While true 4×4 enthusiasts love to mock the Toyota RAV4, every month somewhere between 200 and 300 South Africans reach into their purses and wallets and vote quietly for the little soft-roader. Why not? It’s very well built, it’s capable of more than most buyers would expect off-road, and it’s a Toyota. It symbolises eternal youth, and as such, they reckon, it sends out a message that you’re, well, special.
Toyota makes no bones about it. The new third generation RAV4, like its predecessors, was designed for people who Like to Be Noticed.
The 2006 RAV4 is available in five-door guise with four-wheel-drive only — the little three-door version so loved by the Sandton set is no more, and the popular two-wheel-drive models have been discontinued.
The wagon uses the same 112kW, 194Nm two-litre petrol engine as the old, slotted into a bigger, chunkier body shell that is more hard-edged and masculine than its predecessor. This is mated to a new hi-tech drive train that makes it more suited to proper off-road use than the old model, while adding on-road safety.
Because it’s not really meant to be driven through Africa by some hirsute khaki-clad adventurer with only a cheap Chinese Leatherman copy and a roll of duct tape as a toolkit, the new RAV4 uses electronic technology rather than a low-range transmission to get the job done.
The centre-differential used in most all-wheel-drive systems has been replaced by a computer-controlled electromagnetic coupling, and Toyota’s Active Torque Control four-wheel-drive system constantly monitors and controls torque delivery between the front and rear wheels, as circumstances dictate.
Factors such as throttle opening, steering angle, engine torque, gear selection and vehicle speed are all analysed in microseconds, and VSC+ (vehicle stability control) helps neutralise oversteer or understeer by automatically adjusting engine power and the braking force applied to individual wheels when necessary.
At the same time, a steering-assist programme revises the electric power steering’s sensitivity level to help the driver retain full control of the vehicle. Other electronic aids include a 4WD LOCK switch, hill start assist, which prevents the vehicle from rolling back on steep inclines, and — in the automatic-transmission version only — downhill assist control that stops the vehicle gathering momentum when descending steep hills with a closed throttle.
The new SUV is 145mm longer and 80mm wider than last year’s, with a 70mm longer wheelbase, providing extra cabin space and improving stability and comfort.
Like its predecessors, the new RAV4 is very well screwed together and equipped. The car boasts heated, retractable, external rear-view mirrors, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, leather upholstery, tilt-and-reach adjustment for the steering wheel, and a six-speaker audio system, compatible with MP3 and WAV formats, with a radio and six-CD shuttle.
Automatic sound levelling adjusts the volume to suit road noise as speed increases or drops. A lockable glove box with a built-in cooler is standard, along with an electrochromatic interior mirror, dual-zone climate control and a multifunction info display. There are, of course, ABS brakes, and airbags galore.
There’s plenty of stowage place in the new RAV4. The boot area is now 230mm wider, and cargo volume is thus increased by 18%. An 80-litre storage compartment is provided under the floor, and a second glove compartment occupies the upper side of the dash on the passenger’s side, while the centre console is 50% bigger than that of the outgoing model.
Toyota has equipped the new RAV with a “smart entry and start system” that allows the driver to open the doors and start the engine simply by carrying the key on his or — probably — her person. If the key is within about a metre of sensors in the front doors or tailgate, the driver can simply grasp a door handle to unlock the vehicle. The engine can then be fired up or stopped by pressing a large “Engine Start/Stop” button on the dash.
The new RAV4 is undoubtedly a better vehicle than the old, which was pretty good in its own right, and it’s likely to appeal to a wider market. Its more masculine styling will render it more appealing to men, and its increased interior space makes it a much more desirable family wagon.
Despite the lack of a low-range transmission, the wagon has most of the attributes necessary to make it a useful vehicle on bad roads and tracks, with the occasional foray into rougher territory being entirely feasible. Pricing of the manual version is R310Â 100, with the auto costing an additional R10Â 000. A diesel version will become available shortly.