Currently driving this RAV4 in a trim I never knew existed. Apparently the Adventure trim is a low cost off road option that includes AWD as standard equipment. I don't know who plans to offroad a RAV4, but I can't see it going well.
Anyways, this is the first rental of this RAV4 generation I've had, I really didn't like the previous generation and have avoided them up until now, but options at the airport were scarce so I hopped in this.
Pros - Powertrain is a 2.5 NA with a conventional 8 speed transmission. It has enough power for everyday driving, I wouldn't challenge anyone to a race but it does fine. It does need to get into the higher rev bands to make enough power to pass or merge at highway speeds, but it's more than adequate. The ride is well composed and comfortable, and I thought the steering/brakes/handling were all predictable, responsive and well dialed in. The driver's seat is power, and it was easy to find a comfortable driving position and seat support was good. I really like Toyota's latest climate controls, they are laid out logically and easy to operate. Plenty of room for four adults and cargo.
Cons - A lot of wind noise leaked in around the door seals at highway speeds. The infotainment system is terrible, luckily wireless Android Auto and CarPlay are supported, although the screen is on the smaller side. The seats were covered in a terrible material I can only describe as rubber, it's not leather or anything remotely simulating leather - it's uncomfortable, doesn't breathe and just has a terrible, cheap feel. Not sure what they were thinking with the orange trim around the center console, it looked really out of place, and the fuel door release was in an awkward location and not well labeled, some white paint instead of relying on a molded in symbol would have been nice especially considering the weird location.
Bottom line - at $35k this isn't for me. I haven't been in a car without heated seats in a long time, especially at this price point. I've also grown accustomed to turbo engines, so having to rev up a NA engine to merge and pass feels a bit dated. I can see why people buy these, they do pretty much everything well, but I don't get this "Adventure" trim. Driver's seat clip holding the seat cover to the seat frame was detached when I picked it up at 8k miles.
Anyways, this is the first rental of this RAV4 generation I've had, I really didn't like the previous generation and have avoided them up until now, but options at the airport were scarce so I hopped in this.
Pros - Powertrain is a 2.5 NA with a conventional 8 speed transmission. It has enough power for everyday driving, I wouldn't challenge anyone to a race but it does fine. It does need to get into the higher rev bands to make enough power to pass or merge at highway speeds, but it's more than adequate. The ride is well composed and comfortable, and I thought the steering/brakes/handling were all predictable, responsive and well dialed in. The driver's seat is power, and it was easy to find a comfortable driving position and seat support was good. I really like Toyota's latest climate controls, they are laid out logically and easy to operate. Plenty of room for four adults and cargo.
Cons - A lot of wind noise leaked in around the door seals at highway speeds. The infotainment system is terrible, luckily wireless Android Auto and CarPlay are supported, although the screen is on the smaller side. The seats were covered in a terrible material I can only describe as rubber, it's not leather or anything remotely simulating leather - it's uncomfortable, doesn't breathe and just has a terrible, cheap feel. Not sure what they were thinking with the orange trim around the center console, it looked really out of place, and the fuel door release was in an awkward location and not well labeled, some white paint instead of relying on a molded in symbol would have been nice especially considering the weird location.
Bottom line - at $35k this isn't for me. I haven't been in a car without heated seats in a long time, especially at this price point. I've also grown accustomed to turbo engines, so having to rev up a NA engine to merge and pass feels a bit dated. I can see why people buy these, they do pretty much everything well, but I don't get this "Adventure" trim. Driver's seat clip holding the seat cover to the seat frame was detached when I picked it up at 8k miles.
