Well, what does everyone think????!!!!....

[vanib]

Seems the the current line of 2.2L Diesel in New Zealand is allowed to tow ... 4,400 lbs !!! I suppose they would bring down to 3,500 lbs if marketed to North America.

Toyota RAV4 Diesel (2009) — Road Test « Car & SUV

[Dr. Dyno]

Originally Posted by vanib

Seems the the current line of 2.2L Diesel in New Zealand is allowed to tow ... 4,400 lbs !!! I suppose they would bring down to 3,500 lbs if marketed to North America.

More likely 1,500 lbs here. We Americans don't know anything about towing.
And remember trailer brakes over 600 lbs.

[veliksam]

I don't know if you guys are aware but diesel engines usually put out a lot of torque and its usually for pulling/towing, so my guess is a 2.2 turbo diesel would easily pull 3500lbs.

Sent from my HTC ONE X

[Dr. Dyno]

Originally Posted by veliksam

I don't know if you guys are aware but diesel engines usually put out a lot of torque and its usually for pulling/towing, so my guess is a 2.2 turbo diesel would easily pull 3500lbs.

Yep, as listed in my signature, diesels are THE way to tow.
But in the US we'd be lawyer limited.

[SteVTEC]

Over on another Toyota related forum I'm being flamed for daring to take issue with the lack of a V-6 or any engine option at all, no more 3rd row seats, and oogly unpainted bumpers on all trims, and what is clearly a down-marketing of the car. The new 4.4 is clearly a huge step forward in every way and anybody who thinks otherwise is just biased or has an axe to grind.

[doane2u]

Here's another idea for the RAV4 family.. (click here)

[bjmsam]

Originally Posted by drzsmum

Less than 6 L/100 km. That would be nice here.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by bjmsam

Offering a manual transmission and/or a turbodiesel (which generates 236 lb-ft of torque at 2000 RPM and achieves 39 mpg in the new version for Australia) would have helped this model stand out in ways that the other changes do not.

[clearview]

Rear mounted spare looked good at first but it turned out to be; hard to clean around, cover faded to a wonderful purple, cover is tough to get off and back on especially in the winter, steel wheel rusted, never used anyway! I will never buy a vehicle with an externally mounted spare, I like mine inside and clean, easy to get to, easy to maintain and ready to go.
The lift gate is a good move away from the swing gate.
The 4 banger is hopefully not an oil burner/ gas guzzler like ours (did I check the oil this week?) The 4 speed trans in our 07 really kills the vehicle, a 6 speed should be great! One engine and trans combo should make production flawless and very cost effective. And where the heck are you going anyway? There is always someone in front of me with dual exhausts and a wing on the back holding me up anyhow....

[jc1240]

Originally Posted by clearview

I will never buy a vehicle with an externally mounted spare, I like mine inside and clean, easy to get to, easy to maintain and ready to go.

How is a spare "easy to get to" when you have to pull everything out of the cargo area to get to the spare?

Maybe I'm an odd person; I use my cargo area often. Years ago I had a typical doughnut spare under the trunk floor in my Grand Prix. I got a flat on the way home from work and had the joy of changing it in a heavy spring downpour. Had I been on my way home from the grocery store, you can bet I would have been even more irritated with having to pull all the groceries (or anything else) out.

I noticed my sister-in-law's Santa Fe has a nice compromise. The spare is mounted under the vehicle with a winch. The crank for the winch is near the hatch opening (the edge of the cargo opening). This lets you use the winch without having to empty the cargo area and it keeps the spare outside (not wasting space inside) with a lift gate rather than a swing door.

[blackdograv]

I had a Toyota pickup years ago with the "chain falls crank" and the wheel stowed under the bed, accessible from under the tailgate. it really sucked. That crank and chain mechanism would get totally gunked up with mud and debris, get rusted, and sometimes frozen. Plus the wheel is just completely filthy- covered in mud and salt and grime. Just really sucked big time. I ended up taking it off and mounting in in the bed, right behind the rear window. Then someone stole it. Nice.

For the number of times that we actually need to use a spare (maybe once or twice in 100,000 miles?), I'd much rather empty my stuff out and have a nice clean well-preserved wheel. Keep a little plastic tarp in the cargo area to cover up possessions if it's raining. Of course, here I am driving a Sport Appearance Package with no spare. Well, solves that whole problem, doesn't it? Actually SAP would not have been my first choice, but it was the "deal" we got so I'm not complaining.