Hachiroku wrote:
And theres not a better car to base it on

Incidentally they have changed the awd mechanics now i hear, and run a
totally different engine. I was hoping the V6 engine would drop right
into my gt4 as a possible future upgrade but i believe the change to
the transmission makes that impossible.

The RAV4 is a kiddies 4wd car IMO, kinda pointless. About all it gives
you is improved visibility over a normal car. 4wd is obviously much
better than 2wd if you use it. The celica uses it because it gets
thrown around corners fast and balances beautifully, but you wont be
using a rav4 like that so its down to weather factors. IF you cope with
a Fwd you will be fine with that. Though once you go 4wd you wont go
back

Hi!

tanukiki wrote:
Yup, agreed!

I'm still trying to decide between the RAV4 and the Subaru Legacy Wagon
(perhaps Outback) .. there isn't much difference in terms of mpg and
AWD is standard, but I think electronic stability control is optional
on the Subarus ... I want that, and a moon/sun roof too :-)

Never had an SUV, so not sure how much differently this one will handle
from a regular car/wagon .. even if it's based on a car frame.

Wow .. lots of miles. I just passed 100,000 this weekend (I think it's 100,064
now) and this is a 1991. But then again I am a big fan of walking and cycling
(heck, I've cycled twice across the US, that's 4000 miles each time I saved
on wear and tear on the car ;-)

It seems to me the CRV doesn't come with some of the things that are
standard on the Toyota if I recall correctly.

I'm basically a single guy who need some space for all the outdoors'y
stuff I do, and when I move (which still happens more often than I
would like, but such is the life of a VAP). So, 3rd row seats don't
matter. The RAV4 while classified as a small SUV still seems rather
big to me compared to my current car.

Right now I guess I will wait and see where the next job will be for
me next year. If I get a job in the mountains, and decide on the
RAV4 I'll get the 4WD for sure. I think the 4 cyl provides enough
umph for the RAV4. (Though, if I move to Colorado, it almost seems
to be a requirement that I have an Outback .. that seems to be the
state car .. dark green, and preferably with a cracked windshield
for added authenticity :-)

By the way, it's odd how the rear door opens in the "wrong" direction
on the RAV4. You'd think it would swing the other way. Does traffic
in Japan use opposite lanes? That would explain it, though I wonder
why no changes in production would be made for cars sold overseas.
Don't some car companies do this for steering wheels? That would seem
much more complex than some hinges on a rear door.

Esmail

Hachiroku wrote:
My brother owns a 3rd gen 4runner, regularly offroads it on the local
military base with the landies, rangerovers and a few other
makes/models - seem to keep up with the best of them, and walk all over
the new "electronic brain" type traction controlled 4wds oddly. Could
just be driver skill i suppose. Good old 'yota running gear seems to
deal with the worst of the worst and come out smiling.

"Esmail Bonakdarian" <ebonakDUH (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Subarus are ok. I think the styling is a little bland. My s-i-l kept going
on and on about her Subie wagon back in 2002 when I bought my CRV. She kept
talking about the great gas mileage and how much better it was than an SUV.
Come to find out that my CRV was getting better mpg than her Subie - she was
a little out of the loop and heard SUV and thought big mofo vehicle I guess.

Both the CRV and the RAV4 drive really similarly to the cars I have driven
just a bit higher and not quite as smooth. Although I have to say that the
ride in my I4 AWD RAV4 is really good. It's very comfortable and more
car-like than the CRV was. Some people on Rav4world have complained but they
were driving cars like VW Passat and such before.


Yea, we drive the heck out of our cars. We live in the county and have a
decently long drive to work. This freakin place (MD) is so expensive for
real estate that you either have to commute a while or live in a townhouse
on a postage stamp. I have two kids and we wanted them to actually have a
yard so that's why we live in the semi-boonies. When I first had the CRV, it
got about 33000 miles each year for the first 2 years but then it stayed
home more so we *only* had 109000 on it when we sold it a month ago :-)


Yep, we paid for the 06 RAV4 about what we paid for my stripped down CRV LX
in 04. This RAV4 has the following which the CRV didn't: auto trans, ABS,
side and curtain airbags, tinted side and rear windows, variable
intermittent wipers, roof rack, rear cargo area cover, DRLs, and probably
some more that I am forgetting. Now to be fair, Honda has added some of that
stuff into the LX models since we bought ours. Still for a base model, the
RAV4 comes with a LOT of nice features and the few extras (curtain airbags
and cargo cover) weren't too pricy...

VAP? Colorado is nice - we used to have relatives out there but they had the
nerve to move away so we don't have anyone to visit there now! LOL. We used
the CRV like crazy to move a couple of times and had a hitch installed so we
could tow a small utility trailer. It took many many many trips to Lowes and
Home Depot and IKEA. I'm sure the RAV4 will too in time. I know a lot of
people complain about how the door swings open. I think traffic must work
differently in Japan....I'm not sure. I've always wanted to visit but never
made it so far. It's like the center-based instrument clusters...easier on
the manufacturer but I detest them. Knocked a few cars out of the running
when we bought the new Corolla as I just want it in front of me not off to
the side. The way the door opens works for me though as I almost never park
along a curb that I have to open my rear and when I am at home, the rear
opens such that it's open to my front sidewalk.
As for the engine, the I4 certainly does move the vehicle well although I
did like the V6 LOL. Comes from driving a Mustang previously I guess LOL.


--

Tanukiki (mom of 2 wonderful boys)

Hachiroku wrote:
Yup, it is indeed a JDM Surf.

Hi Tanukiki,

he he .. it is somewhat surprising, you'd think the wagon would do better
in terms of mpg, but it just doesn't. None of them of course beats my
37mpg/highway Corolla Wagon right now .. but then again, the newer cars
offer much more than what I have now, esp in terms of safety. I have no
airbags or ABS for instance.

good to know.

Oh, I know .. I used to live and work in DC and had colleagues who had
super-long commutes so that they could afford a house of their own. I lived
in a tiny efficiency in town, with a not-so-tiny rent :-(

Visiting Assistant Professor .. my current appointment will end at the
end of this academic year, so I'm in the process of looking for a new job,
hopefully a more permanent/tenure track sort of position. And in a nice
place of course!


:-)

Just realized the that the base model doesn't come with a sun/moon roof ..
... hmm .. I was really looking forward to having one of those.

Esmail

Esmail Bonakdarian wrote:

IMHO, given your level of experience, the AWD option isn't much use to
you unless you live in the mountains during winter. FWD, with the
proper tires, provides adequate traction unless you're hill climbing on
a snowy road. If you look into how the new RAV4 AWD system works,
you'll find that a maximum 45% of the torque can be transfered to the
rear axle. In no-slip situations the vehicle is 100% FWD to maximize
mpg. You can lock in the 55/45 split at speeds less than 25 mph.

I kinda favor manual transmissions except for heavy traffic situations.
Otherwise, a 4 cylinder FWD RAV4 makes a nice general purpose station
wagon except for that theft-inviting spare tire hanging outside the
back door. Gotta say, I'd take a hard look at the new Honda CRV for
city driving. I prefer the convenience of the hatch over the side
opening rear door. The CRV AWD system is similar to the RAV4 in that it
operates 100% FWD until slip is detected but I don't think the CRV
allows lock-in of AWD at low speeds.

"Esmail Bonakdarian" <ebonakDUH (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Hi Esmail :-)


It's interesting about different vehicles and mpg..what are you willing to
give up for more mpg? Before we bought the Corolla, we took a hard look at
the "new" VW Rabbit which is of course a rebranded Golf. Really liked a lot
of the features that came standard. Some were essential (side and side
curtain airbags) and some were fun (cooled center console compartment). We
needed 4 doors due to the kiddos. OK, the 4 dr comes with more standard
features (and of course +2K base price from the 2 dr). But it's a relatively
heavy auto and even though it has 150 hp (vs the 126 of the 'rolla), the mpg
were rated 23/30 vs 30/38 for the automatic versions and a mile or 2 more
for the manuals. Given the overall better reliability of Toyota vs VW, the
slightly lower price even adding the side/sc airbags and a sunroof on the
Corolla, and the significantly higher mpg on the Corolla, the decision was
fairly easy (although it was hard for my DH to give up owning another Rabbit
after having about 4 older ones from HS through college - he loved those old
piles o junk :-)


Have single friend who does the same as what you did.

Ah! Good luck with that! What field are you? I was in academia for a while
until I decided I missed clinical work too much.


No it doesn't have one. You'll find it on a Sport or Limited. I'm not sure a
moonroof is an option on the base. I'm pretty sure I didn't run into any
around here. I didn't think I wanted one until we got the Corolla which is a
sport model. In this area, most of the dealers have a package with the
moonroof/side airbags/side curtain airbags so we ended up with a moonroof so
we could get the airbags without having to wait forever to try to fnd one
w/o the moonroof. I really like that stinkin thing now so much so that I
wish the RAV4 had it. I just wish the Corolla had a telescoping as well as
tilt steering wheel and variable intermittent wipers - for some reason the
var int wipers are only on the LE :-/ Oh well. Toyota is kind of weird about
how some vehicles like the RAV4 have things standard (like ABS and var int
wipers and cruise control) on all trim lines and some like the Corolla have
18,000 options with important things like ABS being options...

Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you;ll make the correct one :-)

--

Tanukiki (mom of 2 wonderful boys)

Good morning!

tanukiki wrote:
Very familiar with the VWs .. grew up in Germany :-)

I teach CS at Oberlin College. Love my profession, just haven't
found the right location. Need a larger town with a bit more
"multi-kulti" (as Germans would say). I like a bit more of an
ethnic mix in the population.

Doesn't look like it. If it was, I'd just get a base I4, but now I am
looking hard at the other 2 trim levels. I still think 2WD will
probably a better choice for me unless I get a job somewhere in
the mountains with snow :-)

Not sure how much extra $$ I'll have pony up for getting a model
with moon-roof, I may end up not being able to afford/justify it,
but it really seems like a cool thing to have. It's really the
only frilly thing I want on a car .. otherwise my requirements
are rather basic and sensible (like the safety features). Fog
lamps would be cool too of course. Leather, super stereo etc,
couldn't care less. V6 not needed either I think, coming from
my 91 Corolla Wagon, the new I4 engine will probably be a thrill
to drive.

I've been reading the RAV4World.com board, the mpgs seems to be
all over the place. It's a very informative place though.

agreed, it's a bit puzzling, and frustrating.

Sure hope so .. thanks!

Esmail

ACAR wrote:
Hi,

I have to agree with you, these are my sentiments exactly.

Yes, me too ... I do very little rush hour driving so there's no
problem. I guess I could live with automatic, but manual just seems
like more fun to me. I have been impressed how much improved the mpg
on auto vs manual has come along ..

Never thought about theft issue of the tire in the back, is that
really something that is a problem?

Esmail