Test Drive In The 4.4 This Afternoon..

[CharlieFarlie]

Got a test drive booked for this afternoon in the new model.. Think it will be an Icon manual but its the best they can come up with at short notice..... Quite looking forward to it and what better weather to test an AWD car in...

[silly sausage]

Looking forward to your thoughts and opinions Charlie.

[dwilson]

Exciting! Enjoy and tells us all about it!

David

[Hoovie]

Drive there in your 4.3 with a "For Sale" sign in the window and park up in their forecourt ;)

[Cyker]

Is it just me or has the new RAV4 shrunk??

[Paulus17]

Yes exciting,hope you enjoy the drive Charlie so will look forward to your report back

[silly sausage]

Is it just me or has the new RAV4 shrunk??

It's quite a bit bigger all round, particularly in length…..

[Big Kev]

Is it just me or has the new RAV4 shrunk??

Naw, Cykes.......it's just the size of Charlie that makes the car look smaller.......

[CharlieFarlie]

Well where do I start.. .

Did I like the Invincible manual I drove.. An emphatic yes !!!

But. Why is there always a but... When sat down working out the figures it kinda just doesn't add up..

Invincible in pearl (£700) white with sunroof (500) and Navigation ( 750) and style pack (Cant remember) the car came out at just shy of 33K.... Then a wee discount of 1300 for no PX... so give or take a few pennies £31700

The drive in the new car is quite different to My 4.3 manual... First and foremost the new car is definitely softer and easier to drive and feels like a well sorted car.. It does everything well but it lacks power.. ok ok my T180 is chipped and is conservatively 25% up on the 150 in the new car and I expected the Invincible with its new and tight engine to fell slower but not by quite as much. Perhaps I have been spoiled

Still a very nice drive and one any buyer would soon get used to and love.

I took the car through some rough country lanes which I travel often .. Route goes up hill and down dale with a mixture of tarmac .. Went on an A road I know well which is quite twisty..

The handling is again a far softer proposition which is no bad thing as the ride quality is just nicer as the suspension keeps the car nicely controlled with just the right amount of firmness and little if any harshness.. But the car has lost the point and attack through corners.. Cant have both I suppose ..

The interior of the car is spacious offering far more room than the numbers suggest . This is a huge plus as far as I am concerned. The seats are brilliant but then they are in the old car.. You do sit lower in the car or should I say lower in the seat. But still get a great view out and I like the way the wings sweep up as it makes placing the front of the car easy and re assuring...

On the minus side.... The instrument cluster ... Sorry that is simply not what I expect to find in what is now a premium priced car.

Outside the car its not great for me at least.. The wheels seem to small for the huge arches and fill them in no direction.. This for me and this of course just my opinion makes the car look awkward.. This far more evident in the showroom and outside it gets no better...

For me I cant justify the price tag and the fact that Navigation is an extra 750 quid on a car that really in this day and age should be standard on the flagship model. I can live without the roof but I need navigation full stop....

Great car and once used to the looks I think I could go for one but sorry not at that price....

[Hoovie]

Oh dear :(. So the search continues for a Pearl White 150SR then?

[dwilson]

Thanks for all that interesting feedback. I thought you wanted an automatic transmission?

It certainly adds up to a lot of money. I am very surprised there wasn't a bigger discount on offer.

What will you do now?

David

[CharlieFarlie]

I should add the prices above were for an Automatic transmission not a manual like I drove today..

Apart from the fact I love autos the one thing in addition that puts me off a manual Rav is the gear change.. I do take in that my is an old un and the gear change on the early cars is notoriously notchy. My one is actually very good indeed but the change on the latest car is in another league altogether .. Very nice .. Slick and easy so good in fact I would consider one if one came at the right coin.. Specially given the increased MPG and lower road duty.

Still prefer an auto though.

[silly sausage]

Mixed views then Charlie, did you use the 'sport' option on the faster roads ? I'm confident you can 'hammer' that price down with some shopping around..

[CharlieFarlie]

Thanks for all that interesting feedback. I thought you wanted an automatic transmission?

It certainly adds up to a lot of money. I am very surprised there wasn't a bigger discount on offer.

What will you do now?

David

I do prefer the Auto but the dealer only had a manual.. So at least I got to drive a new mode; Rav4... As above a very good gear change but still my preference is an auto..

Where now ? Not sure to be honest I may just look at other brands... Or go SR... Wee bit confused as to what I want now to be honest...

[firemac]

Charlie, have you got a quote through any of the on-line guys such as DrivetheDeal? They get good write-ups for keen prices.

You may find the spec you want at a more palatable price, esp as you're not p/x-ing.

[GreyRacer]

Nice balanced write-up. I'm not a fan of unbuilt navigational systems so don't miss having had to pay extra for it. Must agree with your observation about the dash though. Too US orientated. Having driven several thousand miles now some of the buttons are poorly placed and many don't have night time illumination. Still I like the overall package and very pleased I traded up.

[Big Kev]

With all the talk and supposed evidence of prices going down, that surely is a helluva lot of pences for a manual car. I have nearly been reproaching myself (financially) for not waiting and considering a 4.4, but my auto SR was £7k less than what Charlie reports today fgs, and it has Nav and Style Kit.........no sunroof.

[silly sausage]

Just over 27k through drive the deal, with nav, pearl, style and that's an auto ! Ridiculous savings !

[Big Kev]

Just over 27k through drive the deal, with nav, pearl, style and that's an auto ! Ridiculous savings !

THAT is what I meant by financial self reproach, Paul......that price is scarefully low....

[philip42h]

I too test drove a manual but bought an auto - and that is very well suited to the more refined feel of the car. Much more of a road car - the handbook even says that the vehicle isn't suited to off-road use! It's wider, longer but lower than a 4.3 - partly because Toyota have reduced the ground clearance by a couple of inches. It doesn't have quite the same point and squirt direct / agricultural feel of the 4.3 and I think in the main that is down to the electrically assisted steering. Sport mode pretty well makes up for that when you want that sort of thing and, as you've noted, it's a far nicer drive when you don't (which is most of the time really).

As others have said, there are switches that should be illuminated but aren't and the Touch & Go satnav isn't really an improvement over the system fitted to a 4.3 - it's different rather than better. I'm not really bother about voice control but having a button on the steering wheel to activate voice commands only to have a message come up to say that feature isn't available is galling. Mr T has penny pinched where really he didn't need to.

But you should be able to do so much better on price than the dealer has quoted. Drive the deal offer a loaded Invincible for £27,184 (after discount of £4,920) ... based on an Invincible Auto Nav with Style, and Sun roof in pearlescent white.

Edit: I see Paul beat me to it ... :D

[Davrav]

Have to agree with Charlie with regard to external appearance. I have been underwhelmed when looking at them in the showroom but I happened to pass my Toyota dealer this afternoon and they had a couple outside - just seemed to look more purposeful on tarmac.

[firemac]

I tend to mistake the ones driving towards me for Nissan Almeiras!!

A rivetting design it ain't!

[Hoovie]

I tend to mistake the ones driving towards me for for Nissan Almeiras!!

Oh, that's cruel!

The RAV4s have tended to be 'softened down' on each new model, with subsequent facelifts within that model becoming bit more visual and imposing IMO.

The final release of the 4.3 is (to me) the best looking version of that model by a fair way, and enhanced further with the Roof Rails and Side Steps/Style Pack.

Maybe the first update of the 4.4 will make it more imposing?

[CharlieFarlie]

I do like the car.. I wanted desperately to like it a lot more !

You all know the feeling when you just have to have that car or bike.. To quote a late good mate "When the hairs on the back of yer neck stand up you putty in the sales fellas hands"...

I just didnt get that feeling..

Please don't misunderstand the new Rav4 4.4 is a cracking car and a very credible vehicle within its sector and I really believe if I buy one I will love the thing.. But the spark aint big enough for me to want one badly....

Its the old I want everything syndrome..

If the new car had the good looks 9IMO0 of the old one and had the space it has and I really could do with that extra load are then I would have been Mr Putty.....

Colour also plays a huge difference and while the old shape car looks stunning in Decuma grey it and again this is just my opinion the new one doesn't look great. Car I tried today was in Decuma grey. Had it been white then perhaps it would have appealed..

I haven't given up yet on the 4.4 though and have been sent a link by a fellow forum member to a white invincible with less than 1000 miles on it for 24500.. So a better start point....

Failing that its likely an SR will be next as was the original plan and I would have been happy if I had not sampled the extra space in the 4,4.. In that department is scored a goal !

[silly sausage]

Just a bit of an insight in to how i bought mine, started with the local stealer who as per usual quoted me for two, they must consider me a giant who needs one for either foot like roller skates, ten miles down the road and i've taken my business elsewhere seven times.

I then requested quotes from three other dealers, playing them off against drive the deal, finally the dealer who we have bought from before came within about £140.00 of them, I wouldn't insult their efforts for that amount of money so gave them the business again.

Finally, in a repeat of the last time we collected a car, with a tear in his eye as he presented the invoice, Mr T tells me I would be amazed how many people don't push for discount, accepting screen price and then adding extras. I left feeling not quite so sorry for him…..