Advice For Newbie

[munro]

Hi guys. Am new to this forum. Looking at the posts is great to see how enthusiastic you all are about your Ravs. The reason I say this is that I have just bought a low mileage GX which I pick up on Saturday.

I will be using the car mainly on the road but my main hobby is fishing which means dirt tracks and muddy fields with a few hills to get access to the river during the season which starts in February - so there is a fair chance of driving on these in snow.

An aquaintance of mine said I would have been better getting a Vitara as they have a low ratio box and that Ravs were not that great off road.

I must admit I am beginning to wonder if I made the right choice. I love the look of the Rav. I took it for a test drive (but only on road) and absolutely loved it.

I would welcome advice from members. Also if I go thru with the purchase some advice on the best tyres (makes and types)-the tyres on the car are near the end of their life - would be great.

[jonbr]

I have only done some light off roading down in the West Country and found the RAV to be excellent, especially as I was on standard road rubber. I watched a Fifth Gear programme once which rated the Nissan X-trail and the RAV as the best family off roaders for off road driving. I think the Vitara came third or fourth in their tests so according to them you picked the right one.

I've only driven once in snow, and the RAV was very good. Even when I pushed it a bit too much the electronics kicked in a corrected it beautifully :)

[munro]

Thanks johnbr. I am getting the 2001 model but I'm not sure it has electronics - nice to know it drives so well - thats quite important to me.

I went back to the Dealers today (just passing by, well nearly) and saw my baby sitting in the showroom all cleaned and polished ready to be collected (unfortunately my Cert of Insurance hasn't arrived yet so it can't be taxed). I realised that this was the real thing - true love not just infatuation.

I saw the tyres were quite well worn although legal and will need replaced soon so I'm just going to put a new set on before winter. Given what I intend to use the car for I would appreciate some advice about what I should buy.I've looked at the other threads here and also the manufacturers websites and the choice would seem to be between Dunlop GT32, Michelin Synchrome , Pirelli STR or BF Goodrich Alltrail. Alternatively I wondered about A/T tyres.

Further comments on off road ability and tyres would be much appreciated.

[jonbr]

On other threads, Toyo tyres have been mentioned several times as well. Personally I will be sticking with the factory fit Bridgestones on mine. The tyres work very very well with the electonics so I'm very happy to stay with the configuration I've got. Thank fully I've only had the electronics kick in twice, once in snow and once on a damp road in controlled conditions when I pushed it to see what would happen. :)

As for the off raod handling, I've only used it lightly in Exmoor. Handled very well. I'm lucky to have had some off road training which I'm sure helped. I'd recomment it to any one thinking of going off road regularly.

[Uncle Bob]

Hi munro and welcome to the Rav4 section ,

there have been recent threads on buying tyres ,but the main interest has been quitness on the road, read you post ,you have a diffrent angle on tyre needs.

With any off road style tyre you're going to get more noise, but if that can't be helped, then maybe a tyre that is good in snow/and on road ,could be the answer.

www.mytyres.co.uk have a good choice.....

Goodyear Winter tyres EAGLE ULTRA GRIP GW-3

235/60 R16 100H M+S marking only £ 88.60

PirelliWinter tyres W 210 Snowsport

235/60 R16 100H only £ 89.80

Continental Winter tyres WinterContact TS 810

235/60 R16 100H with rim-protection only £ 91.50

MichelinWinter tyres Pilot ALPIN

235/60 R16 100H only £ 99.60

VredesteinWinter tyres WINTRAC

235/60 R16 100H only £ 82.30

Nokian Winter tyres WR

235/60 R16 100H only £ 82.70

Toyo 4x4 OPEN COUNTRY W/T

235/60 R16 100H asymmetric NEW, only £ 91.40

or have a look on some of the 4x4 sites , for other semi-off road tyres

http://www.formula4x4.com/newtyres.htm :) .