July 19, 2007
With our long-term RAV4 about to go visit the big dealership in the sky, I just had to try out something that has puzzled me every time I drove this great little Toyota SUV.
Just what in the heck does the "Auto LSD" button do? Sounds groovy, so I decided to press it to find out what it does...
July 16, 2007
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this on the blog posts for the RAV4 yet but that tire cover mounted on the rear door sure makes a lot of noise when you drive over road imperfections or even minor rough patches. Its rattling can be heard throughout the cabin, making you wonder if something is loose in the cargo area or if the stowed third row is acting up.
Other than that the cabin is quiet but I just wonder why that cover wasn't made to be more secure, or why have a cover at all? Even when you slam that door shut the cover clatters...
July 12, 2007
I have a romantic way of looking at car stereo systems. I like to think that each car manufacturer has a diligent army of stereo-building elves who live in a charming little elf village somewhere, one with cobbled streets and miniature pointy-roofed houses. These industrious elves work their tiny elf hands until they bleed, all in the name of creating audio systems with the type of amazing sonics that sate the selfish desires of listeners like myself.
Anyone who's ever spent time in a Scion knows that Toyota has some A-list elf talent on its team...
June 22, 2007
This thing is a blast to drive if for only one reason: The Engine!
Its has so much low-end torque that it bolts from the starting gate like a thoroughbred. I actually have to be careful with my throttle input when exiting parking garages, at green lights and around town lest I chirp and squeal all over the place. However, getting onto the freeway or passing its like hitting the switch into light speed. Well, not really, but it does smile like you're in 100mph gale...
June 11, 2007
Our '06 Toyota RAV4 V6 looks like a nice, normal compact SUV, but there's serious conflict going on beneath its placid exterior. Pretty much all of it can be traced to its 3.5-liter V6. As you've read many times on this blog, acceleration is brisk and exciting in our RAV. But over the weekend I realized the extent to which the V6 ruins its dynamics...
June 8, 2007
Last night I was lucky enough to get the key to the RAV4, for the first time in a few weeks. There's nothing like a little time away to underscore how much you appreciate something. The thing I like most about the RAV4 is its ability to offer versatility without compromises. This is an SUV tailor-made for city dwellers who need something roomy enough for the occasional trip to Home Depot, but accommodating enough to effortlessly ease into a "Compact Vehicles Only" parking space at the grocery store...
May 21, 2007
The Toyota RAV4 served as this weekend's transport for the 900-plus mile roundtrip north to Sacramento for a 13-year-old's birthday gathering. Along the way, slower vehicles were no match for the RAV4's torque-filled V6 engine, it lurched forward eagerly every time the throttle was goosed.
Fuel mileage fell slightly short of the RAV4's EPA ratings of 22 city/29 highway. This trip came in at 26.3 mpg on the highway alone, and 24.3 mpg during highway and city driving combined...
May 17, 2007
Our RAV4 went in for regularly scheduled maintenance this morning at Toyota of Santa Monica. The visit included the basics: tire rotation, engine oil and filter replacement, a new air filter, visual (and audible) inspections and a safety road test.
Our bill came to $189.29. Oddly enough the cost of labor was $136.98, nearly the same as our last Honda Fit service...
May 14, 2007
I'm working on a road test of the 2008 Saturn Vue so I've been hopping in and out of other compact SUVs to gain some comparison. Driving impressions on the Vue are embargoed to May 25, so I can't mention them here. But I can share my thoughts on the Outlander and RAV4 which I drove back to back.
Outlander
Our part-time 4WD Outlander XLS is equipped with a 6-speed automatic transmission with manual mode...
"I'm sorry Scott, I'm afraid I can't do that."
May 7, 2007
Of the seven SUVs in our long-term fleet (nine if you count the R500 and Compass), the RAV4 is clearly the one I'd want the keys to every night. It has the Goldilocks "just right" size, reasonably communicative steering and despite the RAV's historical mom image, I think it looks sleekly muscular. Best of all, the RAV's V6 offers one of the best power to fuel-economy trade-offs out there. It's the type of engine that appeases both the Devil and Angel perched upon my shoulder, whispering into my ear to keep me centered between power-hungry car guy and mpg-hungry green guy.
It's easy enough when puttering along in the city to forget that there's 269 horses stabled under the hood -- at least until it comes time to pass a dawdling minivan...
May 4, 2007
I started up the RAV4 this afternoon. The radio was playing some awful 80s medley (can't trust that JACK FM) so I reached over to change the station before my ears started bleeding. To my surprise the screen was blurred, but all controls and presets still functioned properly.
I snapped a quick photo with the camera phone, hence the poor quality. After shutting down the car and re-starting it the problem was gone...
May 1, 2007
Look what I found! There's this little cubbyhole between the gearshifter and the center console that looks too small to fit really anything. And since the auxiliary input is in the center console I just stuck my iPod in this cubby to see if it would fit and it did! Wedging it keeps it in place and within easy reach...
April 25, 2007
April 16, 2007
April 2, 2007
I put a fair amount of mileage on our long-term Toyota RAV4 this weekend, a car that to me is pure pleasure. Not remotely a fan of the Suburban or Tahoe, but the RAV4 is a fantastic city car to me. I often carry musical equipment, and it's got a wide-swinging rear door and plenty of space with two rows of fold-flat seats. It's easy to park and the visibility out the windows is absolutely fantastic...
Apparently there aren't many Italian proofreaders working at Aviano's Ristorante. We highly recommend the spaghett and meatballs.
The RAV4 took a recent 670-mile trip to Laughlin, NV. Our only negative with this SUV as a road-tripper was its tendency to blow around the road...
February 26, 2007
About 3 months ago, we posted about how the tuning knob in the RAV4's stereo took a break (http://66.160.188.111/roadtests/564). It started working again, and we've had no trouble since then, so we let it go.
Over this weekend the gremlins were back. My "FM1" presets were "forgotten" and a couple of times I saw dot matrix squares show up to the right of the station number. Of course, it only happened a couple of times as if to make me doubt my own sanity. The sound system thereafter kept my re-entered presets and even when it showed the black squares again it worked fine.
Another glitch I noticed was a few times while standing still just waiting pull out onto the street: a beep sounded and the stability control icon in the dash lit up, as if I were losing grip while underway. Both glitches have been noted and will be mentioned at the next service interval or if they crop up again and cause any issue with performance or entertainment.
On a different note, I'm still impressed by the RAV4's winning combination of strong performance, respectable fuel efficiency and generous cabin space. During a brunch outing with relatives, the ample second row seat was appreciated...
February 21, 2007
Most cars have their power mirror controls on the driver door or to the left of the steering wheel near the driver mirror. But the RAV4 has them in the center console at the bottom of the shifter.
They are easy to use and very clearly marked. But I feel that they take up space that could be used for storage or an additional cupholder...
February 20, 2007
I've got a problem. Not so much a problem as a project. It seems a lemon tree in my front yard is a prime attraction to the indigenous opossum population. What's more is that our municipal animal control office patently refuses to accept these caged critters. I don't know why, but as a result, I've been forced to relocate said animal(s) to a less
poopulated populated location.
February 16, 2007
For no apparent reason, I was accompanied by a hundred-thousand other Angelinos on my drive home last night on the dreaded 405 freeway. The result was a 2-hour bumper-to-bumper test of man and machine wherein I rarely saw speeds in excess of 20 mph. That's a lot of time to sit in any vehicle. The RAV4 is comfortable enough most of the time, but after two hours I began to notice that my body shape doesn't quite fit the template Toyota used for the steering wheel-to-pedal relationship...
February 14, 2007
In the likely event that you're driving around a Toyota RAV4 and not making use of its kiddie-size third-row seat, you might get annoyed by the 3rd-row seatbelts clattering against the walls of the cargo bay. I do. So I was pleased to find these plastic clips last night. It probably cost Toyota mere pennies to include them, but they really do work...
February 9, 2007
Oddly, this post really isn't about our '06 Toyota RAV4's gauges. I just took a photo of them because I think they're one of its most distinctive features, thanks to their unusual brown rings.
So last night I logged 70 highway miles in the RAV4. And on the wide open stretches, I quite enjoyed it...
February 8, 2007
For years, I've tried to resist the lure of small, car-based SUVs, because, well, sports coupes and sedans drive better. But our long-term Toyota RAV4 has begun to chip away at my resolve. I like driving it. With its bordering-on-sporty suspension tuning and kind-of-responsive steering (a sensation aided by its tiny steering wheel), it's fun going around corners in the RAV...
February 6, 2007
Returning from Las Vegas in our long term 2006 Toyota RAV4 I used the cruise control as much as possible and set it for -- brace yourself -- the speed limit. When I filled up this morning and calculated the gas mileage I found it delivered 29.7 mpg (under the EPA's old system it is rated at 22 city and 29 mpg highway). For the entire trip I drove 612 miles and used 21.765 gallons of gas for an average of 28.1 mpg. That's pretty good for a vehicle of this size with a 3.5-liter V6 rated at 269 horsepower engine...
February 4, 2007
I'm in Las Vegas for the National Automobile Dealers Association where the assembled rank and file is attending workshops about how to sell more cars. There are all kinds of techniques they are learning to convince buyers to purchase one of their cars. They hear about how to build trust and learn to overcome objections. That's all good, but here's an idea...
February 3, 2007
What I like about road trips is that they are the truest test of a vehicle's fuel efficiency. There's not a lot of variation out on the open road except for the speed you choose to drive and a few ups and downs. I've never really bonded with our 2006 Toyota RAV4 so I was looking forward to spending some quality time with it on the way to "Lost Wages," Nevada, to cover the National Automobile Dealers Association convention.
I was amazed at the ease with which the RAV's V6 climbed the 4,000-foot Cajun Pass on I-15...
January 29, 2007
Blogs are supposed to be personal and this is a personal hang up. Our long-term RAV4 Limited is cursed with dual-zone climate control. I say cursed because the RAV4's center stack is littered with 18 heating and ventilation control buttons. It looks like this:
Making a simple change to the interior temperature, like I do virtually every time I get into a vehicle after it's sat overnight, means indulging in a death spiral of button-punching misery...
January 26, 2007
About 10 years back, I actually leased a first-generation RAV4. It was an AWD model with a 5-speed manual and a Torsen diff. Since I had the "World's Best Commute" at the time -- 10 miles of sinuous graded dirt that amounted to a rally stage with no traffic -- I was able to have a bit of fun with it. But after driving our 2006 RAV4 for a night, I have to say I'm disappointed...
January 25, 2007
At 10,101 miles our RAV4's "maintenance required" light illuminated, alerting us to its need for regular service. I called Santa Monica Toyota's service department the next morning, and Henry, our favorite service writer, said to bring it on in. Ed and I ran the RAV right over and Henry called a few hours later to say it was ready.
Total cost for the usual inspections, oil change and tire rotation was $73.73...
January 22, 2007
I know not what you are. RAV4 says nothing. A rooster cackles to color the morning alive.
January 15, 2007
As you would expect, the 2006 Toyota RAV4's cargo area is roomy enough for a week's worth of grocery bags. Thankfully, my shopping provided enough bags so that they were wedged up against each other. I've found that having just a few bags is risky as the RAV4's powerful V6 and sensitive throttle make it very easy to disrupt the bags while accelerating. If this were my RAV4, I'd also invest in a few cargo area accessories, such as Toyota's cargo tote and cargo net...
January 12, 2007
We did a post last month about installing a Parrot CK3100 hands-free Bluetooth car-connection kit into our 2006 Toyota RAV4. I've been using the Parrot during the past few days and found that it works pretty well. Setup with my Motorola cellphone was easy, and I hardly bothered with the manual. In terms of sound quality, the Parrot is OK...
January 8, 2007
Another publication's review of the new Toyota RAV4 states that the SUV is "Camry quiet." With our long-term vehicle, I can't say I have the same opinion. Yes, for a compact/midsize crossover SUV, our '06 RAV4 is decently shushed. But having driven both of our long-term vehicles, I've found that the Camry is noticeably easier on the ears in terms of wind and road noise.
Additionally, I was perplexed during a 200-mile highway drive last week by an extra amount of intermittent wind noise coming from our RAV4's hood area...
December 19, 2006
As other editors have noted, the Toyota RAV4's interior has a budget feel that's a little hard to get comfortable with given our '06 Limited model's $27,824 price tag. Yet, somehow I find it more acceptable than the random bits of cheapness in our long-term '07 Camry LE V6 ($27,227). Indeed, I'm a hypocrite. I think it's because in the RAV, the evidence of cost-cutting is fairly comprehensive -- it's furnished like a Corolla, so the plastics are all smooth and low in gloss, just of average quality...
December 18, 2006
As you might imagine, we're frequent customers at our local car wash. While they don't do an exceptionally good job, they're our closest wash and we've made peace with their level of service.
We try to wash each long-term test car once a week or so unless something needs more prompt attention, but that's not always easy when we're running 15 or more cars.
How often do you wash your car?
Kelly Toepke, Manager of Vehicle Testing at 8,613 miles
December 12, 2006
My four year old son loves airplanes. So occasionally, when mommy "needs a break" I take him to the local airport to watch private and commercial planes take-off and land.
We've done this with several cars over the last few years and the Toyota RAV4 is one of the best thanks to a large rear cargo area that nicely doubles as a seating area (with the third row seats folded down of course). But I'm starting to wonder if its the planes Nicholas loves or if it's that he knows he'll most likely be able to talk daddy into a box of Lemon Heads or a tube of M&Ms...
December 11, 2006
Isn't it ironic? Unlike rain on your wedding day which just seems like bad luck rather than irony, the Toyota RAV4's dash mounted dimmer switch has a small dose of actual irony. Mounted to the far left, the dimmer is the button that controls how bright the various dash controls and switches are lit. Here's the odd part, the rotating wheel and icon that control the dash lights are one of the few dash mounted controls that DON'T have a light behind them. Therefore, it's difficult to find at night, you know, when you'd be most likely to use it...
December 7, 2006
Toyota has been a pioneer in electronics by offering Bluetooth in the Prius at a time when few other cars offered the option. So we were a little surprised to find that the Toyota RAV4 did not offer Bluetooth. However, many editors have found the freedom of hands free phone calls to be invaluable so we decided to add a basic Parrot unit to our RAV4.
We installed a color screen Parrot in our Long Term FJ Cruiser (http://66.160.188.111/roadtests/156) but decided to go with a more basic black and white LCD screen CK3100 (http://www.parrot.biz/usa/products/ck3100-lcd) for the RAV4...
December 5, 2006
Over this past weekend, the tuning knob on the Toyota RAV4's stereo was making me crazy. It took me the first couple of errands on Saturday to convince myself that there was really a problem with the knob. Constantly searching for a higher grade of Christmas carol than the ones produced by the current teen divas, I spent a lot of time cruising the dial. Most of the time it worked, but occasionally a flick of the dial, even a slow one, provided no change...
November 20, 2006
I'm not really that crazy about lifting heavy, unwieldy objects. As a result, fold-flat seating has never played a role in my life. That all changed this weekend, when I bought a couple of CD racks...
November 14, 2006
Last night I had the opportunity to drive the 2006 RAV4. The previous weekend I had been offered the keys to our '07 Camry, and found it to be very disappointing, particularly in light of its nearly quarter-century of sales success. But I have definitely returned to the Toyota camp. The RAV is fantastic.
November 13, 2006
The RAV4 has a somewhat uniquely placed storage compartment. It lives just above the glove compartment, and has a lid that may be opened or closed with the touch of a button. It's quite clean-looking and the fact that it has a lid means that you can store numerous items without causing clutter in the cabin. It's big enough to swallow a CD or two if need be, and is a pretty thoughtful addition to this fun-to-drive vehicle...