2010 Toyota RAV4 Base 2.5 from North America

Summary:

Highly Recommended

Faults:

None.

General Comments:

The RAV4 perfectly fits our needs; Toyota reliability, all wheel drive for winter driving, space to occasionally haul larger items, good fuel economy, and elevated driver seating for my wife were the main attractions.

I find the seating to be comfortable and the driving position to be perfect. The base RAV4 has cloth upholstery, which I prefer to leather. The vehicle is very maneuverable for an SUV, and handles very well on both city streets and highways. The 4 cylinder engine is smooth and has adequate power. The transmission shifts smoothly, and the shift points seem to be in all the right places. We get 24 MPG in mixed driving.

On the negative side, the base sound system is thin or "tinny" sounding. The side rear glass is tinted too dark. It is almost impossible to see out of at night. A back up camera installation is in the future for our 2010 RAV4.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th September, 2012

2010 Toyota RAV4 Sport 3.5L V6 from North America

Summary:

The right car for your money, you won't regret it

Faults:

None so far.

General Comments:

The V6 engine makes this car really powerful and very quiet. You get plenty of power just when you push the gas pedal.

Very nice control and handling, and the Sport model with the engine power gives you a great feeling that you are really riding in a sports car.

I don't advise anybody to get the 4 cylinder model. I love the V6 engine as much as I hate the 4 cylinder one. You will understand what I am saying from the first minute driving on a highway. The difference is the fifth gear and 100 horsepower.

I will keep updating my post for everybody's interest.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th December, 2010

14th Dec 2010, 12:17

I've got one too and I second all of your opinions!

31st Dec 2011, 00:04

I am the author of the main post. My car has now 25000 kms and I really love it. Nothing so far, and I will keep updating my post.

In reply to 31st Dec 2011, 00:04

31st Dec 2011, 10:09

Sounds great. I am over 16K miles and mine still feels like brand new as well. I totally agree with the V6 over the 4 cylinder. You get the same mileage with 100 extra HP. It is more than worth the difference, even if you have to get a base V6 over a Sport, just to offset the cost.

In reply to 31st Dec 2011, 00:04

10th Jul 2013, 16:10

Here I am again, my baby now is 62,000 km. I am in deep love with my SUV. So sad that Toyota stopped the RAV4 V6 engine. Very bad decision, I don't know what to buy next if I lose my RAV4!

2010 Toyota RAV4 Sport 4X4 V6 3.5 Liter from North America

Summary:

Great all around SUV, with amazing performance and all around good utility

Faults:

Nothing so far, but it is new.

General Comments:

We traded a Trailblazer based Ascender for the Toyota, and the difference is night and day. The Toyota is much more refined and smooth. The performance is amazing for an SUV, and the 269 HP really moves this truck around effortlessly. Passing is lightning quick, and very confident.

I love the Sport package with the larger wheels on it. We also got the sunroof and 6 disk changer, which sounds really great.

The only complaints I have are the run flat tires. They aren't too bad as of yet in handling or noise, but I have heard many negative things about them as far as wearing quickly and becoming noisy. Might switch to standard tires and an inflator can next time around, if that is the case.

The dealer wanted about $750 to put a hitch on, and I did it for just over $200 and 15 minutes for the install. Typical dealer markup on extras! Typical of ALL dealers really.

Overall, I am very happy with the purchase so far, and will report back with updates. If the accelerator sticks or something I'll let you know... ha ha ha... I have already gotten that from family members! I have confidence in this vehicle though, and am not too worried about longevity. Imports have always outlasted domestics in my experience.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd August, 2010

23rd Aug 2010, 19:44

My experience has been the same as yours. My imports ALWAYS outlasted and outperformed my domestics. My worst experiences have been with GM vehicles (I've never had one make more than 50,000 miles. My last GM vehicle only made 40,000 before it's engine failed). My son just scrapped his Chevy Malibu and bought a new Honda Civic (the Malibu was only 2 years old with 35,000 miles on it when the engine failed!) It was technically still under warranty, but he didn't see the point in having the engine replaced, as it was clear that it was not a quality vehicle.

We have owned many imports, most of them being Honda's. Our Honda's were great, all of them easily made over 300,000 miles without any issues.

We have only had one Toyota, and we still have it. My grandson's 1996 Toyota Corolla has nearly 200,000 miles, and it hasn't given him any problems whatsoever.

We also have a 1995 Subaru Legacy with 161,000 miles on it. I bought it from a guy who flat out admitted that he never took care of it, and was constantly driving the living heck out of it. It runs great, only serious failure was a water pump (which is actually basic maintenance. This one failed at 157,000 and it was the original pump). For having been as abused as it was, the only place that shows it is the body (there's some dents and a few rust spots); the engine runs smooth and quiet, and doesn't even use a drop of oil!

These are just a few of the excellent experiences we've had with our imports (to think it all started with a used '76 Civic we bought with nearly 300,000 miles and drove until it had over 500,000 without any serious issues). As for our domestics, I'd have to write a few books to tell you about the issues we had with those.

By the way, I wouldn't worry about any accelerator issues, that recall as blown way out of proportion and most of the vehicles recalled didn't even need any repairs. I know many people who had their late model Toyota's recalled, and NONE of them actually needed to be repaired, nothing was wrong with them!

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