Does anybody have any comments on this new (ersatz RAV4 badge engineered ?) "Corolla Crossover"? Like is there any difference of any significance whatever or are we really just talking about yet another variation? A friend who I have been recommending the RAV4 to pointed this out as an alternative. I thought at first he was just referring me to a Yaris Cross which seems to be a RAV4 shrunken back to the size the original RAV4s used to be. (Not that I mind the Gen V gigantism as it actually suits me.).
The "Corolla Crossover" turns out to be a 'new' model that looks nothing like the ordinary Corolla hybrid - which is just the old Corolla with the newer hybrid bells and whistles familar from the current . Rather it looks like a trivially reworked RAV4 (shrunken in some dimensions by about 2 nanometres ) which in its hybrid variant has a 1.8L instead of a 2.5 L petrol motor and a lot less guts and a little less boot space.
To see what I mean if you havent come across this new offering here are links to a couple of amateur reviewers
and
The first is from South Africa who provides more detail and the second from the US which notionally does a comparison in 7 minutes between the RAV4 and the Corolla Cross. I was highly bemused by the latter comment "The all new 2022 Toyota corolla cross is definitely an exciting new model for the Toyota lineup " to which my reaction was 'Q'est'? in poor imitation of Fawlty Towers' Manuel as about the only difference I could see was the colour (Whoohoo!). Or are wasp Americans developing a sense of irony in response to the madness of our interesting times?
Some questions arose in my mind after learning nothing from these reviews:
1. What am I missing here? What is the point? Toyota are having huge problems delivering on existing model demand particularly for RAV4s. Here in Oz the quoted time from the Toyota corporation is currently running at 12 months. But if you want to get more details they send to to a fireside chat from the local general manager that reiterates what we all know. Just guessing but I reckon the real lead time here is now 14-16 months if you ordered a RAV4 tomorrow. Yet they are now spruiking another model midway between the RAV4 and the Yaris Cross and doing lots of other advertising of the latter and in general suggesting you can just walk onto a lot and buy a new car like it you might have been able to do a few years back. (The reality is you can get a demonstrator quickly if you are willing to pay about a 10K premium.....familiar?).
2. Should RAV4world including the Corolla Crossover? Or is a plastic badge on the car's rear the defining boundary between what is and is not a RAV4? (I'm actually not fussed but I am curious to see what passionate purist responses might emerge). Indeed should there be a section here from the Yaris Cross which nothing like the old familiar Yaris/Echos of the past?
3. Is there some psychological humbug here? - for those who who see themselves as sedate and preferring the Corolla - bingo we now have a new bigger car - while the RAV4 is left to off road hoons?
I'll leave it there and wait to be enlightenned.
The "Corolla Crossover" turns out to be a 'new' model that looks nothing like the ordinary Corolla hybrid - which is just the old Corolla with the newer hybrid bells and whistles familar from the current . Rather it looks like a trivially reworked RAV4 (shrunken in some dimensions by about 2 nanometres ) which in its hybrid variant has a 1.8L instead of a 2.5 L petrol motor and a lot less guts and a little less boot space.
To see what I mean if you havent come across this new offering here are links to a couple of amateur reviewers
Some questions arose in my mind after learning nothing from these reviews:
1. What am I missing here? What is the point? Toyota are having huge problems delivering on existing model demand particularly for RAV4s. Here in Oz the quoted time from the Toyota corporation is currently running at 12 months. But if you want to get more details they send to to a fireside chat from the local general manager that reiterates what we all know. Just guessing but I reckon the real lead time here is now 14-16 months if you ordered a RAV4 tomorrow. Yet they are now spruiking another model midway between the RAV4 and the Yaris Cross and doing lots of other advertising of the latter and in general suggesting you can just walk onto a lot and buy a new car like it you might have been able to do a few years back. (The reality is you can get a demonstrator quickly if you are willing to pay about a 10K premium.....familiar?).
2. Should RAV4world including the Corolla Crossover? Or is a plastic badge on the car's rear the defining boundary between what is and is not a RAV4? (I'm actually not fussed but I am curious to see what passionate purist responses might emerge). Indeed should there be a section here from the Yaris Cross which nothing like the old familiar Yaris/Echos of the past?
3. Is there some psychological humbug here? - for those who who see themselves as sedate and preferring the Corolla - bingo we now have a new bigger car - while the RAV4 is left to off road hoons?
I'll leave it there and wait to be enlightenned.
