorry, but IMO your comment here doesn't make much sense. First, many car-buyers (including most of those on this forum) KNOW what crossover vehicles of this type are typically used for....I don't have to waste time and wear on my keyboard typing it out for them. Second, I listed all of the RAV-4's close American-market competitors, just like I do for every review, so that one has knowledge by association. Third, they can see for themselves, on the road, simply by observing the vehicles all around them....they don't need me for that.

True....none of the competitors in this segment are really luxury-class, either. But The RAV-4's trim and plastics, IMO, are noticeably more of a bargain-basement grade than most of the other ones. That also holds true (IMO at least) for the Avalon, though the Buick LaCrosse is almost as disappointing as the Avalon inside with cheap plastics.

SW17LS

It's "good enough" which seems to be Toyota's new slogan. I don't buy cars that are good enough, And I think ultimately that's a self defeating goal for Toyota to have.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

- hey, milk that reputation cow for reliability and boring. execs can pat themselves on the backs about growing sales and enjoy the bonuses. of course almost everyone else's sales are growing too so it's pretty meaningless.

mmarshall

...........Yes, but in VW's case, from what I understand, because of the scandal, they are losing money on each vehicle trying to keep sales from drying up.

SW17LS

What does that have to do with anything that he said?

mmarshall

Maybe I could have worded it better. First, In the context of sales from all of the other auto makers rising, my point was that the only (probable) reason that VW's aren't falling is that the company is taking unprecedented steps to keep them from doing so, and is losing money in the process. It s a policy that we probably won't continue to see for obvious reasons.....one cannot continually lose money and stay in buisness. Also, the full effect of present and future fines have not really kicked in yet, which will drain the company even more financially. Second, VW does not have (at least in the American market) the "reputation cow" of reliability that bitkahuna was speaking of.

mmarshall

Next planned review, BTW.....2017 Cadillac XT5. I'm just waiting for them to arrive in the D.C. area...a number of them have been ordered, and are supposedly on the way.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i didn't write ALL i wrote "almost everyone else's..."

obviously vw's 'scandal' has hurt their sales and expenses but that's a complete outlier - ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE'S sales continue to rise month after month after month, with endless records reported in our monthly threads.

anyway, back to the rav-4... i think overall toyota's done a good job with it and the refresh is a solid effort. it's less bland than the cr-v, probably attracts a younger buyer. they will (continue to) sell tons of them.

Individual

iTrader: (7)

Nice Review MM.

I agree with most of what you've stated, minus the zig-zag gear selector, I particularly like that. I just dislike how in manual mode, the + and - are not in their ideal position. For example, the - should be on top, and + should be on the bottom.

I know that everyone stated how cheap Toyota went in terms of material, but I like it. Having a couple of ISx50's, then going to a 2002 RAV4 was a big downgrade, but I bought a house, so I chose the house over car payments. Anyways, having the 2002 RAV4, I took for granted even the most basic of things like material quality, bluetooth, remote lock/unlock(mine was just turn key lol), NVH, etc. Then having the RAV4 totalled from being rear-ended after not having it for more than a year, and then getting the '15 RAV4 as a replacement, it's like night and day in terms of quality, amenities, and technology.

mmarshall

Thanks. It wasn't a complete review on my part...just a test-drive and partial write-up. A full-review, on my part, would have been a little more comprehensive.

No problem...we can disagree on it.....I know some others also agree with you. I just find a zig-zag pattern needlessly awkward, though it would not necessarily be a deal-breaker for me, as I've owned both a Lexus IS300 and a Subaru Outback with that zig-zag feature. But current Verano has a simple fore/aft motion, which I find much better.

I think the whole idea of the zig-zags was originally for careless or inattentive drivers who don't pay much attention to what gear they were shifting in and out of, or who have bad eyes and don't read the markings clearly. (Some drivers' licenses formerly restrict driving to the wearing of glass or contacts, if required).


If you want a manual-mode shifter with that kind of pattern on an SUV in this class, check out the competing Mazda CX-5...which I also did a recent Condensed (slightly shortened) review on. Mazda and BMW use the (-/+) pattern you want on all of their products.

The CX-5's SkyActiv-technology non-turbo 2.5L four, BTW, has an impressive amount of power when in the SPORT mode...it will push you back in the seat.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...da-cx-5-a.html

Sorry to hear your old RAV-4 got totaled. Actually, in terms of how it was built and material quality, the 3Gen 2010-2016 Kia Sportage is much like the older Toyotas in terms of thunk-solid doors, good materials, and quality of assembly at the plant, though the interior itself is not very plush-looking. My brother has a 2015 Sportage, and just loves it.

BrownPride

It's certainly a nice update. I was split between leasing a Rav4 or CR-V about a year ago. While the Toyota was marginally cheaper, I could clearly understand why. The interior was very cheap in comparison to the CR-V, which had a homely interior design but everything was high-quality for it's class. I would argue that Hondas are overall better than their Toyota counterparts, they just feel less cheap.