Love My Rav But

[Nightstalker]

Hi Guys...

Love my Rav but for got how loud the 2ltr petrol engine is when cold and how thirsty it was... I tend to average 250 miles out of me tank for a mixture of town and motorway driving :-(

THAT SAID... I still !Removed! love it :-)

The leg space in the back for the kids is fantastic, they also have a little more space between one another in the back also, in comparison to the Vensis we had...

Off to Southampton this weekend with the kids and Weymouth the following... CANT wait.

[ALake]

I know what you mean! Mine seems to be loud on first start up - mainly sounds like the exhaust which seems a lot more boomy when cold. I first thought it was blowing but it seems ok when warmed up.

Mines a manual and I'm not getting around 29-30mpg over my commute. Not good, but not as bad when I was only getting 32 out of a 1.6 Zafira.

[firemac]

I know what you mean! Mine seems to be loud on first start up - mainly sounds like the exhaust which seems a lot more boomy when cold. I first thought it was blowing but it seems ok when warmed up.

Mines a manual and I'm not getting around 29-30mpg over my commute. Not good, but not as bad when I was only getting 32 out of a 1.6 Zafira.

Funnily enough, my better half used to comment occasionally about "a noise" in our previous 4.2 petrol auto after start-up; turned out to be the heat shield on the silencer which was starting to corrode and come adrift. Once Mr. T cut it off, there were no more problems.

MPG was never great, esp as it was an auto, but it was one of the nicest engine/box combinations I've ever experienced, certainly much nicer, IMHO, than our current 4.3 2.2D auto.

[Mike169]

Hi Firemac, i have a 4.3.5 2.2 auto diesel that does around 29mpg, mixed driving but mostly very local short runs, are you saying the bigger petrol version was a better car with similar fuel consumption. I am not too bothered about fuel economy as i only refuel once a month, just thinking next time to buy the big petrol variant?

Thanks Mike169

[firemac]

Hi Firemac, i have a 4.3.5 2.2 auto diesel that does around 29mpg, mixed driving but mostly very local short runs, are you saying the bigger petrol version was a better car with similar fuel consumption. I am not too bothered about fuel economy as i only refuel once a month, just thinking next time to buy the big petrol variant?

Thanks Mike169

No, Mike, petrol RAVs are NOT economical with fuel. We had two 4.2's, both autos, one a 3-dr & one a 5-dr. The 5-dr was mostly used for local running around - school run, shopping, etc and it average between 20 & 25 mpg, depending on whether the boss was driving it or I was. I used the 3-dr for a 170 mile (round-trip) commute and it averaged 33 mpg. On the other hand however petrol was the only expense that you could complain about because all other running costs were extremely low and reliability was the best that I've ever come across.

They both drove very nicely, as I said, probably the best engine/box combo that I've come across. Our current diesel RAV auto is fine but, IMO, it doesn't drive anywhere near as nicely as the petrol did but it does average about 33 mpg on mixed local & commuting use without trying very hard; on a cross-country run, it has done nearly 40 mpg but, overall, you wouldn't call it uber economical. Having said that I'm not a big diesel fan anyway as I find them relatively unrefined (apart from BMWs) and especially on the RAV, the pick-up from idle when moving off is lethargic to say the least. It's only when the turbo is spooled up that it seems to make any decent progress and then it comes in with an almighty shove. Using the Sport button helps marginally but not much. I'm hoping that Kingo's chip will improve things otherwise I reckon I'll start looking for something else.

[Nightstalker]

Ey up Firemac...

I know what you mean about the lag on the diesel.

Whilst me Rav was being seen to by my local Mr T for a few days, they gave me a new RAV to play with...

I really liked it, except for the seats, the off the line delay and the cheap leather trim along the dashboard why the hell they did that I dont know...

Oh... and although the boot door lifting up the way it does is neat... its !Removed! slow too :-(

Still, might be on my next car list in a few years... once the niggles and the price have been sorted oot ;-)

[atkiman]

Last day I had my 4.2 nrg vvti , reset the fuel computer did around 100 miles of dual and motorways with the car empty and got a readout of 37.8 mpg. Now I know it's only the inaccurate onboard computer but its the best readout I got in over 10 years, used to do 32 to 34 mpg winter and 29 to 31 winter. Best car I ever owned 138k on the clock and still drove as good as when I bought it at 4k

[ALake]

Best I've had out of my 2008 VVTi is 33mpg and worst is around 28mpg after a particularly bad week of traffic!

Its not good, but then I'd have to spend quite a bit more to get a more economical diesel, and then risk the extra cost of repairs as the price range I'm in exludes ones with warranties. And as the toyota used warranty is pretty useless I'd rather take my chances with a petrol that a good independent can fettle!

Does your petrol rav sound a bit 'exhausty' when starting from cold as well?

[firemac]

Last day I had my 4.2 nrg vvti , reset the fuel computer did around 100 miles of dual and motorways with the car empty and got a readout of 37.8 mpg. Now I know it's only the inaccurate onboard computer but its the best readout I got in over 10 years, used to do 32 to 34 mpg winter and 29 to 31 winter. Best car I ever owned 138k on the clock and still drove as good as when I bought it at 4k

The OCB's are wildly inconsistent from one RAV to the other. Our 4.2 5-dr's was just about bang on when tested on several brim-to-brim calcs. The 3-dr was about 15% optimistic.

Our current 4.3 Dcat under-reads by about 2% - I kept brim-to-brim calcs for the first 3K miles and was pleasantly surprised by the OCB's excessive honesty!

[Mike169]

Hi all, my 2 year old, 2.2 diesel D Cat Rav 4 auto, in pristine condition, 5,500 miles, full main dealer history once made 30 mpg, normal around 28mpg, mostly short runs but it doesn't seem much different on a decent run, that 5th injector burns up the juice....turbo lag yes, nippy yes, good vehicle yes but fuel economy not really and that's how they are! These figures are all from the read out on the dashboard and not me working it out between refills.

Mike169

[firemac]

Hi all, my 2 year old, 2.2 diesel D Cat Rav 4 auto, in pristine condition, 5,500 miles, full main dealer history once made 30 mpg, normal around 28mpg, mostly short runs but it doesn't seem much different on a decent run, that 5th injector burns up the juice....turbo lag yes, nippy yes, good vehicle yes but fuel economy not really and that's how they are! These figures are all from the read out on the dashboard and not me working it out between refills.

Mike169

Mike, it might be worth doing brim-to-brim checks against what the OCB says, if only to give you an idea about its accuracy. If it's anything like ours, you might be pleasantly surprised!!

[DAVEXT5]

Hi Guys...

Love my Rav but for got how loud the 2ltr petrol engine is when cold and how thirsty it was... I tend to average 250 miles out of me tank for a mixture of town and motorway driving :-(

THAT SAID... I still !Removed! love it :-)

The leg space in the back for the kids is fantastic, they also have a little more space between one another in the back also, in comparison to the Vensis we had...

Off to Southampton this weekend with the kids and Weymouth the following... CANT wait.

Hi.

I have had my Rav4 about a week now and before buying it did a lot of research and talked to others about buying it, everything i read and heard pointed to avoiding petrol engines and go for the diesel instead.

Better MPG and not as noisy as the petrol versions.

[ALake]

Hi Guys...

Love my Rav but for got how loud the 2ltr petrol engine is when cold and how thirsty it was... I tend to average 250 miles out of me tank for a mixture of town and motorway driving :-(

THAT SAID... I still !Removed! love it :-)

The leg space in the back for the kids is fantastic, they also have a little more space between one another in the back also, in comparison to the Vensis we had...

Off to Southampton this weekend with the kids and Weymouth the following... CANT wait.

Hi.

I have had my Rav4 about a week now and before buying it did a lot of research and talked to others about buying it, everything i read and heard pointed to avoiding petrol engines and go for the diesel instead.

Better MPG and not as noisy as the petrol versions.

I did the same and opted for the petrol to avoid all the issues with the diesels! No DMF or DPF, no dodgy head gaskets or troublesome EGR valves. No timing belt and welded into place glow plugs!

[bobby boy]

I'm with ALAKE on this one ,unless your a high mileage user or buying new, the petrol version is the way to go.My manual version 4.3 XTR does between 28 to 32 mpg. Shame their is no 4.4 petrol manual version.

[firemac]

Hi Guys...

Love my Rav but for got how loud the 2ltr petrol engine is when cold and how thirsty it was... I tend to average 250 miles out of me tank for a mixture of town and motorway driving :-(

THAT SAID... I still !Removed! love it :-)

The leg space in the back for the kids is fantastic, they also have a little more space between one another in the back also, in comparison to the Vensis we had...

Off to Southampton this weekend with the kids and Weymouth the following... CANT wait.

Hi.

I have had my Rav4 about a week now and before buying it did a lot of research and talked to others about buying it, everything i read and heard pointed to avoiding petrol engines and go for the diesel instead.

Better MPG and not as noisy as the petrol versions.

Anyone who considers the petrol to be noisy must have extremely sensitive ears - or be an uber diesel fan!!

We've had two petrols and two diesels and the petrols were smoother & quieter but with crap MPG.

[dwilson]

Hi Guys...

Love my Rav but for got how loud the 2ltr petrol engine is when cold and how thirsty it was... I tend to average 250 miles out of me tank for a mixture of town and motorway driving :-(

THAT SAID... I still !Removed! love it :-)

The leg space in the back for the kids is fantastic, they also have a little more space between one another in the back also, in comparison to the Vensis we had...

Off to Southampton this weekend with the kids and Weymouth the following... CANT wait.

Hi.

I have had my Rav4 about a week now and before buying it did a lot of research and talked to others about buying it, everything i read and heard pointed to avoiding petrol engines and go for the diesel instead.

Better MPG and not as noisy as the petrol versions.

Anyone who considers the petrol to be noisy must have extremely sensitive ears - or be an uber diesel fan!!

We've had two petrols and two diesels and the petrols were smoother & quieter but with crap MPG.

Different frequency noise but to me the diesel noise was louder! That was on a 56 plate - maybe they are quieter now?

The mpg is much better on the CVT petrol engine in the 4.4

[grasshopper]

My MRS RAV4 is not noisy at all when cold, mpg averages around 31mpg. OK so the MPG isn't great but it's a heavy car but for around town it's a no brainier. The only thing I think its missing is a 6th gear to make motorway cruising a bit quieter as the revs can be a bit high, but i guess thats just the technology that was around. Brilliant car wish I'd bought her one a few years earlier.