Cars

Tested version:
Base 4-cyl (shown)

Base MSRP price range: Car Type: Small sport-utility vehicles

$22,650 - $28,650
CR overall score
What's this? 82
Highs Agility, transmission, fuel economy,
rear-seat room, controls, access, reliability. 87
Lows Thigh support for some drivers, right-
82
hinged rear gate requires lots of room to
open. 27

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Full Track Report

Base 4-cyl
The RAV4 is a well-rounded package, combining good all-around performance with a comfortable
ride, agile handling, and outstanding reliability. It also provides a civilized new engine that gets
impressive fuel economy and an optional third-row bench that brings seating to seven in a pinch.
Cabin furnishings include straightforward controls, a roomy rear seat, and with the tiny third row
folded, generous cargo space. Some people will wish the front seats were more supportive. The
right-hinged rear gate requires a good deal of swing-out room. Close

Performance

The RAV4 easily absorbs most pavement flaws, and body motions are well checked except for an odd jiggle. Most
noise sources are also well muted. Agility is a strong point. The RAV4 is one of Toyota's crispest handlers, with
quick steering and body lean that's fairly restrained in cornering. The tight, 36-foot turning circle is another asset.
The RAV remains steady and composed when pushed to its limits, and electronic stability control helped it post a
commendable speed through our avoidance maneuver.
The 179-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine sounds refined, and its performance is responsive enough. We racked
up 23 mpg overall on regular fuel. The V6 version returned 22 mpg overall in our tests. The smooth-shifting
four-speed automatic transmission operates seamlessly and has a manual-override feature. Braking was very
good on both wet and dry pavement and the pedal is easy to modulate. The halogen headlights also worked very
well, on both low and high beam. Close

More detail

Acceleration: The 179-hp, 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine is refined and delivers average performance. Expect
a respectable 23 mpg overall in mixed driving on regular fuel. The V6 version returned 22 mpg overall in our
tests.

Transmission: The four-speed automatic transmission shifts responsively and very smoothly. It has an easy to
use manual shift feature. A manual transmission is not offered.

Routine Handling: The RAV4 is one of Toyota's more agile vehicles. The steering is well-weighted and quick,
providing a prompt turn-in response. Feedback is pretty good, but not up to the level of its number-one rival,
the Subaru Forester. The body remains relatively restrained during cornering. A tight 36-foot turning circle is an
asset.

Emergency Handling: The RAV4 felt nimble and stable at our track. The stability control worked diligently,
ensuring it doesn't put a foot wrong. The RAV4 threaded through our avoidance maneuver at a commendable
speed and inspired confidence.
 Braking: The RAV4's stopping distances were impressive, with very short stops on dry or damp pavement.
The pedal felt responsive and was easy to modulate.

Comfort and Convenience

The interior trim is nicely finished but the plastics are hard to the touch and the center console feels a little flimsy.
Drivers will find plenty of room all around. Even though the steering wheel telescopes, some will find it too far
away, and a bit too horizontal, as in a bus. The driver's view out is pretty good, except to the rear corners.
Somewhat surprisingly, the outside-mounted spare tire cramps the view aft very little.
The base RAV4's front seats are all right for most people but tall drivers wanted more thigh support and some
others wanted more lower-back support. The manual seats have a pump lever for changing the height, but no
lumbar adjustment. The cloth seats, however, are a bit more compliant than the optional leather seats, which are
quite hard. The reclining rear bench seat is comfortable and roomy for two adults, but a bit narrow for three.
Access to front and rear is very easy but reaching the third row is a challenge. That upper-balcony perch is
suitable for children only, and to make it habitable the second row has to be slid forward.
The gauges are clear but are a bit low. Most controls, including the climate controls and radio, are very simple to
use. The climate-control knobs are especially large and easy to use. Cabin storage is moderate, with numerous
open cubbies and two glove compartments.
Folding the 60/40 second-row seats and stowing away the third row creates plenty of cargo space. If you need
less than the maximum, you can just slide the second row forward. Thanks to its unusually low, flat load floor and
flush rear sill, cargo access is extremely easy. The one-piece tailgate door opens wide but it is hinged on the right,
so you need a lot of clearance to open the door all the way. Close

More detail

Ride: The RAV4 rides reasonably comfortably. It absorbs most pavement flaws with good isolation and only
muted kicks. Body motions are mostly steady except for the odd jiggle. The ride remains steady and controlled
on the highway.

Noise: There's a mostly an unobjectionable mix of road and wind noise entering the cabin over a muted,
refined engine hum.

Driving Position: There is plenty of leg, foot, and head room in the RAV4, as well as a decent left-foot rest.
Despite a tilt-and-telescoping wheel, some drivers still found the steering wheel too far away as well as being
canted at an awkward bus-like angle.
Visibility is good out of the front and sides, but an upswept sill line toward the rear leads to small rear quarter
windows; those windows, combined with wide rear roof pillars, create large blind spots to the rear. The outside-
mounted spare tire has only a minor effect on rear visibility -- unusual for such a configuration. A backup
camera integrated into the rear-view mirror is optional for 2010. Close

Front Seat Comfort: The base model's front seats are generally supportive for most, but the short seat
cushion limits thigh support for some drivers. Short drivers fit the seats better than taller drivers. Several
drivers wanted to be able to adjust the cushion tilt to improve thigh support. The cloth seats are a bit more
compliant than the optional hard leather seats. The non-powered seats have a pump-lever height adjuster but
no lumbar adjustment; some wanted more lower-back support.

Rear Seat Comfort: The rear bench seat is comfortable and roomy for two adults, but a bit narrow for three.
Head room is good, and leg room is generous. The seat cushion is a bit low, but the leg room makes up for it.
Both the leather and the cloth seats have comfortable and supportive cushions. The 60/40-split seatbacks
recline in steps, and the seat can be slid forward to accommodate more cargo or allow a little more breathing
room for the available third-row seat.

Third Seat Comfort: The third-row seat can accommodate two small people in a pinch, but comfort and space
is in short supply. To even use the third row, all other occupants really need to sacrifice space and slide all their
seats forward. But if push comes to shove, there is room to hold seven.

Climate System: The climate-control system delivers sufficient heated and cooled air. The manual system is
simple to use with three large knobs.

Front Access: The low floor, flush sills, and generous front door opening make for very easy entry and exit.
Assist grips are offered above every door.

Rear Access: Access to the rear seats is also very good, with large openings, low sills, and a generous foot
path.

Third Access: Access to the third-row seat is best accomplished from the passenger side. A portion of the
second row easily slides forward, but the resultant pathway is very narrow.

Controls And Displays: The gauges are clear, but mounted quite low. Most controls, including the climate
controls and radio, are very simple to use. The climate control knobs are especially large and easy to use.
Minor complaints include the unlighted console-mounted mirror control; the unlighted panel illumination control;
and the dinky floor-mounted fuel door release. Even though our RAV4 has a fuel economy readout, it does not
display range/distance-to-empty.
 Trunk/Cargo: With the second- and third-row seatbacks folded, the RAV4 has 38.5 cubic-feet of storage
space as measured by our expandable pipe-frame box. You must release the second-row center seatbelt
before folding the seats (the belt retracts into the roof). Payload capacity is 1,155 pounds. The RAV4 can tow
up to 1,500 pounds.
Thanks to its unusually low, flat load floor and flush rear sill, it's easy to access cargo. The side-hinged cargo
door opens almost 90 degrees and gives a big square opening to load items. However, loading stuff from the
curb requires a good size space so that the door can be opened. The door comes with a small inside net
pocket. A 12-volt power socket is located on the left sidewall. There is a bag hook on each side of the door
opening along with a cargo net. There's a full-sized spare tire on a matching rim mounted on the outside of the
cargo door. Close

Fit And Finish: The RAV4 has nicely-finished interior plastics, but they're all hard to the touch. Most
components fit well. The center console feels somewhat flimsy.

Cabin Amenities:
Storage: The RAV4 has moderate interior storage with multiple open cubbies. There are two separate glove
compartments. There is a two-level center console compartment and several small open storage cubbies in
the dashboard. A flip-down sunglass compartment is overhead. Both front seatbacks have a storage pocket.
Each front door has a deep map pocket with a molded bottle holder; the rear doors have only a molded bottle
holder pocket.
Cup holders: There are two sturdy, recessed cup holders in the console ahead of the shifter. Second-row
passengers have only the door-mounted bottle holders. A single cup holder is molded into the side window trim
on each side in the rear for use with the optional third-row seat.
Lights and visors: There are front-seat switched map lights for each side; rear-seat passengers make do with
the general overhead lighting. Both sides have a single-layer sun visor with a covered, lighted vanity mirror;
each sun visor has a useful extension for adjusting coverage when used over the side window.
Electronic amenities: There are two 12-volt power ports: one in the center console compartment, and one at
the base of the center dashboard. An auxiliary audio input jack is on the console. Close

Safety

Front seat-mounted side air bags and curtain head-protecting air bags are standard. Front-row belts have
adjustable upper anchors and are equipped with pretensioners. The front passenger seat has a sensing system
that detects if an occupant is out of position or too small, in which case the front air bag is disabled.
All seats have adjustable and locking head restraints, and the front ones move toward the occupant's head in a
rear-end collision to mitigate whiplash injury. Front restraints are amply tall even when lowered but second- and
third-row restraints must be raised to be effective for adults; the center position remains too low even when raised
to provide adequate protection.

Driving with kids: It may be tough to install rear-facing child seats securely using the belts alone. The LATCH
anchors help in the second row but the third row lacks both LATCH and top-tether anchors. Front-facing seats
should prove secure and there are top-tether anchors for the second row outboard seats and on the cargo area
ceiling for the second row center seat. But securing three child seats in the second row may be impossible due to
belt-routing problems. Close

Reliability

We expect reliability to be much better than average, according to our latest subscriber survey.