The new (to me) Winter Wagon - 2011 Rav4

[MX793]

I mentioned this in I think the Car Chat thread, but I finally got off my ass and replaced my much-maligned Jetta with a 2011 Rav4 base AWD a couple of weeks ago.  Was after some kind of hatchback/wagon type vehicle with a generous cargo area (trying to cram a set of Mustang tires into the Jetta, or a load of stuff to go to the local land fill, was kind of a pain) but in a footprint similar to the Jetta.  AWD wasn't really a requirement, but on my desirement list if I could find it in a vehicle that met the rest of my needs (price, condition, mileage, size).  Ended up going a little bit higher than I'd hoped to spend, but pickings were kind of slim and I missed a couple of decent candidates because I didn't act quickly enough.  And it's in really good shape

Vital stats:
2.5L I4 coupled to a 4AT and AWD.  Only has 80K on it, which is actually about 2K more miles than the Jetta I traded in had on it.


AWD system has a locking transfer case function that works at speeds up to 25mph.  Not going to go rock crawling with it, but should be helpful dealing with snow-covered roads.

Body is in very good shape.  No signs of rust or paint blistering even around the wheel wells.  I found one small ding in the front of the hood, almost like maybe it got hit with a golf ball, and a small impact mark and crack in the plastic spare tire cover on the back (probably swung into something).  Otherwise, I can't even find a door ding on it.  Underbody has a little mild corrosion, but it's an 8 year old vehicle that lived its life in the Salt City, so that's to be expected.  I think it may have been undercoated at some point.

Interior is in much better shape than my Jetta.  Tan colored carpet and upholstery.  A little dingy here or there were perhaps some dirt or something left a bit of stain, but not bad.  Dash is nice looking with tight panel gaps and no rattles, but every surface is hard plastic.  The only "soft touch" items in the cabin are the center arm rest top (which is some kind of rubbery plastic with some padding) and the cloth door inserts.  Interiors have come a long way, but like I said, it's pleasant to look at and doesn't really look cheap.  Very early 2000s Japanese car (like my first gen Mazda3).  Decent amount of interior storage around the cabin.

Not that I care that much, but the rear seat area is pretty open and spacious.  Enough leg room for me to sit behind myself comfortable.  Loads of headroom.  The rear seatbacks also recline back almost 45 degrees.  I do have to raise the headrests up pretty high.  When set at the lowest setting, they basically hit just above my shoulder blades because the seatback is pretty low.  And I'm average height.  I don't expect any passengers to complain much about lack of space, though.  Rear seats fold flat to expand the already pretty spacious cargo area.  Since this generation had an optional 3rd row that could fold into the floor, my 5-seater has a nice little well under the cargo floor that is great for storing my emergency roadside kit, jumper cables, folding shovel, etc without it cluttering the main cargo area.

Stereo is a basic unit.  6-speakers, I think.  It's about what you'd expect.  I find several radio stations come through a little more crackly than in other cars, like maybe the antenna or receiver aren't as good in this car.  Minor niggle since I'll mostly be running MP3s through the aux input.

Driving experience is... unremarkable and competent.  Ride is supply and comfortable without being floaty, which is pretty impressive.  Not a corner carver, but it doesn't feel like it's going to flop over on an onramp nor does it suffer pronounced nosedive under braking.  Steering is pretty light, but it actually feels a bit more natural than the VW's heavier steering.  No complaints  Brake pedal isn't particularly firm and needs a decent amount of travel, but not too different from the VW.  Power is adequate.  This is not a fast vehicle by any means (I think C&D tested one with this powertrain at 9 seconds to 60).  Power/weight is actually very close to my Jetta, though I suspect the VW may have been a shade quicker (maybe an 8.6 second car?).  I wouldn't mind another ratio in the transmission.  By 2011, 4ATs were pretty uncommon.  I think Toyota and Subaru with the last still using them.  But it's a tried and true transmission and I have a lot more faith in it than the CVTs that a lot of vehicles are running today.  Fewer ratios means the transmission is slipping the torque converter more, which robs fuel economy.  But the VW slipped the torque converter until you got above 30 mph, despite having 2 extra ratios, so more ratios doesn't necessarily mean less slippage.  Transmission is smooth and well behaved for a mainstreamer.  Throttle pedal spring is a bit light for my taste and calibrated to give quite a bit of throttle input for the first bit of travel.  Probably to make the car feel more punchy than it actually is.  I hate when automakers do that.

I've put about 200 miles on it (still driving the Mustang a fair bit before the weather goes too cold).  Seeing about 22 mph in mixed driving, with a urban/suburban bias.  Seems like it gets about 29-30 mpg at 70 mph cruise on flat ground, which is decent for an AWD brick.  Mid to high 30s at 55-60mph.  We'll see what it does when the temperatures get below freezing and on winter gas.  I'm guessing closer to 19, similar to the VW, but I can forgive this one a bit for having AWD and being about 10% heavier.

Nearly the same shade of red as my Jetta, so it kind of looks like the Jetta simply grew into a tall wagon in my driveway.

I was pleased to find that the car has both keys/fobs and the complete set of owner's manuals in the glove box.  The past couple of used cars I've bought had one key/fob and no manuals.

Still learning to cope with the zig-zag gated auto shifter.  I much prefer the pushbutton type.  There's no manual mode, but that's not something I used very often save to downshift on a downhill for more engine braking, and I can still do that by shifting into D3.

Don't love the side-swinging rear door to the cargo area, but it's kind of necessary when the spare is mounted to the door.

The last minor complaint I have is with the window switch placement.  The grap-handle for the door is situated such that I have to bend my wrist awkwardly, or move my entire arm, to reach the window or door lock switches when my right arm is resting on the armrest built into the door.  Not a great ergonomic design.

All told, a competent transportation appliance.

[FoMoJo]

Do all the Mustang tires fit in the cargo space?

[CaminoRacer]

pics & burnout vids, yo

[CALL_911]

Was it made in Japan or Canada? Congrats- I like those quite a bit

[MX793]

Do all the Mustang tires fit in the cargo space?

Haven't tried, but am confident I could get a full set in the cargo area without dropping the rear seats.  I'm confident I could get 2 sets in the with the seats folded without blocking the rear window.

[MX793]

Was it made in Japan or Canada? Congrats- I like those quite a bit

Looks like Canada.  Didn't realize these were produced in Canada until now.

[MX793]

pics & burnout vids, yo

I don't think it will do a burnout.

[FoMoJo]

Looks like Canada.  Didn't realize these were produced in Canada until now.

Both Honda and Toyota are major manufacturers in Ontario.  Their manufacturing facilities have received quality awards.  Your RAV4 should be well put together.

[GoCougs]

picks de shins

[MX793]

Snapped a couple not-so-great pics the day I picked it up.  Been gray and raining a lot lately, so not a lot of photos.  I'll see if I can grab some interior pics at some point.

[giant_mtb]

Nice. Freshly detailed.

[FoMoJo]

Looks like good, solid transportation.

[CaminoRacer]

Looks like good, solid transportation.

Yeah, especially for a winter car when you get to drive a Mustang GT the rest of the year

[HurricaneSteve]

Congrats! I've never driven one of these but I remember them earning a decent amount of praise when they first came out. The V-6 version I believe was one of Toyota's fastest cars in their lineup at the time. Should last you awhile.

[12,000 RPM]

I love the replies

"Good job on choosing a reliable transportation device. It should deliver a trouble free experience until its end of life"

[MX793]

I love the replies

"Good job on choosing a reliable transportation device. It should deliver a trouble free experience until its end of life"

Spoken in a flat monotone.

[Payman]

Very safe choice. I actually like that generation of Rav, before Toyota went all weird with their styling.

[veeman]

I had a 2006 RAV4 with the V6 engine, the same model look as yours.  That generation RAV4 stuck around for more than 10 years!

The throttle pedal spring being light you talked about and how it's calibrated to give a lot of throttle when getting going from a stop sign or stop light was really annoying.  It's an automatic and I felt I was a driving a stick shift badly.  I could never smoothly accelerate from a standstill.  That and a few other things made me get rid of it after a few years on Autotrader with only 37 thousand on the odometer.  Good thing was that since it was a Toyota I got really good money for it, from a dealer no less. 

Looks wise that model has aged well.  I liked the covered spare tire on the rear.  Very roomy cargo compartment.  Congrats.

[CaminoRacer]

The throttle pedal spring being light you talked about and how it's calibrated to give a lot of throttle when getting going from a stop sign or stop light was really annoying.  It's an automatic and I felt I was a driving a stick shift badly.  I could never smoothly accelerate from a standstill.  That and a few other things made me get rid of it after a few years on Autotrader with only 37 thousand on the odometer.  Good thing was that since it was a Toyota I got really good money for it, from a dealer no less. 

I hate it when automakers do that. It seems very popular for 4 cylinder cars to make them seem quicker.

[giant_mtb]

Meh. Just something you get used to over time. Mom's Q5 has quick trottle response and very touchy brakes compared to Taco, but it doesn't take long for my foot to acclimate and remember.

[MX793]

I've found a technique to cope with the throttle.  Thankfully, the 4-banger is relatively weak so it just doesn't have enough grunt to snap your head back even if you aren't as gentle as you should be.

[2o6]

I've found a technique to cope with the throttle.  Thankfully, the 4-banger is relatively weak so it just doesn't have enough grunt to snap your head back even if you aren't as gentle as you should be.

Toyotas of this era all have shitty DBW software. My old Yaris was downright frustrating at first to drive, no matter what I did I couldn't get a smooth start in 1st.

[CaminoRacer]

Toyotas of this era all have shitty DBW software. My old Yaris was downright frustrating at first to drive, no matter what I did I couldn't get a smooth start in 1st.

Racecars just want to go flat out all the time