Rav4 Or X-Trail?

[bobwill27]

Hello All.

I am in the process of purchasing a newer vehicle. After some thought and the last 2 years of floods and snow in the Lake District I've decided to go 4x4.

I'm looking to spend around 4K - 5K on a 02 - 03 diesel.

I think I've pretty much narrowed it down to either a Rav4 or an Nissan X-trail.

They both have their pro's and con's which is making the choice a little hard.

Rav4 is permanent 4x4, where X-trail can be 2 or 4 for better economy. The Rav4 is better looking IMO. X-trail has a larger cargo area. Rav4 has the Speedo in the normal place, where the X-trails is in the centre of the dashboard. Etc, etc.

I have read of various problems with both models also, flywheels, turbos, intercoolers, etc.

I'm sure, this being a Toyota forum that most if not all will come down on the side of the Rav4, but I'm happy to listen to whatever anyone kindly takes the time and effort to type.

Thanks All.

[igormus]

Hello All.

I am in the process of purchasing a newer vehicle. After some thought and the last 2 years of floods and snow in the Lake District I've decided to go 4x4.

I'm looking to spend around 4K - 5K on a 02 - 03 diesel.

I think I've pretty much narrowed it down to either a Rav4 or an Nissan X-trail.

They both have their pro's and con's which is making the choice a little hard.

Rav4 is permanent 4x4, where X-trail can be 2 or 4 for better economy. The Rav4 is better looking IMO. X-trail has a larger cargo area. Rav4 has the Speedo in the normal place, where the X-trails is in the centre of the dashboard. Etc, etc.

I have read of various problems with both models also, flywheels, turbos, intercoolers, etc.

I'm sure, this being a Toyota forum that most if not all will come down on the side of the Rav4, but I'm happy to listen to whatever anyone kindly takes the time and effort to type.

Thanks All.

hello mate

no ideal car is available, bu tbe sure your new toy have had good service history --it is important.

As for me -- my toy is the best. Cheers/Igor

[anchorman]

At that age I think you will find that your choice should be driven by the best vehicle you can find for sale. It is pretty well impossible to predict the reliability without having any knowledge of how they have been owned and driven and even then it is a gamble. Have a closer look at the features and layout. I doubt whether the X-Trail will be any more economical so sit inside, play with the seats and the rear doors etc, have a drive and if you come across a tidy one or the other, that might help you decide.

If you choose a RAV you can find lots of info on keeping it on this forum but I couldn't tell you much about the X-Trail other than generic stuff applicable to any 4WD. Maybe they have a good website?

[St Thicket]

I've owned a 2003 RAV4 diesel for 4 years, and was very satisfied with it. Be aware that the pre-facelift (2001-03) has a more noisy cabin than the facelift (2004-06). Also you don't have OBD2 interface on the pre-facelift model (only applicable if you want to do your own repairs)... Other than that, they are quite similar.

I would recommend you to have a look at a 2004 facelift version rather than a 2003. However, the 2003 is still not a bad choice though.

[Hoovie]

When I was originally looking for an SUV type vehicle back in 2006, I tried the X-Trail as well as the Suzuki GV and the RAV4 (and obviously went for RAV4, being here ). I found the X-Trail very laborious to drive and didn't enjoy it at all. The RAV4 on the other hand was a good drive and after over 4 years of ownership, always enjoyed being in it

I can see the extra room in an X-Trail being useful if you need that bit more though.

As St Thicket says, the later facelift RAV4 from 2003-2005 has some extra features, including audio controls on steering wheel (useful every day) and seat and curtain airbags, which could come in very handy one day!!

[Plutus]

if you don't intend to do your own servicing another thing to take into consideration is dealers.

I've owned 20 cars over the years and found my local Toyota dealer to be as good as any.

I'v never owned a Nissan but we had a Renault at work and all the dealers we tried were awful. (we used several).Not sure if they are now integrated but worth considering.

Past 2 winters Rav has been excellent in the snow (on Bridgestone Duellers).

[stewyinpagham]

My Sister and step Daughter both have RAV 4.2's. 1 is a petrol and 1 is a diesel. Both have a plenty of miles on them now and have proven to be very reliable. The petrol has only had an ozy sensor fail and since my sister retired, numerous flat batteries but this is a known petrol fault caused by lack of use and a Battery smaller than my torch! The diesel has just under 100K on it and is still on the original clutch. Apart from a Battery at 6 years no other faults (kiss of death now). They both 'rib' me about my 4.3 and the 'dealer-oppertunities' it's suffered.

Having done a fair bit of 'soft-off-roading', the X-trail is a good car apart from a very vunerable exhaust but more worryingly the diesels seem to be overstressed and crack cylinder heads within seconds of loosing any coolant. If your milage isn't great the Scubi Forester is an extreamly capable 'car' but is a tad greedy with the 2star.

Stu

[Hoovie]

The Feb 2011 issue of 4x4 Magazine has an article on buying a used X-Trail.

Not reasd it so no idea who it rates but I guess it will have comparison with rivals?

[ZX Raziel]

X trail has more space and a litle bit better fuel economy but imho it is ugly ( if that matters )

Rav4 has better handling and feels better to drive and it looks so Cute

There is an old fifth gear test on youtube where they test 4x4 cars and Xtrail has won that test folloved by RAV4 in second place , check it out it might help you decide .

[Sooty torques]

Which? mag rate the X-Trail over the RAV4 too. Something about a notchy gearchange in the RAV4 (no idea what they are on about... ) and that the X-Trail is better off-road. Interesting that the RAV4 is now classed as a "Crossover" by most mags / on-line reviews, though admittedly it was never intended as a hard-core mud-plugger I guess, whereas the X-Trail is always found in the 4x4 section.

[trutta]

Was in the exact same situation as you several months ago. I had 5k and was swaying between the both and I ended up getting a 2002 D4D with 57k FSH etc. The main concern that I had with getting a RAV4 was the DMF and luckily the car I bought had it done. The centre dash and engine/turbo made of plastacine was a big factor in deciding not to go for the Nissan. I made a few posts on one of their forums asking much the same questions as I did here before I bought and the general consensus is that the Toyota is more reliable. Good luck on your search. :)

[Pietra12]

We've just been through this, we drove the X-trail and found it a bit more 'truck' like than the Rav4. It rolled a bit in the corners and the cabin felt sparce and with the speedo/rev counter etc in the middle, it all seemed a bit remote. Later ones with the Renault engine are better (apparantly) but listen for noisy turbo's, this is caused by the impeller (sic) breaking up and going out of balance. 6th gear was a bonus though as the Rav does feel like it could do with an extra cog. In the end we just liked the Toyota more I guess. Good luck..

[davidisom]

We looked at both. Came down in favour of RAV4 as we wanted a more car like experience. Also found build quality better and general feel better.

Xtrail bigger and arguably more of an off roader so if you live on a farm or in a ruuged area then xtrail would most probably suit better

We dont we just wanted more traction on odd occasions with a flexible load space. RAV4 suited us better

[bobwill27]

Thanks for the info guys.

I would be looking to do the servicing myself. No OBD is a little inconvenient but hopefully the reliability of the Toyota should make it not too much of a problem?

I am similar to 'Davidsom' just need more traction in the winter living as we do on an estate up a hill in the Lake District.

I think my biggest concern with the X-trail is the turbo and engine, even the Renault DCi lump which, by all accounts is as 'trutta' put it, made of plasticine.

'Thicket's comment about the cabin being more noisy is interesting. I currently drive a 1998 Civic estate petrol, the road noise is something I've got used to

Obviously the Rav's I'm looking at are quite high mileage. With a reasonable amount of attention, what sort of mileage will the diesel lump do?

[trutta]

You can get lower mileage vehicles for your budget. I got my Rav4 for 5k but spent 6 weeks looking for "the one" which I found on eBay. If you persevere you will get one with fsh with the DMF done with under 60k on the clock. I thought that there was a diagnostic port somewhere and you can get the kit to read it off of eBay too so you will not be inconvenienced too much.

I drive on some pretty unstable tracks and the Rav4 has not let me down yet. The only thing is that when it snows my wife suddenly takes an interest in driving it and I am landed with her RWD motor.

[bobwill27]

You done well to get your motor 'trutta' I've been looking for months on eBay, autotrader, gumtree, etc for something with a reasonable mileage and condition.

The problem is living in the Lake District, its hard to find something within 100 mile! I'm not even too fussy about the colour, as long as it aint red. Black would be ideal but silver or gold would do.

This being the most I've ever spent on a vehicle, would like to get it right

[trutta]

I will admit that I did strike it lucky as I was abroad when I found it on eBay and flew down to London to collect it and drive it back to Glasgow the day I got back from my hols. If you widen your search a little bit more than 100 miles you will find something similar to my car within your price range.

Good luck with your search :)

[Pietra12]

Try here, http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?s=773 you can keep an eye out for stuff on pistonheads..

T.

[MarsKy]

You done well to get your motor 'trutta' I've been looking for months on ebay, autotrader, gumtree, etc for something with a reasonable mileage and condition.

The problem is living in the Lake District, its hard to find something within 100 mile! I'm not even too fussy about the colour, as long as it aint red. Black would be ideal but silver or gold would do.

This being the most I've ever spent on a vehicle, would like to get it right

Carmony

I'd get confirmation of the mileage on some of them first before going to inspect anything - some seem a wee bit low.