[Jean]

Subject: V6 Sport test drive
I have test driven a V6 Sport today. Excellent power and handling.I test drove it in the city and on the highway at speeds up to 90 MPH, with crosswinds up to 45 MPH. The RAV felt very solid and the wind gusts had little effect on directional stability. In tight corner turns, the RAV Sport behaved very well for a small SUV, much like the BMW X3 that I test drove two years ago. Overall, I am very pleased that I chose to order the V6.

As for fuel consumption, I expect the V6 to have real life fuel consumption, much like my BMW 330i, which does about 19 miles per gallon in the city down to 16 mi. per gallon if I drive aggressively and 30 mi. per gallon on the highway on cruise control at 75 mph. I've verified this looking at 2005 Avalon tests, which have shown similar results. The Avalon has the same engine and automatic transmission as of the V6 RAV, and weighs only 80 lbs. less. Of course it does not have the drag of all-wheel-drive but the difference should be negligible.

I am trading in a Subaru Impreza 2.5 non-turbo which I am very disappointed with. For a four-cylinder the car gives me no better than 19 -- 20 mi. per gallon in the city and 25 mi. per gallon on the highway, which is worse than my six cylinder BMW. That is why I believe that the four-cylinder RAV, will have surprisingly high fuel consumption relative to the V6. The official fuel consumption numbers give a hint at that. That reinforced my belief that the way to go if I could afford it was to buy the V6.

For people who are debating to buy another SUV versus the RAV, I suggest that they closely look at the resale value of Toyotas.
As an example, my 2002 Subaru has only 30,000 mi., and the best trade-in value I can get as per the used-car black book is $10,500. A similar new car value 2002 RAV 4 of $24,500 (which is what I paid for my Subaru) is listed in the black book as having a value of $16,500, which is 66% of purchase price after four years. The only other vehicles that have such good resale values are BMW's and Honda's. These used RAV4 numbers can be verified in an recent article on CanadianDriver.com

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Marcutio]

My friend in NL is waiting for his '06 Limited and he had a hard time finding a dealer that would pay him what he needed for his Impreza. Its a 2002 with less that 30K and the only place that would deal was Toyota. He still is going to lose $500 bucks but he really needs the RAV.

The Impreza doesn't have the resale like Toyota but then SUV's have generally a higher resale anyway because they move faster with the demand still out there.

He takes delivery on March 10 but I'm still working on getting him on here.

Nice write-up!

Later. M.

 

[m900s]

Ditto, nice write up! I have driven my friend's X3/3.0 a lot , and I'm really impressed by the way it handles, which I should, be coming from a 1996 rav4 :lol: My question is, how close are they in terms of handling dynamic and quietness? Would appreciate further input from you. Thanks!

 

[Jean]

m900s

I would suggest that the handling dynamics difference between the V6 Rav4 Sport and X3 is much smaller than an X3 owner would like. It certainly does not justify paying $20 to $25k more for an X3 versus a Rav4 V6. The Rav appears to be quiet at highway speeds.

I think that Toyota's decision to offer the 3.5L V6, was brilliant.

I made several comparisons, but the one that startled me the most, was that a Ford Explorer which cost close to us$10k more than a Limited V6, has only 16% more cargo volume than the RAV4 and has a fuel consumption that is 40% higher with slower acceleration (with the V8 ) Granted the Explorer weighs close ,1,000 lbs more than the Rav. Personnaly, with those kind of numbers, heavier is more of handicap than a benefit.

 

[flyingn]

good post Jean,. So very true too. I drive an X3 and I thought the Rav was every bit as good if not better in ride and handling and stopping then the X3

 

[m900s]

Thanks jean and flyingn. I have to say that, i was not that crazy about the way the new RAV looks , but it is slowly growing on me. That V6 engine is sweet and i can't wait to test drive one soon!