Thinking Of Getting A 2.00 Petrol Rav For The Wife...advise Wanted..

[Seth1]

As the title suggests. We would like something around a 2007....manual.....any suggestions on what to avoid / what to look out for....?

Many thanks in advance!

[dwilson]

I bought one for my wife about 2 years ago now and she loves it! I drive it a fair bit too and like it too but I would like an automatic next time.

We get 30mpg which is okay but the range before filling up again is only about 250 miles. Just paid road tax £280, the newer ones are less. Full size spare wheel on the back of ours which is a XT4 which has leather and a style pack (side steps and style bar at front).

I had a new brake disc and tyre on the front as part of the deal when I bought it. The middle section of the exhaust went this year and that cost £786 at the dealers after discount - so worth checking the exhaust. The front bumper has been poorly repainted before we bought it and the rear bumper is also prone to damage. Otherwise nothing to report. Having said that it is 7 years old next month and I am planning on replacing with a newer model in the next year or two!

David

[Big Kev]

Seth min,

If this is PURELY as wife's car, why not have a hunt on likes of eBay for a three door? Look for last ones at 2005 for digital air con, but 2004 an easier find. Petrol vvti engines as you may know are indestructible unless yer name is Bothy, but they are very prone to drinkink petrol.....30 in winter means a light foot, with slight improvement in warmer climes. Wife will not be parted from hers, so ma burd will have to wait.......

Edit 15 mins later, Seth....couple on eBay that I would buy if Davrav gave me the money ah loaned him.

[firemac]

Seth min,

If this is PURELY as wife's car, why not have a hunt on likes of ebay for a three door? Look for last ones at 2005 for digital air con, but 2004 an easier find. Petrol vvti engines as you may know are indestructible unless yer name is Bothy, but they are very prone to drinkink petrol.....30 in winter means a light foot, with slight improvement in warmer climes. Wife will not be parted from hers, so ma burd will have to wait.......

Edit 15 mins later, Seth....couple on ebay that I would buy if Davrav gave me the money ah loaned him.

I second Big Kev's endorsement. The 4.2 3-dr VVti is an absolutely brilliant car with a bomb-proof engine. If she likes automatic, the combination in this model is first class. As Kev says, go for the latest available.

[Seth1]

Been looking on Autotrader....loads to choose from....looking to spend about £8k....she has a 3.2 Audi TT but needs more room for our business!....so I guess the 4 door makes more sense...

[Paulus17]

Mrs P just loves the Rav we have a 2004 xt3 and says its the best car she has driven,apart from the first Rav we had

There is loads of room when the seats are down and even more when they are took out,not sure if you can do this in the later models ??

Only downside is the MPG but as has been stated many times its not bad for a big car and 4wd.

[dwilson]

The 3 door is a good looking car and I would be going for one if they still made them for me! However it is only 4 seats and we have 2 granddaughters so the 5 door 5 seats suits my wife better. Unless you are doing lots of miles the 30mpg of the petrol will not make much difference.

David

[jase hutch]

David , making me think now whether I should have gone for a petrol three door , given the potential problems of the oil burner and by the sounds of it the petrol is a good engine ! Didn't even consider petrol at the time as I'm a diesel man at heart !! We only do about 5000 miles a year so it may have been a better bet , I think I'd miss the torque of the diesel though ! Still , it's the best car we've owned to date !!!

[dwilson]

David , making me think now whether I should have gone for a petrol three door , given the potential problems of the oil burner and by the sounds of it the petrol is a good engine ! Didn't even consider petrol at the time as I'm a diesel man at heart !! We only do about 5000 miles a year so it may have been a better bet , I think I'd miss the torque of the diesel though ! Still , it's the best car we've owned to date !!!

If you like diesels then you have bought the right car! The photo of your car looks great and the torque pulling away is much more noticeable in the diesel RAV. Enjoy!

David

[RavRov]

I bought the very car Seth the OP is looking for earlier this year, 2007 XT4 2.0 vvti manual, the only negatives I can see are its perhaps its a little thirsty but that all depends on how its driven, I'm averaging 32 ish / gallon and the boot door doesn't open as far as I'd like, I believe theres a check strap replacement that can be done to allow door to open further, the positives are I turn the key and it goes, its comfy, reasonably quiet and quick enough for what I need it for. Not sure how it will fare when the mileage creeps up as its only got 22k on it so time will tell.

[voyager t180]

We had a 4.2 vvti auto way back.

Probably the smoothest drive in the Rav range, but never managed more than 30mpg so changed to a D4D,

At the time diesel was cheaper than petrol, often wonder why diesel is now dearer? Vpower is a complete rip off IMO..although I do use it, but still not 100%sure it's worth it?

[Big Kev]

We had a 4.2 vvti auto way back.

Probably the smoothest drive in the Rav range, but never managed more than 30mpg so changed to a D4D,

At the time diesel was cheaper than petrol, often wonder why diesel is now dearer? Vpower is a complete rip off IMO..although I do use it, but still not 100%sure it's worth it?

As long as you have a 2AD engine and an EGR TO CLEAN mucker, just you keep using the V-Power ffs........

[voyager t180]

I know, but Have to keep reminding mi'sen that every time I'm tempted to drive past the rip off Vpower pump.

[gjnorthall]

My wife's had a 4.1Gx, 4.2 Xt4 and 4.3 Xt4 - all 5 door petrol. In recent years not much mileage covered but 4WD essential for the winter where we live. She loved the 4.1 and 4.2 but finds the 4.3 a bit cumbersome in comparison, for no gain. All of them have been utterly reliable.

[Seth1]

Going for the petrol as we now do less mileage. I have a 2012 Avensis 1.8 cvt petrol..does 40 mpg...so well pleased....

If you see my posts from some years ago I had a 57 2.2 rav myself...never ran well from the day I had it..loved the car though, cleaned and changed so many components to no avail, lost confidence in it so it had to go..

Petrol for us now is the way to go....less to go wrong......I will miss the torque though! ....But I am prepared to sacrifice that for less stress of wondering what will go wrong next....

[Seth1]

Going for the petrol as we now do less mileage. I have a 2012 Avensis 1.8 cvt petrol..does 40 mpg...so well pleased....

If you see my posts from some years ago I had a 57 2.2 rav myself...never ran well from the day I had it..loved the car though, cleaned and changed so many components to no avail, lost confidence in it so it had to go..

Petrol for us now is the way to go....less to go wrong......I will miss the torque though! ....But I am prepared to sacrifice that for less stress of wondering what will go wrong next....

Just re reading my post....as you can see from my signature. ?..I do have a diesel clio in Spain...that does 2 k miles a year...might have to eat my words lol...

[Mechman]

Hi I do not the club rules, but my XT5 is up for sale at the end of January. 9th Feb 07 (56), petrol, automatic, 50000 miles. Fully serviced from new by Mr T. As I pay monthly for service contract it will have a full service and MOT in Jan/Feb.

61 SR auto on its way.

Brian

[flyboyprowler]

I bought the very car Seth the OP is looking for earlier this year, 2007 XT4 2.0 vvti manual, the only negatives I can see are its perhaps its a little thirsty but that all depends on how its driven, I'm averaging 32 ish / gallon and the boot door doesn't open as far as I'd like, I believe theres a check strap replacement that can be done to allow door to open further, the positives are I turn the key and it goes, its comfy, reasonably quiet and quick enough for what I need it for. Not sure how it will fare when the mileage creeps up as its only got 22k on it so time will tell.

Ah, ditto me too, both the older 2003 and the XT5 2007, both autos are great. Offset petrol MPG against diesel fuel price and for your mileage, the petrol, whichever model you choose makes sense.

[Mechman]

I took the standard check strap off my XT5 and fitted the one from an SR (no spare wheel on the door). The door now swings a full 90 degs and the spare wheel is still within the vehicle line. I fitted a set of red LEDs on the edge of the door wired into the door switch. This necessary as the spare wheel covers the offside tail light when fully open. As the XT5 has full satnav I fitted a reversing camera as well.

[jase hutch]

It's a real shame how diesels now have a reputation for being unreliable and expensive to maintain and repair ! It wasn't so long ago that all diesels were thought to be bomb proof and petrol s were the ones to avoid if you wanted to do galactic mileages !!

[bothwell_buyer]

On the old argument for vpower, I don't use anything else but vpower.

Went to Ireland recently and used octane boost in the tank - OMG ! What a difference. And apart from the better performance, I also got 400 miles from a 60 litre tank compared to my usual 300 miles.

Now thinking of adding octane boost to the vpower back here !!