Tell me about Toyota Rav 4

We had a Rav 4 in yesterday for some paint work, it was a 3 door "ngr" This is the sort of thing my Wife needs, but, every Rav 4 we looked at was a long 5 door, this short 3 door ngr also had loads of Japanese writing on labels in the engine bay and rear load area. Are these an import and more over, does anyone have experience/ownership of one, just need to know of any shortcomings/problems they may have or are they as reliable as most Toyotas? BTW, this one was on a 52 plate.

I don't think there is any great shortage of the 3 door RAV, looking at Autotrader.......the one you have seen will be a Jap import, more than likely.
Expect it to be better built than UK vehicles and it may have non conventional extras. The rustproofing may not be up to standards but the paintwork will be.
I've never owned a RAV but I have found them to be conventional service wise and parts through Blueprint are easy to get.
John

We thought hard about one for Mrs. Avocet but went for the Nissan X-Trail instead. The Rav is one of those odd "inverse tardis" cars that is actually quite cramped and pokey inside, compared to how big it is outside. The very pronounced "tumblehome" where the sides slope inwards at the top make it a pain in the backside to get anything rectangular, like a chest of drawers int the back. Also, we hated that stupid side-opening "tailgate" (that on UK modes, doesn't open very far at all because of our lighting regs). I'm told that people buy the American check straps for the rear tailgate so they open fully, but that obscures your offside rear lights when opened. Lastly, the X-Trail had a better towing capacity and (supposedly) slightly better off-road performance (though neither is what you'd call a "proper" 4x4).

All that said, I've been disappointed at how troublesome our X-Trail has been. I imagine the Toyota would be better-built and more reliable.

Thanks to John and avocet, the one we had in the rear door actually opened fully. Will now have a look around, the Nissan actually looks a bit smaller in overall size. Road tax is no fun though for either.

Consider Suzuki Jimny, diesel should be available soon in RHD format.

Get yourself a proper 4X4. Not a hairdresser's Landrover.

Lots of info on ravs at...
toyotaownersclub.com

Whitespirit66 said:

Get yourself a proper 4X4. Not a hairdresser's Landrover.

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Its for my Wife fella, not me, BTW, I drive a HUMMER.