If you have a Toyota RAV4...

[hiddenj]

Sold my 2004 Rav4 and got a 2007 Chevy Equinox. Loved my Rav except I couldn't fit an infant seat in the back without pushing the passenger seat all the way forward. Since DH is tall, he has to move the drivers seat so far back that I can't sit behind him and couldn't sit in front of the infant seat. So, new car it was. I loved my Rav, but I love my Equinox as well. It's definitely goes easier and has more room. It is much more comfortable for road trips.

 

[JaxJags08]

I really love my Rav4! It has plenty of storage space, just like everyone has said. My only gripe is the air pressure sensor. I know it's there to help, but does it really need to go off when the pressure drops just 1 psi? I guess I'm usually in a hurry to get somewhere when it goes off, and it's a PITA to always check and find out it's just at 31 instead of 32. It will also do this if your spare tire's psi drops a little bit. And I've found it difficult to remove/replace my spare tire cover to check it.

 

[WINTER]

We looked at Rav4 last Fall. I liked it . . . until I drove an Equinox. I love the Equinox.

 

[npmommie]

I have a 2011 Rav4 Limited. Bought it the end of January when I traded in my 2003 Ford Escape (which I loved).

I looked at several cars in this class (RAV4, Escape, Sportage, CRV, Rogue) etc. I have a 40 mile commute each way so some features that may be important to me may not to you.

Pros:
-Handling. It drives so nice, just like our Corolla. Huge difference from our Escape. I believe it shares the same base as a Corolla.
-Price. Several other brands would not negotiate price. There is a lot of RAV4 inventory out there, so you should be able to negotiate a fair price.
-Size. It is HUGE inside. Tons and tons of room in the back seat and truck. I think it is definitely bigger than my Escape.
-Visibility. It has great visibility for the size.
-The Toyota Cares maintenance for the first 2 years/25,000 miles is a nice perk

Cons:
-Spare tire. I still hate the look of it.
-Rear door. I hate that it swings out. Didn't realize how much I would hate this, especially when loading groceries in the rain.
-Trunk space kind of slants backwards. Stuff really slides around back there.
-Options. I had to bump all the way up to the Limited model to get the options I really wanted (Sat radio, blue tooth, power drivers seat, etc which I found to be necessary on my long commutes). There wasn't much ala-carte pricing. To be fair though, I had this problem on all the makes except the Ford and Kia.

I do really like all the extra features on the limited model though (heated seats, dual auto temp control, premium sound, etc) and thought the price differential was worth it. Plus they don't sell as many Limiteds and they were really willing to negotiate price. I found that Toyato dealerships pretty much carry vehicles with the same options installed on all the lots so it was easy to find the exact vehicle I wanted at each dealership and do the internet quotes that way. All the Toyota dealerships (we have 6 within 45 minutes of us) got back to me right away with quotes and it was very stress free way to buy the car. Kia was awful by the way to deal with even though we really liked the Sportage.

we are thinking of trading our Tucson for a RAV, I thought I read on Edmunds that there is an option to get the rav without the tire on the back?
I don't like the look of that either.

we just replaced a 14 yo camry with a ford fusion which has so many bells and whistles, I love it, but we also need one suv and my tucson is getting old, and is starting to have funny things go wrong.
so that will have to go soon too.

 

[Dominus]

We had an 07 Rav-4 that we just traded for a Honda Pilot. We loved the Rav4 and only traded to get a 3rd row seat. We started carrying more kids for scouts and sports, and really needed the extra seats. Aside from the lack of seating, the Rav4 was everything we wanted it to be. We got the V6 and used it to pull a pop up trailer and other stuff, and it never failed. Before that we had a CRV, also very good small suv. You can't go wrong with either.

 

[NYEmomma]

Hope you like your Rav4!!

I just got a 2007 Rav4 about 2 weeks ago... I had a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe and it was totaled in an accident. We were really on a short time line to replace my car & this was our best option with what insurance gave us. I don't really like being forced into buying with short notice because I like to take my time to research and try a lot of things.... but it is what it is.

So far I'm not disappointed or unhappy with the purchase.

What I like:
- the surprise 6-disc CD changed that the dealership didn't know anything about!
- The roominess of the backseat area for an SUV of that size. We were able to get DD's Evenflo Triumph in it RF'ing without having to move our seats forward
- The gas mileage (not awesome, but better than my Santa Fe)
- the auxiliary input jack
- the radio remembers the last volume level for each type of audio option (radio, CD, auxiliary, etc.)
- the low floor level of the rear storage. It's nice to not have to lift things up so high to get in

What I don't like:
- no lumbar support
- gas light comes on when I've only used 12 gallons of gas (the tank holds 15!)
- the side-opening trunk door... I'd prefer the type that lifts up