8th Feb 2011, 15:30

I've read everyone's comments. The 20MPG is more accurate. I had tried to keep my Limited 6cyl RPM under 2000, and attempted every way possible to pump up mileage to the mid 20's. I don't believe that the SUV can get that range. You would think that Toyotas should be leaders in that field. Often I wondered if one of those internet wonder inventions would give me that gain, but I don't trust them.

The yellow lit dash and thin numbers are very difficult to read. I like the pick up and other features, but the interior dash center console needs a redesign.

The rear side open door is a negative. Rear view upon parking is not advantageous.

9th Feb 2011, 13:15

We routinely get around 24 mpg in mixed driving with our '10 RAV 4 Sport V6 4X4. We were at around 26 mpg on our very first trip with it when it had about 100 miles on it. Now it would probably be closer to 28 mpg on the highway.

Even the Trailblazer we traded in would get around 24 mpg highway. It is possible to get in the mid 20's with many different SUV's, but driving style has a lot to do with it. Toyota makes some of the most fuel efficient SUV's, especially considering the power of their V6.

10th Feb 2011, 18:43

I also have to say that I find the RAV-4 to be a very rough, noisy and not very fuel-efficient small SUV. Models from Ford, GM and Hyundai are all much smoother, more refined and fuel efficient.

11th Feb 2011, 12:32

Cite examples of actual fuel mileage observed by your Ford, GM and Hyundai models. My Toyota RAV 4 ACTUALLY gets around 24 mpg mixed with the V6 that outperforms virtually all of the competition in refinement, power and smoothness. The 4 cylinder models only go up from there, and easily top 30 mpg on the highway. The Toyota is super quiet and smooth, and sounds much more refined then any domestic powertrain. It rates as one of the quietest small SUV's in its class, so I am not sure why people keep claiming it is so noisy.

I know this because I looked at and drove many of them when making the decision to purchase. The comparable Escape doesn't get as good of mileage with its V6 and 4 wheel drive. My Toyota is worlds ahead of any domestic in driving feel and performance. It is the best of both worlds as an SUV that is capable of all I need, and has the drive of a sporty car to boot. I liked the Escape, but it really feels more like a truck than an SUV when you drive it. Hopefully the 2012 based on the Kuga will eliminate this trait.

Making assumptions based on personal preferences does nothing to enlighten potential buyers. Post some facts about your claims, instead of blanket statements that pretty much everything is better than Toyota, because you don't like Toyota.

11th Feb 2011, 14:25

We rented a new Rav4 for a week on a trip we took about a year ago. I wasn't nuts about the styling as its sort of... bland. But otherwise it's a surprisingly peppy, roomy, and comfortably small SUV. Ours was a V6 automatic, and it got close to 30MPG the entire trip. Most of that was freeway driving. Around town it was more like 24-26MPG.

I think the most impressive thing for me was the acceleration. It had the pickup and acceleration of something more like a sports car. Pretty fun to drive actually. My major gripe was that the stereo system wasn't that great, and again - the styling is sort of uninspiring.

11th Feb 2011, 20:16

The poorly built and unrefined RAV 4 ranked LAST in a study of 9 popular small crossover SUV's that came out in today's national news. Top honors went to GM for the Chevy Equinox, with second going to the beautifully styled and sporty Dodge Journey. The Kia Sportage came in third place. GM has totally blown away the competition in the past year.

12th Feb 2011, 10:59

You better tell that to the guy in his Equinox that I totally blew away at a light. He had it floored, and you could tell by the raucous sound coming out of his vehicle. What a loud rough sounding engine those things have. It was unbelievable. I never passed 3K RPM's while accelerating from gear to gear, and I was easily pulling away from him. He was trying to pass me so he could cut me off and turn right at the next light. Yeah, okay... He did the lane change of shame and pulled in behind me when he realized it was no use totally pounding his underpowered Chevy to beat me.

Now mind you, I didn't buy the RAV4 to drag race at every light, and I wasn't really trying that hard. The Chevy guy obviously had other ideas, and probably pushes his vehicle way beyond its normal means quite a lot. I'm sure he'll be a regular at his Chevy service department driving his truck that hard. I know I was, and I didn't even drive my Chevy's that hard. Never again for me. GM is absolutely last on my quality list, and I can say that from actual experience, not some government advertising.

I'm not even sure how anyone can claim GM has "totally blown away the competition" ever. They make all the same large SUV's that have been around for 20+ years, and the Equinox, as I have explained, is very rough around the edges. I like the Traverse based vehicles, but wouldn't trust their reliability. Overall there is nothing there that is ground breaking, or new and exciting. At least Ford is releasing new versions of their vehicles like the Explorer and then the Escape in 2012. They are actually going to produce their European car lines here, and finally give the U.S. a taste of their upscale cars. We have the Fiesta now, the Focus soon, and the Escape will be based on the Kuga, which is a really nice looking vehicle. Can't wait to drive one.

Oh, and please put up the link to that "national news" story about how the RAV 4 came in last. I need proof more than I need someone who is anti-Toyota just talking about lists and rankings when they have no idea how good or bad Toyota's really are. Anyone who looks past their dislike of Japanese vehicles and actually does a thorough comparison of actually driving all of the vehicles, will see just how refined and smooth the RAV 4 is over the competition. I know because I actually did test most of them. I am not totally biased towards any company or against any other besides GM. I only dislike GM because of the extremely high repair costs I have experienced on all of my sub 100K mile vehicles, most of which were purchased brand new and maintained and driven very well.

People should get past their prejudices and stop looking at car brands as a symbol of American loyalty. Really, if it comes down to this one industry that makes or breaks the U.S. economy, then we are all but done already. Imports have been major players in the auto industry for going on 30 some years, so if it suddenly is too much for our economy to support this competition, then the domestic car companies should have tried harder to compete 20 years ago instead of letting themselves be beaten by the competition.

I have to buy what works best for me and what costs less to own and maintain. Imports dominate in these areas in my experience, so I stick mostly with imports. I do have a Ford right now too that has been good so far, but it only has 22K on it, so we'll see. I do like Fords overall though, and I am sure I'll own another someday. I just didn't think the Escape held up against the RAV 4 overall, being the same basic size with the same basic capacities. The Toyota is just more fun to drive, so for the same basic price, I went for it over the Ford.