Toyota RAV4

Synopsis

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer that was founded in 1937. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to create automobiles. Toyota has its headquarters in Toyota city, Aichi. Toyota RAV4 is a compact crossover SUV, based on Camry platform that is available in North America, Middle East, Malaysia, Mexico, Japan and Australia for now. This SUV debuted in Japan and Europe in 1994 and in North America in 1996. The RAV4 stands for Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive that is conditional irrespective of the specifications. Starting from the third generation RAV4, Toyota is offering both, short wheelbase as well as long wheelbase, versions of RAV4. The RAV4 with shorter wheelbase are sold in Japan and Europe where as the RAV4 with longer wheelbase are sold in Australia and North America.

Toyota has not yet confirmed the release of this SUV in India but it might be available in the coming months. The specifications and features mentioned below are of the SUV currently available in US market. There are three variants of this SUV currently in US market named as LE, XLE and Limited.

Engine and Gearbox

This D segment SUV makes 2500cc of engine displacement. This engine with 16-valve with dual VVT-i in DOHC configuration generates power up to 179 bhp at 6000 rpm. The maximum torque produced by this petrol engine is 172 Nm at 4000 rpm. The dimensions of this SUV are 4572mm (length), 1844mm (width), 1662mm (height) with the wheelbase of 2659mm and offer a minimum ground clearance of 180mm. This SUV has electronic fuel ignition system that is supported by Toyota Direct Ignition (TDI). Its engine is mated with 6-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission with intelligence (ECT-i). It has independent McPherson strut with stabilizer bar and hydraulic shock absorbers as front suspension. Its rear suspension is double wishbone type with coil springs, trailing arms, stabilizer bar with hydraulic shock absorber. It has power assisted, rack and pinion type electric power steering (EPS) wheel that makes the minimum turning radius of 10.6 meters. The brakes installed in this SUV are power assisted ventilated disc in front and solid disc brakes in rear along with Star Safety System. It has a kerb weight of 3435kg and gross weight of 4485kg. It has the towing capacity of 680kgs excluding the weight of occupants. It has a fuel tank capacity of 60 litres.

Exterior

The exteriors of this SUV consists of projector-beam headlights, daytime running lights, chrome-accented grille, 17-inch wide steel wheels, acoustic noise reducing front windshield and roof rails. The interiors of this SUV includes day/night rear view mirror, soft touch interior accents, fabric-trimmed 6-ways adjustable driver's seat, 4-ways adjustable front passenger's seat, fabric trimmed reclining second row seats with arm rests, center armrest with console storage box, eight cup/bottle holders, dual sun visors with vanity mirrors and two 12V auxiliary power outlets. Its air conditioner supports dual zone climate control and has air filters that remove harmful dust/pollen particles. The music system installed in the SUV has 6.1-inch display screen that has been integrated with the rear parking (backup) camera and supports AM/FM, MP3/WMA playbacks that is played over 6-speakers. This music system also supports auxiliary inputs, USB ports and iPod connectivity with customizable settings.

Interior

It also allows Bluetooth connectivity with features like hands-free phone capabilities, phone book access and music streaming. The SUV supports dual driving modes as Eco mode and Sport mode along with cruise control. The steering wheel of the SUV allows tilt/telescopic adjustment as per convenience with mounted controls of music player and Bluetooth. The front seats are equipped with heaters that allow heating of the seats in winters. All the windows of this SUV are electrically controlled and the front windows supports auto up/down feature. The doors are linked with the transmission of the vehicle and supports auto lock/unlock feature. Toyota has enriched this SUV with brilliant and new features that improves the looks as well as the overall efficiency of this SUV. The RAV4 is equipped with automatic limited slip differential that avoids the slipping of the vehicle in any condition. Toyota has installed the privacy glass on rear side and quarter windows of this SUV. The RAV4 has rear defogger that supports timer function.

Safety Features and Expected Price

Toyota RAV4 has the rear spoiler with the same color as the whole SUV. With all the dynamic and interactive features of this SUV, Toyota has made sure that no security issue has been compromised. It has been equipped with Star Safety System, as mentioned earlier, which includes vehicle stability control (VSC), traction control (TRAC), anti-lock brake system (ABS), electronic brake distribution (EBD), brake assist (BA) and smart stop technology(SST). It has tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that monitors the pressure of all tires in real time. The drivers and front passenger's seat belts have pretensioners with force limiters that are supported via 3-point seat belts in all sitting positions with adjustable anchors. This SUV comes with a smart key system that controls all the door locks including the rear tailgate.

The high end variant of this SUV also features blind spot monitoring system that detects any vehicle in the blind spot of the vehicle and informs the driver. The other supportive security features of this SUV includes eight airbags, side-impact door beams, collapsible steering column, front energy-absorbing crumple zone, child-protector rear door locks and engine immobilizer. This SUV is supported on all season steel-belted radial tires with an additional spare in case of emergency. The RAV4 has a true lift-gate that opens up instead of out, making it easy to load cargo and supports height adjustments. It is available in market with six vibrant colors named as Magnetic Grey Metallic, Black, Barcelona Red Metallic, Pyrite Mica, Spruce Mica and Shoreline Blue Pearl. If it is made available in Indian market, the expected ex-showroom price of this SUV will be around INR 17 lakh.