Weekend Athlete: 2007 Toyota RAV4
The RAV4 has grown into a larger SUV than it was when it first hit the market, but will bigger mean better in a competitive Weekend Athlete world?
Once you fold the rear seats, the cargo area is flat, which is nice, but not one of the things I add or subtract a lot of points for. What I do care about is how large the cargo area is and the size of the opening through which you must pass your gear. Here the RAV4 scores points because both are large.
Where it loses points is on the seat mechanism and the rear door.
The good part of the seats is that they flop over with a nice, intuitive pull of a lever. However, folding the seats up requires pulling the lever one way while pushing the seatback the other way. Not only is this a bit awkward, it requires using two hands, and that’s not ideal.
After the door is open, you only have access to the cargo area from one side. That's something you get used to, I guess. However, you have to watch where you park because that door swings wide and takes up a lot of room. Obviously, parallel-parked spots are a challenge, but I could also see it being an issue in a tight race parking lot.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
I rank it 7.5. It just doesn’t stand out compared to its small-SUV competition, but it's far from a failure. It's priced between $20,000 and $27,000, and that's OK, you just have to watch your option list, I guess.
The thing is, its Scion xB cousin carries stuff almost as well but is much, much cheaper. Put another way, when I loaded up the Scion xB, my first thought was "Wow! This holds a ton!" When I loaded the RAV4, I thought, "Huh. That's it? Interesting." It's probably because the RAV4 is so big on the outside that I expected a ton of space inside.
The RAV4 is also not as easy to load things into as the Mercury Mariner Hybrid (despite the RAV4's large cargo opening), so it loses a spot to that one, as well. I think the RAV4 deserves some consideration as an athlete's car — it's a lot more fun to drive than the PT Cruiser and it's not as dressy as the RDX, but consider how much space the door takes and test the seat mechanism before you buy.
Previous
Subscribe to our feed
Email us your tips!
When you consider a V6 that gets about 22-23 mpg average and it goes from 0-60 mph in about 6.5 seconds I think it makes this small SUV more fun than most small SUVs. Using two hands to fold a seat up is not a big deal. I do agree that the rear door could pose a problem in certain situations. I think it deserves a higher score than a 7.5 though so I would give it an 8.5. Nice vehicle.
Yes, I'll agree those are good engine figures. I've heard others around the office express similar sentiments, especially about the mileage.
As for the score, I see what you mean, but I still rank it a 7.5. The ones that scored 8 or better (Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Scion xB and Honda CR-V) were just that little bit easier for me to live with, despite the RAV4's engine performance. As I say, the RAV4 is worthy of consideration, but I can't rank it higher.
But for your purposes, if the seat doesn't bug you and the door doesn't seem like a big deal, I can see why you'd rank it higher.
Bill J.
I still don't get why they grew the RAV4 into Highlander teritory. (in size and price) It's not there yet but what happend to the nimble little first gen RAV4?
i would give it a 7.5 it is agreed that a small size SUV that does 0 to 60 mph in about 6.5 seconds is not all that bad a bargain. Small Cars are surging back into popularity and to offer an SUV which is more of a blend can click for otherwise if you need performance you are definately in the wrong territory.
Infosaur,
The RAV4 tops out at where the Highlander starts in price. That's pretty much exactly how an automaker should price its vehicles.
http://www.cars.com/go/compare/modelCompare.jsp?myids=8505,9114
Plus the Highlander has more hip and shoulder room and about 20 more cubic feet of overall cargo room.
If you rate it by what you use most every day, you have to give that engine a bit more credit. The RAV runs about 3 seconds quicker to 60 than the competition, and gets about the same mpg. You can also get a family of seven into it, another place the competition falls short. Just a lot of fun.
I don't think the point of the series is as an everyday driver, that's what our reviews really tackle. The Weekend Athlete is looking at the attributes of people with active lifestyles. That's why something with a less powerful engine like the Element or Scion xB ranks higher.
the Rav4's third row isn't really a comfortable option for 7 for more than a few minutes. And I don't think the Rav4 V-6 is a full 3 seconds faster than anything else. It's ranked at 6.8 seconds on our site with the CRV at 9.4, the Escape at 7.9 and the CX-7 at 7.4 seconds. Although we've pointed out numerous times it has a V-6 with great fuel economy, many, many times.
William: I was wondering if you factored in the huge under-floor storage well (as well as the much shallower one) below the deck of the cargo area.
I see your point about the rear door -- it's been a sore point of contention ever since the first generation RAV, and more recently spotlighted again, since the CRV recently changed its design to a hatch.
The rear seat flip-down levers are very clever and helpful indeed, but as you say, it feels only halfway thought out, because you would think that tugging the same levers would at least return them to a partially vertical position.
Dave T.: From what I've seen, the Escape/Mariner at best gets about 9-10 seconds for 0-60, whether it's the V6 or the hybrid -- where can I find that 7.9 figure?
Hi Tony C.,
No, I don't really factor that kind of storage area in because I'm looking at what's the quickest and easiest way to load and unload the car.
I look at it like this: I don't want to get to the campsite and have to unload my bike and race bag to get to the stuff I need to pitch my tent. Or, worse still, get to the start line and realize I left something in the well and all my camping junk is on top of it. So, whether it's a RAV4 or a minivan that's got the wells for the folding seats, it's not something I really rank highly for.
Others might find the well more useful (or be more organized than me) so that might rank it higher in their book and that's cool. I just look at it from the standpoint of rolling up, unloading, playing and rolling away without having really keep track of where I packed stuff.
Bill J.
I have a 2007 RAV 4 limited with the levers in the back to lower the rear seatbacks. They don't seem to move the seat backs, is there a trick I am missing when pulling on the levers?
CALLING ALL 2007 TOYOTA RAV4 OWNERS WITH BIKES: HELP! I REALLY want a car with enough rear cargo room to open the tailgate and just stow two adult-size bikes back there, without removing wheels. I dont mind if the bikes fill up all the rear cargo space; I dont mind if the lever for flattening the rear seatbacks is weird. I just want to not have to mess with bike racks and bikes exposed to the elements. please, please: if you lower the rear seatbacks, can this be done with the Rav4?? all help most appreciated.
CALLING ALL 2007 TOYOTA RAV4 OWNERS WITH BIKES: HELP! I REALLY want a car with enough rear cargo room to open the tailgate and just stow two adult-size bikes back there, without removing wheels. I dont mind if the bikes fill up all the rear cargo space; I dont mind if the lever for flattening the rear seatbacks is weird. I just want to not have to mess with bike racks and bikes exposed to the elements. please, please: if you lower the rear seatbacks, can this be done with the Rav4?? all help most appreciated.
As someone else had asked...how do the rear seat levers function? By releasing the bar under the rear seats, they fold down. So what are the levers by the rear door for? The book is not very helpful?
REAR SEATS: I found the book not that helpful too. I went to the dealer and asked for a blow-up diagram that shows all the parts in an exploded view including all the door lever operation parts. They will usually give this free of charge as they use it to locate specific parts you may need which may be a bit obscure to locate with our the diagram.
Sorry in correct you but you DO NOT need to operate with both hands. You can simply lift the seat from its folded position to it's upright position. Nice try though.
Sorry in correct you but you DO NOT need to operate with both hands. You can simply lift the seat from its folded position to it's upright position. Nice try though.