Avensis Or Rav 4

[Nightstalker]

Lo all....

I've currently got an avensis t4 1.8 vvti 54 reg hatchback.

The other half is knocking on the door for another kid....

Sofar the avensis has been great, but with a double buggy in the back I find that the shape of the boot space is a bit pants when putting the buggy in. This one lies flat and takes up quite some space whereas the current single buggy folds nicely and I can fit all the luggage we have when travelling up north behind it. However the double one aint so great.....

SOOO I took a look at a Rav 4 (would have to be an older model as the new one is way out my range) 2.0 vvti gx and xt(xt's a bit on the dear side still) anyway the 5 door gx would be ok as you can get them for arround 10K for with reasonable milage n so on... also I think that the double buggy would be able to stand up against the back of the rear seat backrests and the rest of the luggage should fit in front...

Not sure what the running costs are and if the 2000 - 2003 Rav 4 ranges are any good or not...

Any advise will be greatly appreciated...

Ta

Rob

B)

[rav man]

Rob,

The Ravs a great all rounder but not without its faults. The rear door not opening fully can be a pain (easily resolved with an aftermarket ,check strap). If putting a rearward facing baby seat in the back i had to put it behind passenger seat and slide this forward slightly to get enough room.

I had the 2 litre petrol which generally returned about 25 on short trips and commuting. Very reliable, never any trouble.

The D4D will give better consumption but there have been a couple of reports on flywheel problems (search other threads on this site).

I cut a piece of 1/2 MDF board using the rear parcel shelf as a template and sat it on the parcel shelf lips. Covered it with Grey material used for covering speaker boxes, from car acessory shop. I was then able to put the push chair under it and any shopping on top.

Hope this helps, Rich.

[chatman]

Go for it...Yes there have been some problems with Flywheels on the D4D but if buying from dealer your covered....

Whenever we go away the wife always takes more stuff than the sherpa's going up everest take.... still all fits in nice...the rear seats also slide forward or back to make boot more bigger etc..