2023 Toyota RAV4 Review: The Best selling non pickup vehicle

today on crooked mustache we have this the 2023 Toyota RAV4 the dominant small crossover stay tuned now before we move on let's get one thing straight from the beginning the Toyota RAV4 is the best selling non-pickup vehicle in the US period I shall explain here in the US the top three selling vehicles are the Ford F-series the Chevy Silverado and the Ram pickup it's everything after that that matters because this is America and we like trucks for the past several years number four spot has gone to the Toyota RAV4 outselling the competition handily in 2022 it outsold the next most popular car by 33 percent despite selling 50 000 units fewer than its peak in 2019. now the Toyota RAV4 has been with us for 27 years first introduced in 1994 it was a departure from Toyota's more conventional lineup it was originally offered in a five-door configuration as you see here and a two-door option with either a hard top or a convertible top the most notable change in its styling came in the year 2000 where they dropped the two-door altogether and it's started to become the more mature family SUV we know today since then the biggest change to the exterior has been the relocation of the spare tire from the hatch to inside the vehicle for a cleaner aesthetic on the outside but at the sacrifice of some interior space so before we move on let's head inside as you step into the updated RAV4 a lot has changed since the previous generation namely the drop-in style radio has been replaced with a tablet-like infotainment display system thank you Mercedes in terms of connectivity we can cover the main bases you're going to get wireless Android auto Wireless Apple carplay Amazon Alexa integration and USB connectivity throughout including Toyota's safety connect with a 10-year trial subscription not sure how that works along with three months of Sirius XM Satellite Radio included when you purchase your vehicle now with the 2023 refresh the infotainment system has been upgraded from the previous seven inch display to this new newer 8 inch display with increased functionality and if it's not enough for you you can upgrade to the 10 inch system which also has the option of going for the JBL 11 speaker sound system now above the center stack you'll have the rear view mirror which has the optional rear view camera integrated right into it to really optimize driver safety ahead of you past the what has to be said very similar to the Venza steering wheel is a new revamp instrument display gone are the traditional gauges now in the updated instrument cluster you've gone from the small four inch driver information display to a 7-inch screen which represents your speedometer flanked by analog gauges for RPM Fuel and your temperature if you go with the limited or higher range it is a complete customizable 12 inch screen which actually allows for different modes depending on the information that you want to display now in terms of climate control starting with the Le it's going to have very basic controls As you move up in the trim levels to True climate control you're going to have a knob for your temperature a knob for your passenger's temperature and three buttons to control where the air comes from where it goes to and how hard it blows and a button to disable the wrath of every Gear Head stop start at least they let you turn it off it is something that you're gonna have to disengage every single time you get in the car but it is nice that that feature is available below that you've got your USB connectivity for the main system and an optional qi charger depending on the trim level you purchase an interesting fact that's worth noting about this actual cutout took me a while to figure it out there's actually if you notice this shape is mirrored down the center down the center line when I looked it up for the Japanese models the right hand drive ones that's all they do they just swap the controls over left to right literally all of these all of these switches move over into the cutout on this side and the shifter moves over here that's all they do when converting the car from right hand drive to Left Hand Drive which I found pretty cool now you do have two cup holders which appear to be large and I'll show you now something I felt I should point out my bottle as you can see here's the skinny neck and it's slightly larger at the bottom because it's a 32 ounce this will support a normal 12 ounce 24 ounce bottle cup of coffee whatever I always have a hard time getting this bottle into a cup holder in a vehicle this one while it doesn't fit all the way into it actually does seem to support it so it's nice to know that there's that because let me tell you something it really sucks that you have no place to put something just because you have a slightly larger bottle moving further back you've got your Center storage with two USBC chargers they are really moving with the times as well as a change drawer for anyone who's still keeping change I don't think tolls accept that anymore it is nice that you've got additional storage below the tray or one thing I can add as a slight improvement from the previous generation again I'm six feet tall and I am a larger guy but let's face it I am the average man in the previous generation my knees sat right up against this weird bolster that was in the dashboard and every time that we had a sudden stop I did worry if I was going to lose my kneecaps now while passenger Comfort has improved over the previous generation with me having more more knee room I do have one major complaint that Toyota refuses to address and that's this seat is not height adjustable it's only four-way which means forward back and reclining so you gotta come on I'm six feet tall a decent impact I'll be through the ceiling that's something Toyota really should address without making you have to swap over to Lexus next thing above you you've got your basic controls which are here to control the standard moon roof this one is a standard sunroof which can be open it's pretty cool now if you went for the full panoramic moon roof I can picture my kid sitting in the back on a starry night in places where there's less light pollution and enjoying the view of the night sky unlike the Rune roof in the Venza which is not openable not openable which cannot be opened but does have the Privacy glass now we're going to take a look at the back seat and see if I fit back there comfort in the back is quite ample I've got plenty of Headroom and plenty of knee room yes this seat is all the way forward but I'm very far away from the center console now unlike the previous generation RAV4 which had pretty much no accoutrement for the rear passengers not only do you get rear seat air conditioning which is controllable from the main display up front or can be shut off here by this little Rotator switch you also do get two USB C's it seems that everything is USBC in here with the exception of the main media port up front it is a huge improvement over the past generation which not only didn't offer air conditioning but didn't offer any means of charging devices for the rear seat passengers furthermore there's plenty of space I would not want to sit three of me back here but I do think that two medium to small adults or three children will fit quite well if you are a larger Chapel or if you're roughly my size you might want to limit it to just 2 two passengers now going further unlike the previous generation they've actually gone ahead and integrated the sensor seat belt directly into the bench I really like that it's a lot nicer than having to constantly reach up and fix the one hanging from the ceiling now you can opt for the higher trim levels which will give you leather for these cloth seats they actually do feel like very durable material it's worth mentioning back here you've got again I think as I mentioned in the Corolla in review You've Got the tie downs for the car seats just exposed enough where they're easily accessible without you having to worry that it's going to jam into someone's back of course the whole bench is 60 40 split folding which does allow you to have the entire rear cabin used for cargo space 70 cubic feet overall I'm very pleased with the back seat this Toyota is a huge Improvement now at the back the RAV4 does offer unlimited trim a foot activated patch release for those days when you've got your hands full and need to get the car loaded it is worth mentioning that these new this new generation actually loses is a little bit of cargo Space versus its previous predecessor which we reviewed earlier with the seats up you're looking at 37.5 cubic feet and with the seats down you're looking at almost 70 cubic feet for those days when you really need to carry a lot of stuff in terms of accessories back here in the TRD and Adventure packages you also get a 110 volt Outlet here in the back in case you want to do some stealth camping so Toyota really does have a RAV4 for every personality while we're in the back we can talk about the optional tonneau cover which will give you privacy for whatever you've got stored back here so in terms of styling the RAV4 has come a long way especially even from the previous generation which looked more like a raised hatchback than an actual SUV this one is definitely much more athletic and especially when you take into account the TRD and Adventure trim levels this one actually does look like it belongs on the trails especially if you go for the uprated options where you get bigger wheels and tires on this one this does have the aftermarket roof rails but remember they are an option when purchasing the vehicle and I really like the split roof which also offers you the option to go with a split paint Scheme if that's something you're interested in and also this platform is not is so popular that not only has Toyota used it on two vehicles the RAV4 and the Venza Suzuki also picked up the RAV4 to make their own badge engineered vehicle which they sell in the EU as the Suzuki across yes that's Suzuki they still do sell cars just not here and going a step further this platform is also found in mitsuoka an aftermarket company's version of what many would consider the spiritual successor to the K5 Trailblazer it really does look like something from the 70s if you can believe it that is a Japanese car not an American one and it's hard to believe that with that muscular body there isn't a V8 lurking under the hood it's the same two and a half liter engine under the hood of this thing although it is offered in four-wheel drive unfortunately we're probably never going to see it here in the states unless someone Imports it private Italy so behind the Sleek headlights and muscular Grille under the hood you'll find Toyota's trusty 2.5 liter engine their Dynamic Force engine the same one found in the Venza the Sienna and in the Camry whether or not it's paired to the actual hybrid system in this one we actually do have the standard 203 horsepower version no hybrid this thing you're looking at 27 miles per gallon in the city and 35 in the city with a combine of about 33. now the hybrid powertrain as I mentioned in my Venza review does drop the engine power to 176 but combined with the hybrid powertrain gives you a net horsepower of 219. now with the gasoline only option your towing capacity is limited to 1500 pounds but leave it or not with the hybrid powertrain your towing capacity Rises to 1750 pounds but if you really do think you're going to be towing a lot you may want to look at the adventure or TRD packages between some of their transmission upgrades and other offerings with the packages towing capacity is raised to 3 500 pounds from this little two and a half liter engine that's quite a wallop when you consider the fact that the Ford explorer came with something roughly of the same power back in the 90s but it was a V8 check that out if I'm honest I lament the loss of the V6 I don't understand why Toyota used to make something with almost 300 horsepower in a package that came even smaller and now they only offer something with a four cylinder they don't even offer a turbo on it it's something I don't understand and there's plenty of room especially on this platform but I do like Toyota's approach they're kind of going for this similar look across all of their cars this and the CHR do look a little bit similar it's just that feeling that this vehicle could be so much more but then it might be more powerful than the Highlander and you're starting kind of like Porsche to get into that territory where the Boxster is not allowed to be faster than the 911 we're gonna get in it and take it for a drive here we go driving the RAV4 now um in my previous test I used to do a highway so what we're going to do here is we're going to simulate a non-ramp merge and I'm just gonna floor it oh [Music] not bad ride Comfort is very is very good actually I mean I know for a fact the road that I'm driving on right now has some pretty significant bumps on it and honestly I'm not feeling them terribly road noise is about overall it's about the same as the other one see here we're on some smoother tarmac and the noise is pretty much non-existent honestly this does feel like a very big car overall the thing you have to remember is that the RAV4 is one of those Vehicles where the drive is almost the last thing on the engineer's mind and even the marketing team because it's a vehicle that especially it's a vehicle that's meant to fill a gap this is the vehicle for somebody who wants something bigger than a Corolla something smaller than a Camry doesn't want a Camry everybody else has an SUV of some kind they don't want a pickup truck because it's far too big and waste too much gas so they end up here in the RAV4 if you want something different you're gonna have to get something different the Highlander offers a bigger engine more space a third row and offers more power and then if you want something a little bit more aggressive at that point you start to consider the Forerunner or possibly the Sequoia that's up to you that's if you're going to stay within Toyota's brand it would seem the market dictates very clearly the average person looking at a RAV4 is probably not going to end up in something else simply because the reason they end up at the RAV4 is because it is a perfect all-around vehicle doesn't do any one thing perfect but it does a lot of things well enough that it has a spot on everyone's driveway here we go you know the body roll it's not bad considering the type of vehicle it is this is a high riding 4x4 car even on these twisty roads I'm doing over 35 miles an hour and this thing's fine this is a very very comfortable car it's definitely something you're going to feel safe uh and in control unless you get absolutely ridiculous with it which I'm not going to I should stick my camera so there you have it the 2023 Toyota RAV4 a definite Improvement on the previous generation actually go check out my review of the previous generation and that was after three years of ownership in terms of the new one I really like this design it truly looks more like a small SUV now whereas the previous one looked more like a hatchback this thing has definitely grown up and feels more mature when you're driving it in terms of looks I'd prefer the 19-inch wheels and tires which means you're going to have to go up in a trim level in order to get them unfortunately there is no option for more power unless you go with the hybrid technically the plug-in hybrid Prime which does offer a Powertrain capable of 0 to 60 in six seconds looking forward if I ever get a chance to review that thing overall the materials has improved the interior is a huge Improvement it actually feels roomier in the front even with that Toyota still won't fix the darn seat please Toyota just make that thing adjustable even if it's with a ratchet what is there more to say this is the dominant vehicle unless you want a pickup truck if you don't want to pick up and you don't want a sedan this is where you end up selling 400 000 units a year it's hard to imagine something is going to take the number four spot away from it thank you guys so much for watching if you like this video give it a thumbs up subscribe and hit that notification Bell so you don't miss any of our upcoming videos I'm Alfred for crooked mustache thank you so much for watching we'll see you next time Dale [Music]

Channel: Crooked Mustache

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Id: GRUKVtNbkig

Length: 16min 21sec (981 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 10 2023