[landcruiser123]

Congrats on the car! Great review too. The car looks in impeccable shape.
It's a perfectly sized small, automatic SUV. (Even the Creta is)
Wishing you many more happy miles of happy ownership.
This Toyota can probably outlast it's owner.

If you don't mind, can you share how much you paid for it?

[simplysaj]

Congrats!
It brings back some memories where I had driven this awesome little powerhouse in Pondy way back in 2010! It was not maintained well though.

Excellent review. Please share if you get a chance later to test her 4wd prowess!

Wish many happy miles.

[baskar]

Toyota is not known to bring in products quickly. I also feel Rav-4 will sell very well in India - they could plonk in a diesel or with the latest shift to petrol, they can continue with that option also. It ticks most of the requirements for an urban SUV - handsome, handle tough roads, comfortable inside and reliability. Yet it is difficult to fathom Toyota' reluctance to bring in RAv-4 to India. Shows the important Toyota attaches to Indian market.

[SatsMumbai]

Congratulations! I have driven the new RAV4 and trust me, your car looks a lot more fun than the current / 2014 version.

I like the way the roof opens up and the whole look of the vehicle. I think you got a great deal with such a low mileage car. Wish you a fun mile munching times ahead!

[VRPAI]

Congrats on the car Bro ! Wonderful looking car.

You are one among the
most passionate car lovers I've ever known in my entire life !. The S10, the Dodge, the SS80, the Land master etc etc and now this. Hats off to your passion man. By the time your in your 40's you'll actually end up having a wonderful collection of many beautiful cars and a lot of classics too . Buying a car is one thing,keeping them mint is the harder part. Always been amazed by your passion.

Congrats again.

[Desmosedici]

Congrats Mate. Wonderful car you got there. I am hooked on to this thread now. Did you also try looking for the Pajero Mini during your search?

Cheers,
Raj

[JayD]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

Congrats on the super cute car . One of those rides that just makes you smile!

True! And at the end of the say, that is what matters, more than gadgets and bling!

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

RAV4 brings back some fond memories. We had the 2005 5-door for 6 years in Bahrain. We had purchased it used in 2009 with the ODO at 80k kms. It was sold in 2015 with the ODO at 210k kms. RAV4 actually introduced us to SUVs and mild off roading. Our RAV4 used to see no roads/ bad roads everyday as my dad is in the construction industry. No breakdowns/mechanical failures in those 6-years, there wasn't even a single rattle after all that abuse. One robust vehicle!

It was replaced by a crv of the same vintage as a short gap arrangement. In 2017 it will be either replaced by an outlander or we'll be back to the RAV4.

Congratulations on your RAV4. Looks really good

Attaching a pic of my dads RAV4- Attachment 1507037

Good to see reviews from fellow Rav4 owners. The one thing that surprised me was the number of people who came up to me and told that they owned the same car in abroad. All of them were all praises for its reliability and comfort.

Originally Posted by Simhi

Congratulations JayD on your purchase. Hope you got the RAV4 her own toolkit and wheel-jack. Enjoy miles and miles with it.

I sometimes wonder, why Toyota with such good global portfolio is hesitant in introducing new models in India. RAV4 UK price suggests that it is now in Fortuner range. With Innova moving up the ladder, I only hope Toyota brings Vios, Avanza and Rush to India at the earliest.

Enjoyed reading your write-up. Thanks

Originally Posted by baskar

Toyota is not known to bring in products quickly. I also feel Rav-4 will sell very well in India - they could plonk in a diesel or with the latest shift to petrol, they can continue with that option also. It ticks most of the requirements for an urban SUV - handsome, handle tough roads, comfortable inside and reliability. Yet it is difficult to fathom Toyota' reluctance to bring in RAv-4 to India. Shows the important Toyota attaches to Indian market.

True. Toyota has/had so many interesting models which would have succeeded in India, but they seem to be very happy flogging the same old vehicles here. The new innova is a turn for the better, but we need to see more models coming, rather than refreshes of the existing models.

Simple example being the sedans. We have been seeing imported Corolla and Tercel turbo diesels right from the early 90's in significant numbers, and the company knows that there is a significant market for them. Heck they are still in active use, and in demand in the used car markets. Yet It took Toyota forever to equip the Indian Corolla with a diesel, and that too was a very anemic engine. And 20Lakh, for the diesel which does not even get fog lamps. Forget auto trans.

Originally Posted by Samba

Awesome review! Rated 5*. Hope Toyota launch this in India!

But with Toyota my experience is something different. We just own a basic bare bone Etios petrol from 2011. It has bad interiors, NVH level is not comparable to modern day cars. At the very beginning it gave me a feel like another xyz car which is just for moving from point A to point B. No wonder many people reject this car from a short test drive. But 5 years down the lane i got obsessed with the car. The way it handle the terrains its not supposed to do and that too with out a single glitch. The ownership cost and the reliability definitely brings a smile to my face. Toyota is one company who gets all the very basics of the car right and you will love your Toyota more when it gets older!

With a long term ownership one is bound to fall in love with a Toyota. I see Innova owners bring there cars for servicing with more than 400,000kms with no work done to there engine and the car is running absolutely fine. I personally was a passenger in a 4lack+ kms driven Qualis in a Kashmir trip two years back and the car behaved as good as new!

But in India god knows when they will launch cars like Rav4 or Rush or Vios. Cars like Qualis, Innova, Altis, Fortuner got excellent response from Indian market. We do not need any cost cutting. An Etios with out any cost cutting even with another rs 50,000 extra would have given you double the sales! We need a complete package!

Its high time they launch the Rav4! Ecosport, S- Scross, Duster, Creta are selling like hot cakes!

This is something which I've been telling my friends for a while now. The bling and gadgets will impress you initially, but once their sheen wears off, only solid over engineering , quality and reliability will shine through.I experienced the same with my old i20.

I agree with your view on Toyota's interest in the Indian market too. Th Etios is a classic case of a missed opportunity. And several years on, they still aren't doing anything to correct the (easily correctable) flaws it has.

Originally Posted by Nimish anthony

First let me congratulate you on the fantastic write up which has covered all info on the machine. Great car to live with and it's one toyota that still out lives time. You park it with the new generation compacts and you still have people staring at this cute little RAV.
Thanks for taking a suggestion and now it's happy miles all the way. Sharing a pic of your acquisition

Thank you! Credit goes to you for finding this one, at the right time.

Originally Posted by shk 8896

Congrats JayD!
Finally your requirement of a small, automatic SUV was perfectly matched. The car looks in immaculate condition. Waiting to have a look at it when we meet .
Since it has got only 30k kms on the odo, I'm sure it will outlast all of us. Lol.
Fantastic review too.
Wishing you many more happy miles and wishing it stays in your collection for long.
Sreehari Krishnan

Thank you, Yeah, as you said, finally managed to get a car which matches all my criteria!

[mura]

ATF Fluid flush if not done recently with a new fuel filter inside the tank and removing and cleaning the fuel injectors and fitting them back with new seals will easily bring the lost performance back. Also check the plug wires in the dark for arcing and replace if needed.
I had one with the 3SGE and manual and it was lot of fun and could embarrass lot of D segment cars like the Accord etc.

[shibujp]

Congrats on your unique purchase. Toyota - enough said.

Your post actually triggered memories of a trip in did a few years back in the US. A bunch of us decided to travel from San Francisco, CA to Vancouver Canada to meet up a few other friends there. And I had one condition - I would be coming by road, a 1000 miles. It was winter and some parts of Oregon were having snowfall.

As D-Day approached, bravado started fading and reality started sinking in. I had never driven in the snow. And I had not clue what SUV the rental would saddle me up with.

On the day of the trip, a couple of friends who were crazy enough to accompany me and I went to the rental and we had two choices - a 2008 Ford Edge with under 10k miles and a 20k Toyota RAV4. The Ford looked tougher and I think had better hardware. But the Toyota was more familiar and I took it.

The car just delivered, period. The Highway Patrol had recommendations for chains in Oregon but we never needed them. Traipsing all around Vancouver and even in slightly icy conditions on Whistler the RAV4 did a sterling job without any fuss or the need to turn on/off any hardware. All this with a driving feel like a Corolla. These guys have some black magic - seriously.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Congrats on your unique purchase. Toyota - enough said.

Your post actually triggered memories of a trip in did a few years back in the US. A bunch of us decided to travel from San Francisco, CA to Vancouver Canada to meet up a few other friends there. And I had one condition - I would be coming by road, a 1000 miles. It was winter and some parts of Oregon were having snowfall.

As D-Day approached, bravado started fading and reality started sinking in. I had never driven in the snow. And I had not clue what SUV the rental would saddle me up with.

On the day of the trip, a couple of friends who were crazy enough to accompany me and I went to the rental and we had two choices - a 2008 Ford Edge with under 10k miles and a 20k Toyota RAV4. The Ford looked tougher and I think had better hardware. But the Toyota was more familiar and I took it.

The car just delivered, period. The Highway Patrol had recommendations for chains in Oregon but we never needed them. Traipsing all around Vancouver and even in slightly icy conditions on Whistler the RAV4 did a sterling job without any fuss or the need to turn on/off any hardware. All this with a driving feel like a Corolla. These guys have some black magic - seriously.

Drive on,
Shibu.

The more I look at the current RAV4, the more I wonder, why is Toyota not getting it here ? It could be such a stellar competition to Creta and the likes of anything that launch in this range. It has a 2 litre Turbo Diesel, it has the transmissions available for it, why not just launch it, knowing Toyota's reliability and cheap after sales, I believe India will pounce on this one like no one's business.

[avisidhu]

Congratulations on the purchase! Wish you a great experience with what is clearly an exceptional vehicle. And good to see Toyota service centers back up imports. It's evident that they have a problem opposite that of Tata: solid service but lackluster/non existent products!

One question though, how come the CRV was not in contention?

[JayD]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Congrats on the car! Great review too. The car looks in impeccable shape.
It's a perfectly sized small, automatic SUV. (Even the Creta is)
Wishing you many more happy miles of happy ownership.
This Toyota can probably outlast it's owner.

If you don't mind, can you share how much you paid for it?

Originally Posted by simplysaj

Congrats!
It brings back some memories where I had driven this awesome little powerhouse in Pondy way back in 2010! It was not maintained well though.

Excellent review. Please share if you get a chance later to test her 4wd prowess!

Wish many happy miles.

Thank you! The condition of the car is what attracted me the most, since most 90's imports are in shambles nowadays. I've taken it thru some mild of road terrain. Will update the details here soon.

Was the Rav you drove a 3 door or a 5 door?

Originally Posted by SatsMumbai

Congratulations! I have driven the new RAV4 and trust me, your car looks a lot more fun than the current / 2014 version.

I like the way the roof opens up and the whole look of the vehicle. I think you got a great deal with such a low mileage car. Wish you a fun mile munching times ahead!

Yeah, the older version seems diferent and has its own simple appeal. The current model looks like just another SUV to me.

The roof is the closest ill get to a Targe top for now. So i'm very happy with it!

Originally Posted by VRPAI

Congrats on the car Bro ! Wonderful looking car.

You are one among the
most passionate car lovers I've ever known in my entire life !. The S10, the Dodge, the SS80, the Land master etc etc and now this. Hats off to your passion man. By the time your in your 40's you'll actually end up having a wonderful collection of many beautiful cars and a lot of classics too . Buying a car is one thing,keeping them mint is the harder part. Always been amazed by your passion.

Congrats again.

Thank you very much!

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

Congrats Mate. Wonderful car you got there. I am hooked on to this thread now. Did you also try looking for the Pajero Mini during your search?

Cheers,
Raj

I looked at a few SWB Pajeros also, but everything was manual transmission. Moreover a majority of the the SWBs came with the older 2.5L engine and not the common 2.8 which i read on this forum, was lesser preferable. More importantly most of them seemed to be abused and in really sad state. Not even one had import papers or details either.

Found a MINT 2.8 SWB, but the registration and papers seemed to be very fishy Hence passed on it.

The comfy monocoque Rav4 seemed like a better option than the Tougher ladder frame Paj, for my use too.

[JayD]

Over the course of trip to Chennai, I was noticing that the Rav was opening up nicely, and was moving better. But once I started driving it in town, i noticed that it was again getting a bit dull.

So i got an STP injector cleaner and poured it in, along with my next tankfull.

I had a highway run coming up, to our factory and back, and decided to give the Rav a change from the city drive it was being put for the past few days.

Here are some pics from the drive. Apologies for the poor quality shots, compressing them to the size limit seems to have had an adverse effect on them.

[JayD]

Originally Posted by mura

ATF Fluid flush if not done recently with a new fuel filter inside the tank and removing and cleaning the fuel injectors and fitting them back with new seals will easily bring the lost performance back. Also check the plug wires in the dark for arcing and replace if needed.
I had one with the 3SGE and manual and it was lot of fun and could embarrass lot of D segment cars like the Accord etc.

You hot the nail on the head exactly. This is the reason for the under par acceleration. Have ordered the filter. Will receive it next week and do the oil change. Will order the plug wires too. Injector O rings have been changed now.

Yep the motor is quite sprightly and can keep up with much bigger cars with ease.

Originally Posted by shibujp

Congrats on your unique purchase. Toyota - enough said.


The car just delivered, period. The Highway Patrol had recommendations for chains in Oregon but we never needed them. Traipsing all around Vancouver and even in slightly icy conditions on Whistler the RAV4 did a sterling job without any fuss or the need to turn on/off any hardware. All this with a driving feel like a Corolla. These guys have some black magic - seriously.

Drive on,
Shibu.

Great to hear more stories from people who have used the Rav. Yes, as you said, it is how car like they have managed to make it feel, is what stands out!

Originally Posted by avisidhu

Congratulations on the purchase! Wish you a great experience with what is clearly an exceptional vehicle. And good to see Toyota service centers back up imports. It's evident that they have a problem opposite that of Tata: solid service but lackluster/non existent products!

One question though, how come the CRV was not in contention?

Thank you. The best thing about Toyota has to be the service. In my experience, even though most of them were seeing a Rav for the first time, they were still willing to help out , and parts can be ordered through them, though one cannot (understandably) expect them to be available off the counter.

The CRV somehow never interested me. The absolutely dismal fuel efficiency aside, it was too big, and most of the used examples are sold after taking every bit of life from it, and clocking their Odo's.

[arunu]

As many others have mentioned, this car was very popular in the Gulf region. My office PRO has a 2010 model and even though he has access to other LCs, Prados, he prefers this car for small foot print and easy parking in the cramped parking lots. In addition, its also a decent 4wd performer.

At one time, Rav4 along with Daihatsu Terios, Suzuki Grand Vitara / Jimmy were very popular due to their smaller size and average 4wd capabilities.

Recently it has been updated, but competition in the form of Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Suzuki GV, Subarau Forester etc have taken over the market.

Really very nice of you to find such rare car and dare to pay for such a car.
Wishing you millions of happy kms together.