The Toyota Rav4 is one of Nigeria’s best selling cars.
Let’s take a look at the 2014 model and see what separates it from the pack.
According to the CarandDriver review
The Toyota RAV4 has scored consistently good marks in the areas of utility, all-around usefulness, fuel efficiency, comfort, quality, and value ever since it became the progenitor of the small, car-based crossover species in 1996. But an engaging driving experience isn’t something we would necessarily add to the list of the diminutive Toyota’s defining characteristics.
Redesigned for model-year 2013, the RAV4 is now in its fourth generation, a makeover that eliminated one of the elements that gave the third generation a jolt of fun-to-drive: the optional 3.5-liter V-6 with 269 horsepower and 246 lb-ft of torque. So equipped, a 2010 RAV4 V-6 hustled to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds, making it the hottest thing in the class.
But in 2013, the gen-four RAV’s powertrain options were pared down to a 2.5-liter four-cylinder teamed with a six-speed automatic transmission. The choice of front- or all-wheel drive remained. This adds up to tepid acceleration. In our first trip to the test track with a 2013 RAV4 AWD, it ran to 60 in 8.2 seconds, and the quarter-mile came in 16.5 at 85 mph. That’s at the slow end of the compact-crossover scale, and for some reason this front-drive test subject, although 118 pounds lighter than the AWD model, was slower by a half-second to 60 and a couple tenths through the quarter. (Chalk up the disparity to a green engine in the front-driver with too-few break-in miles; the RAV isn’t powerful enough to gain an accelerative advantage from AWD.) The six-speed automatic is smooth, and manual shifting, achieved by waggling the lever fore and aft, is helpful for two-lane passing, a maneuver that requires careful planning due to the modest propulsion.
Solidly Competent
Although the RAV4’s acceleration requires a patient driver, its dynamic deportment is generally responsive. True, the crossover’s understeer progresses from significant to resolute, but its responses are prompt and utterly predictable within that limit. Body motions are well controlled with a firm but smooth ride. The RAV4’s electric power steering is a little vague but reasonably quick at 2.7 turns lock-to-lock.
The RAV4’s braking system was fade-free, but its 70-to-0-mph stopping distances were lengthy, ranging from 189 to 194 feet. This is not unusual for the class, but it’s nevertheless lamentable. On the other hand, the little Toyota’s grip was respectable by segment standards: 0.75 g on the skidpad. The body shell feels solid, even over washboard surfaces, with no buzz resonating from the chassis.
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