The eight-speed automatic transmission isn't earning any favors, either. However, it's about as smooth as a cheese grater, sending mild vibrations into the cabin as the engine rises in revs and produces an unpleasant, quasi-agricultural note. It provides enough vim for what the SUV's buyers will need, whether it's getting up to speed before the on-ramp ends or settling into a busy traffic pattern after turning onto a road. The engine is a 2.5-liter I4 that puts out 203 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 27 and 12, respectively, over the previous-generation RAV4. The steering has a nice weight to it, and its direct-enough action should be more than fine for small SUV buyers.īut while the chassis delights, the powertrain leaves me cold.
The 235/55R19 Toyo Open Country all-season tires offer an OK amount of sidewall, helping the suspension dissipate bumps. Ride quality in general is very smooth, the suspension cruising over Michigan's sketchy roads without feeling too floaty. It's confident and competent, relaying little from the road to the cabin. , and just like those cars, the platform brings some big benefits to this small SUV. The Toyota RAV4 now rides on the same Toyota New Global Architecture platform as the Throw in an extra storage area ahead of the shifter (or a wireless device charger in the case of my test car) and a big-enough cubby under the center armrest, and there's plenty of places to put all your junk.
The dashboard makes interesting use of layering, hiding a pair of very useful cubbies in front of the driver and passenger - slathered in bright orange on my Adventure-trim tester. The inside is equally appealing, but not so much that it negatively affects its prime directive: function. The hefty body cladding gives it even more character, too. I'm especially a fan of the rectilinearity around the wheel wells. The soft edges of the fourth-gen RAV4 have been cast aside in favor of hard creases, giving it its most interesting look in over a decade. One look at the 2019 RAV4's new design is all it takes to realize that fun has a place, as well. Practicality might be a major purchasing factor for many small SUV buyers, but that doesn't mean a car needs to be devoid of anything interesting.
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