i doubt they still do that today with bsm. besides, i've never heard of a blind spot monitor feature breaking. have you?

bad looking? to me, yes. bad overall... pretty subjective, but of course it'll get you where you need to go, has decent room, etc. i don't really consider any vehicle 'bad' today. less or more desirable, less or more feature rich...

 

I've seen a 'Check BSM System' light before, but that's usually because a rear bumper system is faulty or damaged. Example a rear end collision. I completely agree though, BSM is a great feature.

 

I got curious and spent some time looking up dimensions of some of these vehicles.

The new RAV4 (181") is about 3 inches shorter than the 2002 Highlander (184"). The 2002 Highlander is 9 inches shorter than the current Highlander (193").

The Sorento, at 187" slots in between the 2002 Highlander and the current version.

The CR-V, like the RAV4, is 181". The CX-5 is shorter, at 179". The CX-9 is quite long, at 199".

The 4Runner is 190" and the RX350 is 193".

 

Thank you for these details - it's very helpful. I noticed how Alex on Autos uses a horizontal "bar" that plots the size of vehicles that compete with the one he's reviewing (smallest is on the left, largest is on the right) but this info is really helpful to relay to my Mom. Much appreciated.

 

Oh no, not by any means.....although, in my book, a handsome and competent vehicle beats one that is competent but so-so looking. I'm also not impressed with most of the interior materials on the last-generation RAV-4....with one exception: the tank-strong rear-seat anchor.

Agreed that Ford doesn't have a monopoly on them by any means. But most of the vehicles in the U.S. market that I've seen with that convex feature have indeed been Fords......those without the electronic blind-spot monitor, which generally makes it unnecessary.

 

I've never had one in any car I've owned, though when I get my next one, it will probably be a Fed-reqired standard-equipment feature.

As far as them "breaking", it's not necessarily the hardware that breaks (although that can happen, too), but the electronics and software can fail....particularly on German-designed vehicles. If it does fail, though, and the computer-monitoring is working properly, it should flash a warning light telling you to have the system looked at.