The Toyota Rav4 - the best in its class

Somewhere in the 90’s Toyota introduced us to a new concept. A small mini SUV thingy sold in a 3 and 5 door option they named Rav4. I say thingy because I am not entirely convinced it was all that sporty. It was cute, basic, and fun. It was also typical in the sense of Toyota reliability, Toyota dreadfulness, and an abundance of dullness. It also managed to win the 1997 car of the year awards.

Years passed as Toyota built good quality, slightly overpriced vehicles. The Rav4 in itself grew up, taking on a different market in the SUV segment, ultimately changing from the quirky small car, to a cruiser worth its metal. Don’t get me wrong on this one, it is one bloody good car, but that’s it. Its not a driver’s car. There was no soul, no character, and no sense of fun.

Getting into one (any model, not only the Rav) was predictable. The steering would be light; the interior would be plastic, and laid out the same, monotonous, generic style. The quality would differ from model to model, and that was that, at least until recently the company said it’s done with building dull, dreary cars.

Come the 2018 Rav4, and thank the car gods for things like boredom, otherwise this gem would have remained unnoticed.

Style:

It is a love or hate situation when it comes to the looks. It has a prominent face, and the big bumper with its flared arches makes it look rather like an angry sumo wrestler, but it calms down at the back, where only subtle curves and squares can be seen. It takes an aggressive stance, albeit very comically. Small details make the exterior even more interesting to look at. For Example, there are subtle humps on the bonnet, but once you are inside, they are very prominent. Another example. Just behind the front wheel arch there is a line that graciously splits into two distinct lines which follows the car right round to the other front wheel arch in one single, unbroken fashion. The reverse parking sensor for example is well hidden, leaving a very rounded, refined ass. In short I like it. It is a restrained, refined, modern, distinct design that makes this Toyota unmissable.

Interior:

Comfortable. Quircky, and rather well thought out. There are one or two issues I have, but in general, it is a very nice place to be. The biggest problem I have it the slab just below the infotainment system. There is no use for it, other than make you wonder why Toyota would make the effort to get this plastic slab moulded and look like it is trimmed in leather. Even the stitching is fake. You can avoid this distraction by never touching it though, because it is so very well faked, you may very well believe its actually leather finishing off the inside. The only real let down, other than the fake leather slab, is a flimsy little rubber that covers the aux/usb jack.

As said previously, he seats, and seating position is very comfortable, and I expect it to be quite fitting to a big frame. You never have to reach too far to push a button, or look at something other than a fake plastic slab. The typical Toyota Genes are still there, making it a familiar place to be. There is also quite a lot of storage space should you want to hide things.

Reversing also seems like a breeze with a rear-view camera, Parking sensors, and reasonable visibility. This is where I like the Rav. You can turn of the annoying beeps and bobs from the park distance sensors, but that is not the best part. Your rear view mirror has two places is can adjust. Normal cars have a braket, with the mirror, resulting in a compromised position where you look at the headrest and maybe see out of the window. The Rav allows you to adjust the height of the mirror, as well as the angle, giving you the best rear visibility possible.

Being the SUV it is, the boot is accessible from the rear passenger seat, bit instead of just a cover, you have a cargo net fitted as well. This is just absolutely brilliant. Heavy things at the bottom, light things at the top.

Driving:

The Rav is bigger than it looks, and feels even bigger when driven, but its size is not intimidating. It does make for a slight confusion though as it feels like you are going faster than you really are. The bonnet humps makes sure you know where the bonnet ends, and while I sure there are at least one thousand driving nannies to make sure you don’t end up wearing the car as a helmet, it is not intrusive. The Rav has grown to be a cruiser, and it does this pretty well.

There can be a bit more power coming from its lively power plant, but I suspect the real culprit is the gearbox, or rather the electronic overlords governing it, and not the amount of power it makes. While driving it in Eco mode, it felt lazy. Gears were held way to long at much too high revs, and even though everything in you, and the car for that matter shouted “Shift” nothing happened. Downshifts came when needed, but only after the computer contemplated the meaning of its existence, and winding up the engine before it does so. It was, dare I say, enough to kill this car.

Put it in sport mode however, and all this hassle goes away. I may need to tell you that although sport mode does not make the car faster, I personally would not even bother using the eco mode. Sport mode in this case should read Normal mode. Gear changes are quicker, and more responsive. There is no stupid rev holding thing going on, and the right gear is always ready to be selected. It genuinely changes the cars attitude to something resembling what it really is, a gem.

Yes, it is still a Toyota. The steering is still light, it still has a slight sense of dullness to it, but this is actually a fun Toyota. By no means is it anything close to a motoring enthusiasts car or taste, but it can be. It’ll grow on you.

I dare say this is the best SUV I have driven in the last 6 months, and while the list is admittedly small, the Toyotas practicality and easy puts them to shame rather quickly. Priced at a little over R520,000, it may be a bit more than its rivals, but it is genuinely, honestly so much better.