Stick With Rav4 Or Buy Other Toyota? Advice Please

[Dartmoor1]

Hi knowledgable Rav4 owners. From the outset I do appreciate that I "should have known better"! I am stupid enough to admit that I bought a 2003 GX Rav4 (petrol) Auto last September simply because I had a lovely dog who before then had to squeeze into the back of a Polo.

Honestly the comfort of the dog was the main reason for my purchase and now a few months on I realise that the main work that the car does is to go about 35 miles a day up and down a dual carriage way with a little bit of town driving thrown in so with that and a bit of pootling at weekends it does about 200 miles per week with only about 2 trips per week involving said hound.

We love the Rav but without having done any proper monitoring (yet) it is clear that it just guzzles down fuel and is in the end totally impractical for what it is used for. Worse still its daily grind from September will be about 60 miles round trip mostly on the M25 with a bit of town drive added on.

A big 4 wheel petrol drive (is mine 2 or 4 wheel in fact - betraying my ignorance again) seems pretty much the worst choice of car for that type of journey. Does anyone have any experience of smaller Toyotas (must be hatchback) and do you think there might be much demand if I advertised my current Rav in the classified ads on this website?

Cheers!

[Hoovie]

Your model RAV is a popular one and I reckon you will have a decent amount of interest if you advertise it. Is it 3 or 5 door model.

The only real downside of your car is the fuel economy, as you have found (I sold my 2005 Petrol RAV for the exact same reason - your RAV4 is not only the 4WD version, but it is PERMANENT 4WD, which is what hurts the economy even more :(

The current (well, just replaced) RAV4 diesel actually has pretty good economy for the type of vehicle and you see going from 28MPG or so on your RAV to better then 40MPG.

Be worth checking out the Auris section of the Forum, but I would expect those have great economy, look nice and room for the dog to boot :)

[Dartmoor1]

Thanks for your response, it is good to hear that it is a popular model. It is the 5 door, full service history, about 82,000 miles on the clock. I would happily stick with it but it just seems a bit silly to have it in the end. I have to admit though that I would hate to enter into the private sale/buy world again as I really don't like it but having said that I can't afford to buy a new shiny diesel even if it would come with a decent warranty and far better fuel economy!

I was worried that after getting a 4x4 (and never actually going off-road) my next move would be green wellies and a wax jacket just to conform even more to Surrey life!

[DjRav]

At 200 miles per week your mileage is classed as "low" and would barely warrant a diesel (don't forget petrol is cheaper than diesel). You have one of the best Ravs going, bombproof petrol and permanent 4x4.

Sounds like you're almost feeling guilty for having a 4x4 and not "using" it, but it isn't an offroader as such just a very capable all rounder. I vote to stick with the Rav and enjoy the ride.

Dave

[Dartmoor1]

Thanks Dave, the weekly mileage is going to climb to about 350 from September so to me seems quite an increase but maybe tha is still considered to be low? You are right though that I do suffer a little from the Chelsea Tractor guilt complex!

As far as the drive goes I do love it and in many ways would happily stick with it.

I get a huge humming noise inside but I have been advised by my mechanic that this is simply my apparently rubbish Nankang tyres rather than wheel bearings and I also get strange whistling over 40mph since removing and replacing the rear seats for a trip but again I have been assured that this relates to having added a Roof Rack at the same time and the whislting is just the airflow over the rack.

I accept that there is a trade-off between petrol and diesel costs and the relative mpg for each and I confess to not having done any research to make an informed decision.

[DjRav]

Going from 200 to 350 per week is a huge jump and you'd definitely then be into Diesel territory.

I justify my Rav because it does around 40mpg and I do around your upper mileage. But I'm comparing to my other car which is high twenties mpg, so the Rav appears good. So I do most miles in the Rav and he rest in the other when I need more room or tow.

Dave

[Ex Tiff]

Look carefully at the cost of changing, you will almost certainly lose money to depreciation if you sell the RAV. Even at 350miles p/w the difference in fuel you will have to buy would not be huge in cost terms against a smaller car, check how long will it take to save the money lost on changing?. Unless you drive like a madman I would expect the motorway commute to give as good fuel economy as you have now and possibly an improvement, steady running on the motorway keeps you in top gear where the penalty of the auto box is less pronounced. My experience of smaller Toyotas, I had a 56 plate Yaris diesel with the multi-mode gearbox always driven in auto mode and loved it, especially averaging 54mpg over 60K miles. I only changed to a RAV as I needed a tug for a touring caravan but the RAV wins hands down for comfort and relaxed driving.

John

[redlew]

As Ex Tiff says

Work out how much you are going to lose on your purchase and sale (say) £1000.

Work out how much your purchase drops the instant you drive it off the used dealers forecourt (were you intending to buy from a dealer?) -say £750.

Now how long will it take you to get back the £1750 in lower mpg?

At 350 miles per week that is 17500 miles per year.

If you get 40 mpg with the new car , that is 440 gallons.

If you get 20 mpg with the RAV that is 880 gallons .

Extra gallons per year 440. Cost of a gallon say £7 .

Extra fuel cost £3000k

Of course you have to use your figures .

[Big Kev]

PREVIOUS TWO POSTERS CORRECT, MUCKER.....COMES DOWN TO TOTAL ACQUISITION COST AND MORE IMPORTANTLY......DYKF......Devil You Know Factor. Please excuse catapult letters....airse.

You could change your Rav tomorrow for a sheep of height, a cleverly spoonerised unreliable vehicle.

Onwardly think, mate.....

Big Kev

[voyager t180]

As Kev said 'devil you know' is a major factor..unless your P/xing for a brand spanker.
I owned a 2004 petrol auto Rav4 and tbh preferred it to the diesel,especially when you factor in repair bills!
But I was doing 20k mls + yearly and couldnt justify the cost @ 28mpg, so changed it for a diesel which was then the same price as unleaded,or even cheaper iirc.
You'll have to get busy with the old calculator.

[Jagst]

Never seen 40mpg on my wife's Rav except on along run. She gets 30mpg round the town with her 2.2 auto.

[atkiman]

I have a petrol rav and I do 360 miles a week, I looked at changing it to a diesel, but with the increase in diesel cost over petrol the best I could hope to save was about a fiver a week.I bought an iq instead and save a fiver a day.drastic I know but I couldn't part with the rav

Doing that kind of mileage you have to think not only about the extra fuel, you'll have extra servicing as well, plus you rack up the miles really quickly, you'll be servicing it twice a year.

As they say the auris might suit, or try a diesel urban cruiser.

[Dartmoor1]

Thanks Tony, although by bought an "IQ" do you mean "intelligence" as in you simply drove smarter or is IQ actually some piece of kit that I should be aware of?

[atkiman]

Toyota iq3.1.33 ltr petrol 50+mpg and 30 quid a year road tax.