[Saddletramp]

So far I love it,got Barcelona red.Will most likely be my last car,I'm 60 so a Toyota should take me out.My first new car ever was a 74 Celica,so I'm back.I like the Rav as well as the 2007 4 Runner I had a few years ago.Getting 25.5 mpg around town,happy with that.Bought it at a dealer in Tulsa that I had purchased 3 vehicles before,new ownership now,I miss the old guy's.They played the car dealer game,it seems to me it would be better to keep customers than look for new one's.I hate games,oh well I'm probably done playing.Lot's of good info on here,I love that it is world wide,very cool.

 

[vanib]

Congrats on the purchase

 

[volosong]

Enjoy your new chariot. What color interior?

 

[Grumpy old man]

Like your avatar of Dani Pedrosa ( even though he is on a Hon*a on a Toyota forum ):laugh:laugh

 

[RTexasF]

Welcome saddletramp.
Grumpy when is the last time you saw a Toyota bike?

 

[oldfart]

Hello from another oldfart. I moved from SW Missouri up to the Pacific Northwest 4 years ago. I spent a lot of time in OK. One time we drove to Tulsa on a 70 degree sunny day, spent the night, had tornadoes go thru a block away from our hotel, then woke up to an ice storm the next morning. Yikes that wasn't fun.

 

[pico]

So far I love it,got Barcelona red.Will most likely be my last car,I'm 60 so a Toyota should take me out

Ah! That's what my mother said and she lived to ninety! May you do even better.

Welcome.

 

[BobSmith8901]

So far I love it,got Barcelona red.Will most likely be my last car,I'm 60 so a Toyota should take me out.My first new car ever was a 74 Celica,so I'm back.I like the Rav as well as the 2007 4 Runner I had a few years ago.Getting 25.5 mpg around town,happy with that.Bought it at a dealer in Tulsa that I had purchased 3 vehicles before,new ownership now,I miss the old guy's.They played the car dealer game,it seems to me it would be better to keep customers than look for new one's.I hate games,oh well I'm probably done playing.Lot's of good info on here,I love that it is world wide,very cool.

Congratulations on your new ride. I'm not too far behind you in age and am also contemplating the LE. Here iin Canada they differentiate the LE into base LE and Upgrade Package (which includes the touchscreen w/backup camera, heated seats, roof rails, 6 speakers and a few other things.

Had a question for you regarding your first impressions. I've read complaints online about the low beams being sort of weak. Do you find that? It's hard to take a test drive at night so I can't really check it out myself. Be very interested in your and others' comments if they've found the lights on low beam to not provide sufficient illumination.

Thanks!

 

[volosong]

I've read complaints online about the low beams being sort of weak. Do you find that?

I've heard that too. On my new RAV, a 2015 U.S. version Limited, the light are plenty bright, (low beam). Add to that the 'fog lights', which should more accurately be called 'driving lights', and you can light up the whole mountainside. I am very, very happy with how bright they are.

I also drove myself into work yesterday morning, over the mountain while it was still quite dark. Plenty bright. And, that is without the high beams too.

Can't tell you if the lights on the Limited are any different than on the LE or LXE. That's one to pursue the spec sheet.

 

[JuneBug]

It's the brakes on the LE that concern me. Toyota puts larger brakes on the RAV4's sold in other countries, even Puerto Rico, but they put smaller, barely adequate brakes on the LE in N. America. Only the XLE and Limited come with the larger brakes that used to be standard on the V6 models. That would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[BobSmith8901]

It's the brakes on the LE that concern me. Toyota puts larger brakes on the RAV4's sold in other countries, even Puerto Rico, but they put smaller, barely adequate brakes on the LE in N. America. Only the XLE and Limited come with the larger brakes that used to be standard on the V6 models. That would be a deal breaker for me.

Yeah those brakes on the LE. I've test driven one twice (same car) and my thoughts were that the pedal had a lot of travel and the braking action didn't really inspire a lot of confidence. I happened to drive a Limited and the brakes felt as good as any other car I've driven and were not notable or noticeable at all beyond seeming adequate. Makes you scratch your head although others that have the LE say you get used to them and they are perfectly safe and when needed emergency wise for sudden stops, do the job. That said, the brakes on the LE are one of the factors that have me really hesitating on the purchase. I simply do not understand the thought process that you put slightly smaller rotors on the same SUV on the lower trim levels to save a few bucks. It seems like a really crappy cost cutting measure on a component that is highly critical to the safety of the car. I vaguely wonder if they're going to quietly address this in the 2016 update.

 

[flipflop]

I got the LE last week and was very upset when I found out about the brakes. I felt a little bit better when I found out that the 4.3 V4 RAV4 had the same brakes. The 4.3 V4 and 4.4 curb weight is not much different, so if it was good enough all those years, then I'm guessing it's probably safe enough now. But it still makes me mad when I think about the fact that these are the same front brakes in a Corolla.

I'm curious how the government tests the brakes and crash testing for cars. When they tested the RAV4, did they only test one trim? Or would they test all 3 trims (LE, XLE, and Limited)? It seems with the different brakes and wheel size, the results would be different. So wouldn't the advertised numbers and results not apply for all trims?

 

[Grumpy old man]

Welcome saddletramp.
Grumpy when is the last time you saw a Toyota bike?

I have to admit the answer is of course never but this is a car forum and my last bike was a 750cc Yamaha. :laugh:laugh

 

[BobSmith8901]

I got the LE last week and was very upset when I found out about the brakes. I felt a little bit better when I found out that the 4.3 V4 RAV4 had the same brakes. The 4.3 V4 and 4.4 curb weight is not much different, so if it was good enough all those years, then I'm guessing it's probably safe enough now. But it still makes me mad when I think about the fact that these are the same front brakes in a Corolla.

I'm curious how the government tests the brakes and crash testing for cars. When they tested the RAV4, did they only test one trim? Or would they test all 3 trims (LE, XLE, and Limited)? It seems with the different brakes and wheel size, the results would be different. So wouldn't the advertised numbers and results not apply for all trims?

How do the brakes feel to you when stopping? How much pedal travel, softness do you experience?

 

[internalaudit]

It's the brakes on the LE that concern me. Toyota puts larger brakes on the RAV4's sold in other countries, even Puerto Rico, but they put smaller, barely adequate brakes on the LE in N. America. Only the XLE and Limited come with the larger brakes that used to be standard on the V6 models. That would be a deal breaker for me.

We are getting a LTE and I just purchased the two inches down-sized 215/70/16 winter tires based on the recommendations on TireRack.

I'm hoping the bigger brake will not be an issue with these slightly narrower tires and alloy wheels.

 

[internalaudit]

I have to admit the answer is of course never but this is a car forum and my last bike was a 750cc Yamaha. :laugh:laugh

Welcome thought I'm still awaiting the 2016 model we placed a small deposit on.

Toyota is on track:
Toyota Kikai, FCV Plus, and Robot Boy Concepts: The Tokyo Auto Show Just Got Weirder – News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

 

[BUBBA 150]

I like ur choice in vehicles ? I have the same color looks really nice in the daylight. I have not have mine long got about 130 miles on it. I think this will be my last new vehicle as well.

 

[manhog]

Yeah those brakes on the LE. I've test driven one twice (same car) and my thoughts were that the pedal had a lot of travel and the braking action didn't really inspire a lot of confidence. I happened to drive a Limited and the brakes felt as good as any other car I've driven and were not notable or noticeable at all beyond seeming adequate. Makes you scratch your head although others that have the LE say you get used to them and they are perfectly safe and when needed emergency wise for sudden stops, do the job. That said, the brakes on the LE are one of the factors that have me really hesitating on the purchase. I simply do not understand the thought process that you put slightly smaller rotors on the same SUV on the lower trim levels to save a few bucks. It seems like a really crappy cost cutting measure on a component that is highly critical to the safety of the car. I vaguely wonder if they're going to quietly address this in the 2016 update.

I think I read this before buying mine or soon found out after buying about the brakes. If I had to rethink it based on brakes alone, probably would never have bought the rav. BUT i did and i like and it has some issue, many of what people complain about so not going there. Do I like it, yes. Will I buy another rav probably not. I think I am done with suv's. Although the honda hr-v does make me wonder if I wold sell my rav and go back to honda. Don't know not even thinking about it right now.

Got off track so on stopping power, only once did i have to put brakes on hard and they did the job. When people talk about braking, I just think then u are going too fast for the conditions. R there people out there turning at last minute not using blinkers heck yes. I am not a slow poke drive but try and drive defense all the tine. Its not me that the mess on the road its just others! LOL. Also on the left side crash part and getting stuck in footwell, well i lift my feet up when I tthink I will be crashing. lol. O boy what a post.

 

[BobSmith8901]

I think I read this before buying mine or soon found out after buying about the brakes. If I had to rethink it based on brakes alone, probably would never have bought the rav. BUT i did and i like and it has some issue, many of what people complain about so not going there. Do I like it, yes. Will I buy another rav probably not. I think I am done with suv's. Although the honda hr-v does make me wonder if I wold sell my rav and go back to honda. Don't know not even thinking about it right now.

Got off track so on stopping power, only once did i have to put brakes on hard and they did the job. When people talk about braking, I just think then u are going too fast for the conditions. R there people out there turning at last minute not using blinkers heck yes. I am not a slow poke drive but try and drive defense all the tine. Its not me that the mess on the road its just others! LOL. Also on the left side crash part and getting stuck in footwell, well i lift my feet up when I tthink I will be crashing. lol. O boy what a post.

I have driven HR-Vs and they handle much more like a car than the RAV4. I actually drove an HR-V directly after the RAV and it was obviously a more controlled feeling in the driving and the brakes. I almost went with the Honda but was put off by some cosmetic issues with the car and the overall feeling that it needed another year to get the bugs out. New plant, new personnel, etc., many issues, mostly minor, have been reported. I think that by 17/18 the HR-V will be a great buy. It was the perfect car but in a couple years you'll probably be able to opt for more options and a big one will be a more powerful engine. Bottom line is that the RAVs should ALL have the larger rotors for such a heavy car. There is NO excuse for shaving off safety factors from a car to save money or whatever the reasoning was.

 

[winterlands]

The HR-V has the same 1.8 engine as the Civic, after owning several Civics, each one having some kind of engine problems, cracked blocks, oil leaks, timing chain cover leaks, I would never buy it based on that fact, and that it's now made in Mexico, no thanks!!!!!