K2 Drives: 2012 Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD

Haters gonna hate.

Crossover? Ahhhh! Run away...? No, stop and take a look. Seriously.

That color works for me. And yes, the spare does block your vision. It's stupid.

A crossover, you say?!? Yep. Because it's a dang station wagon, I'm telling you. Just stretched vertically. So what about the third-gen RAV4. Yuck, you say. Wait a minute now, read and then maybe reconsider.

What we have here is really a high-rise Corolla...and that's not a bad thing. Driving enthusiasts bemoan Toyota's lack of sports-cars (ignoring and/or forgetting the MR2 and 86 Coupe, among others) and point out that the current line-up is not interesting or exciting. They're not wrong, it's just that Toyota builds cars for the masses, unlike a company like, say, Bristol. And when that's your goal, you've got to hit as many elements in the right way as possible. The RAV4 is extremely easy to drive, live with and very comfortable, despite a rear cargo door that opens the wrong way (to the right, into the curb...that's stupid).

All the gadgets anybody could ever need. Decent leather, too.

And the RAV4 does that in spades. It's no wonder that it's now closing in on the Camry to be the number one selling Toyota vehicle on dealer lots, roughly 231K RAV4s compared to 267K Camrys. It's not hard to see why; the RAV4 is a far more utilitarian car.

I took this 2012 Limited for a spin and was, frankly, impressed. This was a loaded model and it had every bell and whistle that anybody could ever want except navigation. And really, who doesn't just use their phone for that, which I think is accessible via the Bluetooth. Leather, dual A/C, power everything (except front passenger seat? Why not?), keyless entry and start with just the fob in your pocket...everything, including a ridiculously small backup camera display in the rear-view mirror.

Is it helpful? Yes. Could it be better? Yes.

The interior dimensions felt a little cramped, especially coming from our other cars. But I think that's just a matter of getting used the RAV4. And while the interior wasn't exciting in any way, it was well made - far better than the $40K+ Ford that I'd drive a few days later (stay tuned for a write-up).

During the test drive, I took it over some really torn up roads full of potholes. Compared to the Shadowagon, which has an admittedly rather stiff and worn suspension, it was luxurious. Very little impact noise and sensation penetrated the cabin and the ride was just as I pointed out earlier; luxurious.

Note the Aux input. I want that. It's important to me. I don't listen to the radio.

There was one thing wrong with this car, other than the too-high asking price that was out of our budget; the 2.5 4-cylinder with 179 hp and 172 torques may deliver a satisfying 21/27 mpg, but combined with the admittedly relatively reasonable 3576 pounds, it just didn't make me want to own this car. That problem would be easily solved with the 3.5 V6 sporting a much more invigorating 269 hp and 246 torques (and a weight gain of perfectly acceptable ~100 pounds and drop of only 2 mpg). With that motor, I'm interested. That four-banger is fine for most people, tho. If you're just tooling around town and need to ride comfortably on the freeway with the occasional on-ramp merge or pass, it's fine. Really.

I guess every modern car has a start-stop button now.

The dealer wanted $18K for this loaded Limited. I'd be much more interested in a RAV4 from the start of the third generation, say a 2006 V6, which has a current dealer KBB of $10K. That's in our price range, assuming we got a couple of bucks for the Shadowagon. In the meantime, I'll keep an eye open for one to come on the market.

Dumbest button ever, that one on the right spoke. It changes the display, which is useless.

But there are other vehicles in the running to check out and we need more data to compare them. So, as usual, I've picked a common replacement part - the starter- and so let's compare the cost - from Autozone - between the different vehicles as we go. For an '06 V6, a new starter would run $170. Tuck that number away in the back of your head and I think you're going to be surprised by what a starter costs on the other vehicles I took for a spin. For comparision, an Autozone starter for the Shadowagon is $142. It's interesting that the Toy is more expensive than a "premium" European car.

Total cargo room was 73 cu. ft. and rear legroom was an excellent 38.3 inches.

This was not the answer to the question of what will replace the Shadowagon. But don't go anywhere; there's more to come right here on the REVolution!