RAV4 V Honda CRV

[Maxi9]

Good morning, I am usually on the Corolla site but thought I would try here for some advice please. At the moment I have a Corolla 2.0 Excel (70 plate) and have been looking for something with a bigger/wider boot to make it easier to load my wifes Mobility Scooter.

So far I have looked/driven a RAV4 Excel on a 70 plate and a Honda CRV EX on a 71 plate. Both have boots that are a similar size and an improvement on what I have, both also have Memory Drivers Seat which is very useful. I have only looked at the Excel and EX as they are the only models that have Memory Seats. Both cars are a similar price, (the Honda £500 more expensive) and both about the same mileage, 18k on Excel and 20k on CRV.

I wonder if anyone has experience of both cars and would be willing to share some advice.

Thank you in anticipation.

[Rav Rob]

On 8/12/2023 at 10:02 AM, Maxi9 said:

Good morning, I am usually on the Corolla site but thought I would try here for some advice please. At the moment I have a Corolla 2.0 Excel (70 plate) and have been looking for something with a bigger/wider boot to make it easier to load my wifes Mobility Scooter.

So far I have looked/driven a RAV4 Excel on a 70 plate and a Honda CRV EX on a 71 plate. Both have boots that are a similar size and an improvement on what I have, both also have Memory Drivers Seat which is very useful. I have only looked at the Excel and EX as they are the only models that have Memory Seats. Both cars are a similar price, (the Honda £500 more expensive) and both about the same mileage, 18k on Excel and 20k on CRV.

I wonder if anyone has experience of both cars and would be willing to share some advice.

Thank you in anticipation.

Depends which powertrain, was it the full hybrid CRV you had on test? last but one car I faced the choice between RAV4 Excel and CRV (I like the SR spec) which through my lease company I had both on test for a few days and put some miles on. To be fair there wasn't a lot in it. On balance as a company car driver, the RAV was much better tax wise due to lower CO2 and lower lease cost due to better residual value.
Specification was similar. The Honda rode a fair bit more comfortably, the RAV is a bit more 'sporty' but their is a trade off in ride comfort, both are good long distance cars but the Honda was more cushioned and quieter. The RAV is quicker yet quite a bit more economical. Whilst the Honda hybrid system is smooth It was more like a 40mpg car. I regularly get at least 50mpg from my RAV. The driver aids like steering assist are more effective in the Honda, you can flip lane keeping on/off any time from the steering wheel without having to set cruise control, the RAV won't let you without cruise on so its more button pressing. The RAV seems to have better connectivity built in. Both brands are famous for reliability (I have owned several Hondas that were faultless) but I feel the Toyota has the edge in bullet proof.
Later in the year I will be in a position where I could buy my RAV from the lease company or give it back and buy my own car. I have not decided yet, the RAV would be a great personal 'keeper' for its practicality, reliability, 4WD and yet great mpg. But I still have a bit of a hankering for a CRV hybrid and as company car tax is taken out of the equation it becomes much more even. The comfort of the CRV and the taller rather than longer and shallower RAV boot are really appealing. Just don't know!! (PS the RAV looks fair bit nicer than the CRV which is not much of a looker to be honest)

[Maxi9]

HI, thanks for your reply. Yes it was a self charging hybrid. I agree with your comments regarding looks. The RAV4 looks better from the outside but a bit dated inside, the CRV has better spec with panoramic roof, HUD (although I didn't really like it) and Heated steering wheel. I like the RAV4 warranty as the CRV only has 3 years although the one I looked at had an extended warranty to 5 years, I think the shorter warranty period would mean a lower trade in value in 2 or 3 years time. Once again thank you for your comments, very helpful.

 

[Rav Rob]

11 minutes ago, Maxi9 said:

HI, thanks for your reply. Yes it was a self charging hybrid. I agree with your comments regarding looks. The RAV4 looks better from the outside but a bit dated inside, the CRV has better spec with panoramic roof, HUD (although I didn't really like it) and Heated steering wheel. I like the RAV4 warranty as the CRV only has 3 years although the one I looked at had an extended warranty to 5 years, I think the shorter warranty period would mean a lower trade in value in 2 or 3 years time. Once again thank you for your comments, very helpful.

 

No problem. By the way had 2 RAV excel's both have heated steering wheels. My wife gets Raynards in her hands and thinks it the best gadget ever.  The lease company told me that even though on spec and purchase price they were nearly the same, Toyotas legendary reliability gave it a better residual value and hence cheaper leases as 2nd hand buyers had higher confidence. Good luck.

[TonyHSD]

I would say of you are a Toyota man go for the rav4, if you are Honda man go for the crv, doing so will eliminate any doubts or regret in the future. 
Both cars has + and -  and both will deliver similar results. If me I will go for the rav4 because  of the above reasons. Will switch to another brand only if the price range is out of my budget. 

[Maxi9]

2 hours ago, Rav Rob said:

No problem. By the way had 2 RAV excel's both have heated steering wheels. My wife gets Raynards in her hands and thinks it the best gadget ever.  The lease company told me that even though on spec and purchase price they were nearly the same, Toyotas legendary reliability gave it a better residual value and hence cheaper leases as 2nd hand buyers had higher confidence. Good luck.

Didn't realize the RAV4 had heated steering, thanks for that.

 

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

I would say of you are a Toyota man go for the rav4, if you are Honda man go for the crv, doing so will eliminate any doubts or regret in the future. 
Both cars has + and -  and both will deliver similar results. If me I will go for the rav4 because  of the above reasons. Will switch to another brand only if the price range is out of my budget. 

Purely because of future value on trade in, I am leaning towards the RAV4. Just have to try and get the dealer to up his offer a bit. Could be a hard job.

 

 

[AndyN01]

We had a CR-V (albeit quite briefly) and although it had a few more "goodies" such as a dropping passenger mirror (not sure that's the right description) when popped into reverse, for us, the RAV4 is a superior overall package.

Both are good cars - go with whichever one you'd really like to see outside your house.

Good luck.

Andy.

 

[Maxi9]

On 8/15/2023 at 12:48 PM, AndyN01 said:

We had a CR-V (albeit quite briefly) and although it had a few more "goodies" such as a dropping passenger mirror (not sure that's the right description) when popped into reverse, for us, the RAV4 is a superior overall package.

Both are good cars - go with whichever one you'd really like to see outside your house.

Good luck.

Andy.

 

Thanks for your advice, will go with the RAV4 but will now look for something a bit newer (21/71 plate.

[Marcusthehat]

We looked at both of your named contenders.

My conclusions were that the CRV was plusher, more limo like inside, perhaps smoother to drive, and certainly less racous when worked hard, but the Rav4 was more pragmatic, like it had a spare wheel, not to mention more economical to run, I cant recall if there was a difference in stated  towing capacity, which was also of significence to me.

Anyway we bought the Toyota partly because the dealership was substantially nearer, and Senior Management insisted on the spare wheel.

But I really lusted for the ambience or "plushness" of the CRV experience.

P.S.

I would REALLY like the auto dipping near side mirror when reverse is selected, so as to see the kerb, the reversing camera is simply NOT the same in this respect.

Marcus

[Flatcoat]

Good choice - and I agree about the mirror too but few people have any idea how to reverse using mirrors so probably a wasted feature. 

[philip42h]

If you can find an Excel with JBL then it also comes with PVM (which beats auto dipping mirrors) ... 😉

[Roger_N]

The new Honda ZR-V looks like its more akin to the RAV4 but they are only just being released.

[Flatcoat]

Unfortunately for reasons known only to the UK importer, the PHEV did not have PVM on any version at the time we bought ours. I would personally have rather had PVM than HUD. 

[Oscarmax]

7 hours ago, Marcusthehat said:

We looked at both of your named contenders.

My conclusions were that the CRV was plusher, more limo like inside, perhaps smoother to drive, and certainly less racous when worked hard, but the Rav4 was more pragmatic, like it had a spare wheel, not to mention more economical to run, I cant recall if there was a difference in stated  towing capacity, which was also of significence to me.

Anyway we bought the Toyota partly because the dealership was substantially nearer, and Senior Management insisted on the spare wheel.

But I really lusted for the ambience or "plushness" of the CRV experience.

P.S.

I would REALLY like the auto dipping near side mirror when reverse is selected, so as to see the kerb, the reversing camera is simply NOT the same in this respect.

Marcus

I really liked the auto dip mirror on our CRV, however the rear camera on our facelifted Suzuki Across is brilliant, far better than the pre facelift demonstrator I tried.

[Oscarmax]

4 hours ago, philip42h said:

If you can find an Excel with JBL then it also comes with PVM (which beats auto dipping mirrors) ... 😉

What is a PVM ?

[Strangely Brown]

Panoramic View Mirrors.

Basically a combined image from all of the cameras on the centre screen giving a top-down view. Looks like you have a personal drone above your car.

[philip42h]

2 hours ago, Oscarmax said:

What is a PVM ?

1 hour ago, Strangely Brown said:

Panoramic View Mirrors Monitor.

Basically a combined image from all of the cameras on the centre screen giving a top-down view. Looks like you have a personal drone above your car.

AKA 360 degree camera view. It's exceedingly useful when parking a large car into a small space ...

[Cyker]

I would have loved this on my Mk4 Yaris (Along with heated seats, heated steering wheel, AWD etc. etc.  ), but for some reason you can't get it here, even the Euro-spec cars don't get it, only the JDM ones!  

[NASY]

Not had a problem parking with either mirrors or rear view camera - not so for the person who scraped my rear end this weekend. Pleased it was all plastic so reformed itself and though some scraped off paint it won't rust.