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Competition: Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda Element, Ford Escape, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Mazda Tribute, BMW X3.
Review
Sometimes I forget just how long I’ve been doing a test drive column.
Can you believe the Toyota RAV4 is actually in its eighth year of gracing American roads? That shocked me.
But you know what? The 2004 Toyota RAV4 is totally different from the RAV4 first introduced in 1996. I remember the first time I hopped in the RAV4, my first impression was that if I happened to get rear-ended in the thing, whomever was in the back seat was toast, that’s how small the cargo area was and how close the rear seats were to the rear bumper.
It actually scared me a little, because I had two very small children at the time. Granted, they were in protective child car seats, but it was in the back of my mind whether they would really protect them adequately.
We got through the week fine, but I remember giving the RAV4 poor marks on cargo room and general comfort for the driver and passengers. My goodness, that RAV4 was small.
That’s just not true any longer.
The RAV4 can hold its own against the gaggle of small sport utility vehicles out there today, from interior comfort, styling and rear cargo area. It’s truly remarkable how far it’s come.
And for 2004, the RAV4 has been totally revised, from its better engine, exterior restyling to its safety upgrades and interior restyling. Its last redesign was in 2001. Much has changed this year.
The RAV4 was one of the smaller SUVs that started this new segment. It was for those people who didn’t want a huge -- or even mid-sized -- SUV because either they didn’t need that much room, or didn’t want the low mileage numbers that came with it.
That really wasn’t of grave concern way back when gas hovered at a buck and a quarter a gallon, but today, it is a concern. RAV4 will net you 22 mpg in the city and at least 27 mpg on the highway. During a trip up to northern Michigan and Traverse City, we clocked around 29 mpg. Not bad. Depends on how you drive, I guess.
By the way, impress your friends at the next cocktail party by knowing that RAV4 is an acronym for Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel-drive. And that it was first introduced in Japan in 1994. Hmmm.
The RAV4 started out in 1996 with a measly 120-horsepower 2.0-liter engine. It was adequate to get you around town and where you needed to go. But this new upgrade for 2004 is awesome.
Count on 161 horses powering a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine graced with Toyota’s own Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-I) system that gives the RAV4 better performance and power in highway driving.
The engine is married to a four-speed automatic transmission, four-wheel in depended suspension and full-time four-wheel-drive.
The styling of the RAV4 has been revised for the better. It’s sportier, and sports new front bumper, headlights, grille and fog lights in front, and a new taillight and spare tire cover treatments in the rear.
Inside you’ll find a more comfortable steering wheel and easier to reach and operate instrument controls and center stack. Much more equipment has been added to the standard list, including air conditioning, AM/FM cassette with six speakers, cruise control, power windows, door locks and rirros intermittent wipers and radio controls on the steering wheel.
Back to the interior for a moment. The rear cargo area is huge. Behind the rear seats, you’ll find more than 29 cubic feet and with the rear seats removed, you’ll see 68.3 cubic feet. Nothing to sneeze at, that’s for certain.
The rear seats are 50/50 spots with recliner, folding, sliding and are totally removable. There are height-adjustable headrests in all outboard positions, front and rear cupholders (not enough, by the way), six grocery bag hooks and solar tinted glass.
Safety issues have all been addressed and well taken care of, so you can count on vehicle stability control with traction control, anti-lock brakes, driver and front passenger multi-stage air bags, side-impact door beams, and a tire pressure warning system.
There a couple of different packages to upgrade you RAV4, including a sport package and an L package, both enhancing and making your RAV4 a little more personalized.
The sport package will give you multi-reflective headlamps, hood scoop, unique badging, stainless steel-finish tubular roof rack, sport fabric seats, color-keyed door handles and power heated exterior mirrors.
On the L package, which costs a little more than a grand, you’ll see color-keyed hard spare tire cover, leather trim steering wheel, leather wrapped shifter, front fog lamps, tonneau cover, power color-keyed heated mirrors, privacy glass in the rear and color-keyed door handles.
The RAV4 is a bargain for the guy or gal looking for a small sport utility vehicle that’s great on mileage and decent on price. It will hold a lot of stuff for just a little. Go take a look.
Pros: Capable, beautiful, best all-around SUV on the market. If you want
diesel, this is the way to go. Towing should be stellar.
Cons: Price. But for those who can buy this car, price probably isn't an
issue.
Ratings (1-10)
- Style: 8
- Performance: 7
- Price: 7
- Handling: 7
- Ride: 7
- Comfort: 7
- Quality: 8
- Overall: 7.2
