[Anonymous]

"The all-new RAV4 will be offered in three distinct grades; Base, Sport, and Limited. Each grade will be available in two- and four-wheel-drive (4WD) with a four-speed automatic transmission on four-cylinder models and a five-speed automatic transmission with V6-equipped models. The 4WD RAV4 features Toyota's newest electronically controlled 4WD on-demand system with a manual 4WD Locking Switch."

From this press release, it seems that the new RAV-4 won't offer a manual at all. Someone, please tell me that I am misreading this. This omission is likely to send me, and others I'm sure, to the Suzuki dealer for our next vehicle.

 

[Bogatyr]

You and me both...sheesh, I hope that's not the case.

Don't worry, soon enough we won't be able to buy *any* vehicle with a manual tranny...we are in the disctinct minority...

Bogatyr

 

[RAV4Don]

No manual tranny would be a sad loss. It appears as the sophistication of autos improves, especially with 5 & 6 speeds and paddle shifting, the manufactueres seem to believe fewer buyers will want a manual. Those of us that will always want a manual will have to make tough decisions.

 

[Rioux]

It just makes sense to have a manual in my mind. It is cheaper to produce and there is more power. I love my 5 speeds, I would never own an auto is I can help it!

 

[ericjohnson]

No manual on the 2006 via the fleet manager I met with today at a Toyota dealer in Denver Colorado. He said the 4 cyl will have the same 4 speed tranny as 2005 and the v6 will have a five speed automatic. I was suprised but he said that the mileage gains of a manual over an automatic have been negated with better transmission shifting technologies. I know that doesn't help to address the fun factor as well as safety factor (in my mind) of the manual. I grew up off of Lake Erie in Pennsylvania and being able to feather the clutch in snowy/icy weather often kept you on the road vs the automatics in the ditches.

 

[EHinthe604]

No manual tranny on the 2006 would really peeve me - as well as a lot of other people - big time. My dad waited till 2000 to buy a Honda CR-V because Honda Canada didn't sell CR-Vs with manual until 2000. I avoided the Matrix 4WD because it only comes with automatic.

However, just for the records, many vehicles do have a better gas mileage with automatic than with manual, according to Transport Canada numbers. (And I assume that US EPA numbers should corroborate that as well, although I haven't checked.)

 

[Modderrhu]

However, just for the records, many vehicles do have a better gas mileage with automatic than with manual, according to Transport Canada numbers.

Well yes. Automatic transmission is likely to be frugally minded, whereas manual gears give the driver the choice of how hard they want to drive the vehicle. Less fun and less nimble now too. The lack of manual transmission is just one more factor in my belief that the 4.3 should not be branded a RAV4. :roll:

I know that ZA is hardly a huge market of Toyota, but this shortcoming is going to kill the RAV in ZA. Toyota have been really pushing the sales of the 1.8l 2WD models here, surely in preparation for the 4.3, yet there's been no mention of the 4.3 at all - the Yaris is their current 'new baby'. I can't wait to see what manner of vehicle arrives here.

 

[EHinthe604]

Well yes. Automatic transmission is likely to be frugally minded, whereas manual gears give the driver the choice of how hard they want to drive the vehicle. Less fun and less nimble now too. The lack of manual transmission is just one more factor in my belief that the 4.3 should not be branded a RAV4. :roll:

I know that ZA is hardly a huge market of Toyota, but this shortcoming is going to kill the RAV in ZA. Toyota have been really pushing the sales of the 1.8l 2WD models here, surely in preparation for the 4.3, yet there's been no mention of the 4.3 at all - the Yaris is their current 'new baby'. I can't wait to see what manner of vehicle arrives here.

I - too - can't believe that the 4.3 is even called the RAV4 since it is more of a mid-size than a compact SUV. Why didn't Toyota have to design the 4.3 as they did if they already had the Highlander/Kluger? Toyota could have made some minor size and cosmetic issues with the 4.3, but to make a wholesale makeover, including the larger size, will make it less attractive than previous generations. Why didn't I buy a Honda CR-V? Well, that's because I don't need a HUGE vehicle. The 4.2 RAV4 are of the perfect size for my needs (though I don't speak for 100% of the general public). In this age of resource scarcity (oil prices, etc.), I am a little disappointed that Toyota gave the RAV4 such an increase in size, unless Toyota's intent is to phase out the Highlander/Kluger, and funnel compact and mid-size SUV shoppers to either the 4.3 RAV4 or the 4Runner/Hilux Surf. Just my two-cents' worth.

Please pardon my rant. I wouldn't mind owning a 2006 RAV4 V6, but I don't know what the folks at Toyota were thinking by creating such a huge vehicle for the compact SUV segment.

 

[Petla]

Simple, the Highlander will also grow in size. It's what most Americans want. Toyota is only giving the buying public what it wants. Bigger is better, right (sorry for the sarcasm). I don't believe there was ever a specified size for the RAV. Please correct if I'm wrong but doesn't it stand for Recreational Active Vehicle. There was never a limit on what size it would be. The RAV will actually move up to a compact size (from mini or cute).

On the manual tranny, unfortunately it's dying breed.

 

[EHinthe604]

Simple, the Highlander will also grow in size. It's what most Americans want. Toyota is only giving the buying public what it wants. Bigger is better, right (sorry for the sarcasm). I don't believe there was ever a specified size for the RAV. Please correct if I'm wrong but doesn't it stand for Recreational Active Vehicle. There was never a limit on what size it would be. The RAV will actually move up to a compact size (from mini or cute).

On the manual tranny, unfortunately it's dying breed.

An even-larger Highlander? Whew... they better be Hybrid Highlanders, or else the world's pretroleum resources will disappear in our lifetime!

True... Manuals are a dying breed. Many new vehicles don't even offer manual transmission as an option anymore, such as the new Ford F-150 (pardon the example). Thinking about later on down the road, I'm starting to worry about my RAV4's resale value, given that it is a manual. :?

I've resigned to the fact that my next vehicle is going to be an automatic, since I'm getting a little sick of stop-and-go Vancouver traffic with a manual - not to mention the fact that so many vehicles rarely or do not come in manual these days. I had to see four different dealerships before I found a RAV4 Chili wth manual, which was why I so hastily bought the RAV4 that I now own when I found it.

 

[nouse4aname]

I'm not too surprised the V6 doesn't have one since it's coming out of the Avalon. But I surely would have thought they'd keep a stick offering for the 4 cylinder.

 

[edcruz_2010]

Simple, the Highlander will also grow in size. It's what most Americans want. Toyota is only giving the buying public what it wants. Bigger is better, right (sorry for the sarcasm). I don't believe there was ever a specified size for the RAV. Please correct if I'm wrong but doesn't it stand for Recreational Active Vehicle. There was never a limit on what size it would be. The RAV will actually move up to a compact size (from mini or cute).

On the manual tranny, unfortunately it's dying breed.

Totally agree. Think about the following: everybody knows or at least has some idea that the RAV4 is a superior car, technically speaking than the CRV, yet the CRV sales beat those of the RAV4 in a ratio of 2:1, in North America. Why? Size, simple and plain size. The North American market, especifically the US market always snear at smaller cars, and here bigger is better. Just remember the Suburbans, Tahoe and other monstruosities alike that roam these lands. And with the US market been such a huge market, what are they going to do?
Same applies to the manual tranny, this is the place where people buy sport cars, e.g. Corvettes, with automatic transmission!!!!!!!!
So, what do you really expect?
I only hope that someone comes to its sense in Toyota and start offering Diesel here, but until then just "smile and wave"

 

[Modderrhu]

... yet the CRV sales beat those of the RAV4 in a ratio of 2:1, in North America. Why? Size, simple and plain size.

I wonder how many CRV sales were lost to the Highlander? How many dogs, cats, kids and bikes do you guys absolutely need to get into the back of your vehicles?

Aye yes, it does seem that automatic transmission is a dying breed - in Toyota camps anyway. Only the bottom of the range Camry gets manual here. Top of the range Landcruiser is automatic only, but that I can undertstand - knowing how to handle that power and torque with manual transmission is beyond the skills of many, and would be an invitation to getting stuck.

I really just hope that Toyota doesn't screw the rest of the world over, by offering us what they provide for the US market - it ain't what we want!

 

[EHinthe604]

I only hope that someone comes to its sense in Toyota and start offering Diesel here, but until then just "smile and wave"

Diesel... it's about time... *sigh* :?

 

[EHinthe604]

I wonder how many CRV sales were lost to the Highlander? How many dogs, cats, kids and bikes do you guys absolutely need to get into the back of your vehicles?

Aye yes, it does seem that automatic transmission is a dying breed - in Toyota camps anyway. Only the bottom of the range Camry gets manual here. Top of the range Landcruiser is automatic only, but that I can undertstand - knowing how to handle that power and torque with manual transmission is beyond the skills of many, and would an invitation to getting stuck.

I really just hope that Toyota doesn't screw the rest of the world over, by offering us what they provide for the US market - it ain't what we want!

As far as I know, only the basic Camry model in North America is available in manual, and even still, I haven't seem a manual Camry, 2000 or newer, at all!

I guess the only vehicles - at least Toyotas - with manual will be the four-banger compacts, such as the Yaris, Corolla, Celica, etc., as well as the compact pickups. At least here in Vancouver, I have seen just as many manual Tacomas as I do automatics, including the new ones.

 

[carworlder]

the ridiculously sensitive clutch/shift/gearing

on my 2005 manual 4 spd is the only thing I don't like about this vehicle. I've driven and worked on many standard trany's in my time, and this one is g_d awful to drive in traffic or on SF hills compared to say my manual trans jetta.

driving it in traffic and stalling out if i commit the unforgivable sin of giving it some gas as i let the clutch pedal out, is no fun because drivers around here assume you're driving an automatic like them. i'm expecting to get rear ended at a stop light or rolling back on a hill every time i drive. i

 

[tpginboston]

Although I, too, am disappointed by many of these "progressions," here are a few points I would like to make.
First, someone mentioned that the cr-v sells 2-1 compared to the rav4. But I think if you compared rav/highlander/4runner/land cruiser to cr-v/pilot, sales would be comparable. (Some might mention the Element, but this is a strange breed, and, besides, then you could point to the Scion xB anyway.) I think Toyota is trying to “compress” the line-up a bit.
Second, you won't see the highlander change much soon. The hybrid just became really available within the last 6 months or so. But I wouldn't be surprised if the non-hybrid disappears.
Which reminds me - I was really shocked that the RAV4 didn't become a hybrid. At least as an option. Maybe it’s a battery production problem. I know that battery production was a major factor with Prius supply/demand.
Which leads me to my third point - maybe the loss of the manual tranny in general is because the cars are all going hybrid/alternative.
I used to have a camera store. I remember when APS film & cameras came out. Everyone was all up in arms about how this new meduim would never replace 35mm, and how APS was for amateurs, and no serious photographer would ever be seen with it, and it was all just a stupid money-making scheme to sell more cameras and film! But the reality is that these smaller cameras and film were the precursors to digital. All the manufacturers knew that digital was the future, but the little CCD chips (the digital "eyes," so to speak) weren't good enough yet. So they basically created all new systems around the size of CCD's so that as soon as the CCD’s were good enough, the cameras would be ready to take them without starting from scratch. Well, no serious photographers ever did switch to APS. But digital is obviously doing OK!
So what I’m suggesting is that maybe the reason manual transmissions are disappearing is not so much because no one wants them - but the fact that the manufacturers are recognizing that this older technology just won’t fit as well into the highly computerized hybrid, electric, fuel cell, and/or “yet-to-be determined,” cars that they see themselves making in 10 years.
Todd

 

[EHinthe604]

Re: the ridiculously sensitive clutch/shift/gearing

on my 2005 manual 4 spd is the only thing I don't like about this vehicle. I've driven and worked on many standard trany's in my time, and this one is g_d awful to drive in traffic or on SF hills compared to say my manual trans jetta.

driving it in traffic and stalling out if i commit the unforgivable sin of giving it some gas as i let the clutch pedal out, is no fun because drivers around here assume you're driving an automatic like them. i'm expecting to get rear ended at a stop light or rolling back on a hill every time i drive. i

I kinda agree. Sure, my 2004 RAV4 is more powerful than my 1995 Tercel, but frankly, my Tercel was more fun to drive in stop-and-go traffic, especially starting on hills. I stalled more often in my first year of owing my RAV4 than in the entire nine months that I owned my Tercel (outside of the first month during which I learned to drive manual). :roll:

 

[EHinthe604]

First, someone mentioned that the cr-v sells 2-1 compared to the RAV4. But I think if you compared RAV/highlander/4runner/land cruiser to cr-v/pilot, sales would be comparable. (Some might mention the Element, but this is a strange breed, and, besides, then you could point to the Scion xB anyway.) I think Toyota is trying to “compress” the line-up a bit.

Yes... here in Vancouver, the collective of RAV4s, Highlanders and 4Runners literally trounces the combined number of CR-Vs and Pilots on our streets. Highlanders are EVERYWHERE in Vancouver. EVERYWHERE... used as family cars, customized SUVs and even a couple as work trucks.

Second, you won't see the highlander change much soon. The hybrid just became really available within the last 6 months or so. But I wouldn't be surprised if the non-hybrid disappears.
Which reminds me - I was really shocked that the RAV4 didn't become a hybrid. At least as an option. Maybe it’s a battery production problem. I know that battery production was a major factor with Prius supply/demand.

Well, as I already mentioned earlier on the forums, as soon as I saw the size of the new RAV4, my initial assumption was that Toyota was going to phase out the Highlander. Who knows...

 

[csis_agent]

First, someone mentioned that the cr-v sells 2-1 compared to the RAV4. But I think if you compared RAV/highlander/4runner/land cruiser to cr-v/pilot, sales would be comparable. (Some might mention the Element, but this is a strange breed, and, besides, then you could point to the Scion xB anyway.) I think Toyota is trying to “compress” the line-up a bit.

Yes... here in Vancouver, the collective of RAV4s, Highlanders and 4Runners literally trounces the combined number of CR-Vs and Pilots on our streets. Highlanders are EVERYWHERE in Vancouver. EVERYWHERE... used as family cars, customized SUVs and even a couple as work trucks.

Second, you won't see the highlander change much soon. The hybrid just became really available within the last 6 months or so. But I wouldn't be surprised if the non-hybrid disappears.
Which reminds me - I was really shocked that the RAV4 didn't become a hybrid. At least as an option. Maybe it’s a battery production problem. I know that battery production was a major factor with Prius supply/demand.

Well, as I already mentioned earlier on the forums, as soon as I saw the size of the new RAV4, my initial assumption was that Toyota was going to phase out the Highlander. Who knows...

They are not phasing out the Highlander I can gurantee you that. They are redesigning them for a 2007 model. And it is going to be a bit bigger.