2006-2012 Toyota RAV4 review | Consumer Reports


Small suvs have become a very popular family car. And with good reason they have very good access. Great versatility for seating and cargo. The toyota rav4 has set itself apart from the others. Because it does nearly everything well no matter which engine you choose for the rav4 4 or 6. You probably won't be disappointed. They're smooth peppy fuel efficient. In fact the v6 is actually quite quick and gets the fuel economy of some four cylinders. You don't normally think of toyota and agile as going together but surprisingly this. Small suv is one of the sportiest. Toyotas we've driven the steering is responsive and the body motions are well controlled making it easy to handle and place and standard stability control. Keeps it secure in emergency maneuvers as far as ride goes. You shouldn't have much to complain about. There either absorbs road disturbances. Well and the cabin is fairly quiet inside the rav4. Most people should find plenty of room. There's lots of headroom and legroom has a wide open. Feel the seat. Some people found. It didn't have enough lumbar and thigh support and though the wheel tilts and telescopes some also didn't find it had enough range to get their ideal driving position. As far as controls go in the rav4. They're positioned up high easy to see and operate at the glance with large displays. One thing if you do get the automatic temperature control take some getting used to to pick the mode you want. Those that don't have it has easy to operate knobs fit and finish. Everything looks and fits together. Well when you touch. There's a lot of hard plastic. Cabin storage is good. There's lots of practical bins and cubbies. There's even two convenient glove boxes. The rear seat of the rav4 is actually very roomy. Though it is narrow for three across and it does offer some versatility. The seats have recline adjustment. And they slide four and out which can give you some extra room for cargo if you have the optional third row which is very very small you probably need to slide those seats forward to give third row passengers some leg room.

When you're accessing cargo in the rav4 you'll have to keep in mind that the right hinged rear gate needs some room to open and you'll need to walk around it if you're parked against a curb once inside. You have a lot of cargo room and you can expand it. Still further from release handles in the back though you have a number of choices among small suvs if you're looking for one that has agile handling great fuel economy and an optional third row. The toyota rav4 may be just the one for you you.