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| 2015 Toyota RAV4 |
Photo credits: www.thecarconnection.com
History of Toyota RAV4
Writing about history of this vehicle's production is like writing about history of the whole crossover class. RAV4 been there from the day one, since is the first crossover vehicle ever made. Crossover class was made to combine useful features from SUV vehicles like: off-road capability, increased visibility and a lot of cargo space with useful features of compact cars like: maneuverability, fuel economy and finding your parking spot easier. This vehicle has all that since it was made in 1995. Back then it was labeled as a mini-SUV and based on Toyota Corolla platform. Only two years after its first release it won Car of the Year award from Automobile Magazine. Later number of crossovers on the market increased and this type of vehicles for their own class. This vehicle is offered in two variants, whit a short or long wheelbase. First variation is sold in Europe and Japan while the second is sold in US an Canada.
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| 2015 Toyota RAV4 |
2015 Toyota RAV4 Overview
When the first Toyota RAV4 came out it was a mini-crossover, later it got much bigger and it grow to the size of large family crossover. Since 2013 this vehicle is returning to its roots and its size drastically decreased which lead to some unpopular solutions like taking out the third seat row and V6 engine. These steps were made to clearly separate vehicle's in Toyota crossover class, since larger RAV4 looked lot like a larger Highlander. Since the V6 engine is taken out from this vehicle's line up it falls little bit behind some of its rivals like: Ford Escape or Subaru Forester XT, when it comes to performance.
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| 2015 Toyota RAV4 |
Photo credits: www.thecarconnection.com
Exterior
During RAV4's production this model managed to wipe out all of the SUV exterior features and become a proper city boy, meant for transporting your family from point A to point B. Since 2013 this vehicle comes with a lot of lines that we saw on some other Toyota vehicles like Toyota Venza. Even the beloved sspare tire from the rear bumper found itself a more conventional spot under the trunk floor. This cutting of all the SUV features made this vehicle loose a lot of its original style and character, but on the other hand it became more popular among boring middle class families, while true fans of this vehicle were left a little bit disappointed, since the new model looks almost like a tall hatchback.
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| 2015 Toyota RAV4 Limited interior |
Photo credits: www.thecarconnection.com
Interior
Interior design of Toyota RAV4 looks just awesome. It has the best cabin design in its class. Toyota took some inspiration from the 80's SUV interior designs, like two tone stitched and padded upholstery that goes across the midline. After this funky design knocks you down, next thing you notice are the materials, that are not as good as the styling itself. New model comes with tones of hard plastic, which is little bit too much for our taste. While the cabin has the same size as the one from last year's model, it looks significantly bigger because of the smarter layout. While base and other less expensive versions come with cloth upholstery, Limited trim level comes with synthetic leather upholstery, that looks really nice, but it still can't be compared with a real leather. Rear seat can be folded and it is very easy to access. It is a little bit flat which can be a bit annoying during longer rides. Front seats in higher trim levels come with heating and more support. Trunk space is very generous, and trunk comes with standard liftgate that can be adjusted to lower garages and open only halfway. LE is the lowest trim level and it comes with radio, CD player, air conditioning and 6,1 inch LCD display. XLE, which is the second higher trim level comes with dual zone climate control, push button start, leather wrapped steering wheel and SofTex upholstery and dashboard trim.Limited is the highest trim level and it adds JBL audio system with 11 speakers, Entune app connectivity and Satellite radio.
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| Toyota RAV4 engine |
Performance
2015 Toyota RAV4 comes with improved handling and all wheel drive that's much more focused than before. Unfortunately V6 engine is not part of its line up anymore. It comes with four cylinder engine that delivers 176 horsepower and it is paired with six speed automatic transmission. It can reach 60 mph in little bit less than 9 seconds. This is almost everything that this model offers when it comes to performance. It is obvious here that Toyota gave much more attention to economical side of RAV4's powertrain.
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| Mazda CX 5 |
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| 2015 Kia Sportage |
Other Possible Option
Crossover class became one of the most popular ones in recent years and although Toyota RAV4 was ruling this class just decade ago, now it comes with a lot of serious rivals such as:
Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5 and Kia Sportage.
Price and Release Date of 2015 Toyota RAV4
This is not an expensive SUV, no matter which trim level you choose, neither one is going to cost more than $30,000. Prices go from $23,680 for base LE trim level to $28,450 for Limited trim level. You will need to pay $1,400 extra for the all wheel drive. Limited trim level is little bit overpriced, but LE and XLE which cost $25,240 offer good value for money.
Toyota RAV4 Statement
Times when SUV was a status symbol are over even in some Eastern European countries. To be honest we are all revealed because of that since now real off-road enthusiasts are not going to be perceived as lame assholes who buy cars to pick up gold digging girls. Crossover drivers are similar to people who like SUVs, just they are little bit too old or little bit less interested in the outdoors. Crossover drivers are successful, they usually already have families and they go to nature every or every second month. Crossover is a nice vehicle, but maybe not nice and premium enough to make some hottie simply jump on your back seat, like in that Youtube clip when guy picks up girls with Lamborghini while being speechless.
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| Tom Hanks and his beloved Toyota RAV4 EV |
Trivia
RAV4 stands for Recreational Active Vehicle with four wheel drive. This vehicle was seen a lot of times on big screen, in movies and series like:
The Good Guys,
Criminal Minds,
Third Watch,
Bones,
Bridge etc. It was hard to find celebrities driving this car, but we found ut Tom Hanks, believe it or not drives Toyota RAV4 EV, which is an electric hybrid version of Toyota RAV4.
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| Toyota RAV4 on Auto Show in Kiev, Ukraine |
What Girls Think About Toyota RAV4?
Some people would say that this is a girls car. Most of the girls that we asked about this vehicles noticed soft lines and told us this vehicle looks cute, that they imagine going to some road trip with their girlfriends with it and similar stuff. One girl told us that when a guy buys an SUV he wants something bumpy and big, on the other hand this ride is the exactly what would she wanted to have in her garage. One other girl told us that this vehicle looks very off-road capable and has a nice design. Last girl told us that this ride looks dangerous and powerful, which is completely different than all the other answers and we're now totally confused. :)
