29th Sep 2010, 11:43

I have two friends with RAV 4s. Where the idea that they are quiet comes from is beyond me. Just talking in one of these things at highway speed is difficult. Drive one that is a couple of years old before buying one. The rattles, whines and roars may not show up immediately but they will soon.

29th Sep 2010, 12:33

It is sad that Toyota haters have to come onto threads and post false information. One guy can't even keep his stories straight between threads! I too own a 2010 RAV 4 and have experienced none of the so called noise issues. It is super quiet even with the sunroof and all the windows open. It's sad that people seem to think they are in some sort of battle between domestic cars and imports and they come on here to make stuff up about the "enemy". What a waste of time!

13th Dec 2010, 13:03

My wife had a keen interest in the purchase of our '10 model. She is charmed by the vehicle. I like it but had reservations on the 30K price and some design issues. I did not like the yellow background black led number design for HVAC and audio components. The design could have been greatly improved with larger bold numbers over a green background. The adjustable steering column should have had additional positions as well. For the exterior trim Toyota now charges for door guards. Other competitors have that option as standard issue.

The engine has great pickup. At this point, it is too early for rash judgement. However, the 30 MPG results others had mentioned have not surfaced in my experience. The dash gauge module illustrates a 21.5 average for city and highway. I hope to get 23 to 26 MPG.

Does anyone have an ideas for increased gas mileage? You would think vehicles in 2010 should get better gas mileage.

13th Dec 2010, 14:31

Every car you look at will have minor things you think could be improved. I agree about the color of the clock though. It is a bit annoying, and I hate the placement of it. My biggest problem with this truck is the swing out rear gate. They should have separately opening glass for convenience. It has also not been made to U.S. specs, as it is backwards opening on the traffic side, so you are out towards the middle of the road while loading. It is right for Japan though... Overall these are very minor things though, and nothing we couldn't live with, otherwise we'd have bought something else.

We actually have a 2010 RAV 4 as well. It is the Sport V6 and we picked it up for around $26,700 pretty loaded up with the sunroof package. What did you get for $30K? We are getting in the mid 20's for mixed driving as far as mileage goes. I am thinking it is capable of around 30 mpg highway. Trouble is the darn thing is so smooth, it is easy to cruise at 80 all day long. Gas mileage will suffer a bit at that speed.

14th Dec 2010, 19:56

I have two friends who own RAV-4's and can't imagine how anyone can call these things "quiet" or "economical". You have to shout to carry on a conversation due to the roar, rattles and wind noise. And they tell me they get a whopping 20-22 mpg on the highway. Our big GM SUV beats that.

15th Dec 2010, 11:50

We're not talking about the old 1997 RAV 4 here. The new ones are super smooth and quiet. Mine has a sunroof on it and even with that open I can carry on a perfectly normal conversation... on the highway. In fact, I was on the highway doing about 70 one day and I got a call on the cell. I had three of the four windows down (including mine) and the sunroof was open and I had no trouble carrying on a conversation. My cell phone is also over 5 years old so it isn't the latest and greatest. Where people get these claims of excessive road noise and other factors that make the RAV 4 loud is beyond me. Even most of the auto mags praise this truck as best in class for ride and quietness.

Also, with the V6 I get consistently in the mid 20's for mileage and that is mixed driving and doing about 80 or so on the highway. If I slowed down I know I could get 30 MPG on a full highway trip easily.

Our GM SUV was in the shop too much and costing us way too much for me to care about what gas mileage it was or wasn't getting. Almost $4K in repairs before 100K miles made me an import driver for life! Thanks GM! I love my RAV 4! It drives circles around any GM SUV I have ever owned in all categories of performance and it is so much fun to drive too.

15th Dec 2010, 19:56

"You have to shout to carry on a conversation due to the roar, rattles and wind noise."

Okay, this is yet another exaggeration by a Toyota hater. I'm sorry, but there is not ANY vehicle made today that you have to shout in to talk to one another! Even a stripped Hyundai Accent wouldn't have this characteristic. No one in their right mind would purchase a car that they had to yell back and forth in with the salesman while test driving it! Give me a break!

I understand people have their likes and dislikes, but could we at least keep things in the realm of realism when we post? I own a RAV 4, and the truth is it is very quiet inside for a small SUV, and rates better than anything in its class in that category. I've been in 4 and 6 cylinder RAV 4's and they are anything but loud and rattly. Even older ones I have been in are not this way.

I had the worst luck with my GM SUV's, and I don't go on every Chevy thread and come up with exaggerated negative claims about them. What is the point? The actual owners know the truth, so you are wasting your time posting this type of misinformation.

1st Feb 2011, 19:27

We purchased a 2010 Rav4 Sport 4cyl. and so far... so good. I really don't think I have any complaints here.

We just traded in our "second owner" 2001 Subaru Outback (on which the head gaskets were blown and had to be replaced... Cha-Ching!!) So we decided to buy our first brand new vehicle, and the Rav4 was the best option for us. Like I said before, so far... so good and no complaints.

One more thing, the 0.9% financing at Toyota was far more inviting than the 5.9% at Subaru. Also the service at our local Subaru dealer was pathetic... if you weren't buying with cash, you were put on the back burner, and by that I mean we arrived at the lot around Noon, took a couple of short test drives (one block radius), and we ended up walking out of there at 7pm. Tired, hungry and very disappointed.