Rav 4 Not Just Big! - Toyotas that aren’t Corollas - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

WE've all heard about the new RAV. The rags have all had the V-6 model, but Toyo expects 80% to be 4 cyl models. They finally got it up under "build" on toyota. com so I speced out a basic model. Shock! No manual tranny for one. Second $23,000 for the base model. OUCH! Seems the little RAV has gotten fat with its compatriots. It lines up demesionally with the Equinox and CR-V, but totally prices itself out of its former market. Along with the two Koreans, the Mitsu Outlander and the two new psuedo-Jeeps will undercut it. Anybody think this is a bad thing?

BTW, I challenge anyone to find an article that praises the joke of a third seat. default_biggrin

I think it's a mistake to. They are all doing it.Honda did it with the civic,they are getting bigger in size and in engine so the fuel economy will be worse than last year. I hope the new corolla doesn't get fat and overweight it takes the economy out of the equation. I wonder have the automakers reached maximum efficiency with their 4 cylinder engines. I would have considered

a rav4 before the change because of its size now i wouldn't give it a second look.sorry for the rant

Andrew

Max

Actually, the 06 Civic sedan is exactly the same length it was last year- 175.4 inches. (per Honda website). It gets 40 mpg highway, AND they offer a hybrid that averages (city + highway) 44 mpg... And the new RAV still manages to get 30 mpg highway despite being 14 inches longer (per Toyota website). Honda and Toyota are too smart to let their cars lose mpg with gas prices rising. That said, I am no fan of the new RAV, either.

I noticed Volkswagen claims the Jetta is mid-sized. In a side-by-side comparison its not really much bigger than the Corolla. However, its a lot heavier.

now_driving_VW

the 3rd row seat is a marketing gimmick... just like the Suzuki XL-7. Heck the Subaru Tribeca 3rd row seats are useless. In order for me to fit in the 3rd row... the 2nd row needs to be moved up so the 2nd row is inhabitable. I'm just shy under 5'10".

However I can sit in the 3rd row of the Highlander, and the 2nd row of the Highlander.

The pricing isn't that bad... it comes with a lot more items, some safety features not available in the last RAV4.

The pricing isn't bad for the CR-V or Equinoxious. But the RAv was king of the segment below that. Now Toyota has no player in that segment leaving it basically to the Koreans Suzuki and Jeep. This isn't new by the way. Let me use Gm as an example. The original S-10 blazer was a 2-door SUV with 4 or 6 cylinder engines. Then it grew to accomodate 4 doors, then the 4 cylinder dissappeared, then the 2.8L, finally the whole thing was replaced with the Trailblazer that was bigger, and then of course, we had to have the EXT model and V-8 power! Those groceries are getting heavy! Meanwhile, the small Tracker is replaced by the Equestriannox which is, surprise! about the same size as the old Blazer 4-door.

I was done in on 3rd row seats when my brother-in-law bought an Expedition. Sure the seat was nice when he needed it, but all it did 90% of the time was take up cargo space.

A $23K base line MSRP for the new '06 RAV isn't too bad; when considering it's been redesigned, is larger than the Gen II models thus using more materials, and inflation. My '04 was $25K total with modest options, no down and 8.9% APR on a 72-month contract. I'll drive it until the wheels fall off, so taking six years to pay for it wasn't such a bad idea.

Would I buy an '06 RAV? I'd rather upgrade to a Highlander hybrid if I could afford the payments.