T180;apart From The Rfts

[toondoug]

Been a T180 owner for a few months now and found it a joy to drive ,had it to France and it was terrific on the motorways . There just seems a lot of negativity on here regarding the RFTs , some of it justified, I think its time we read about the good points , so come on all you t180 owners lets stick up for one of the best RAVs ever.

[Bugsey]

Been a T180 owner for a few months now and found it a joy to drive ,had it to France and it was terrific on the motorways . There just seems a lot of negativity on here regarding the RFTs , some of it justified, I think its time we read about the good points , so come on all you t180 owners lets stick up for one of the best RAVs ever.

Hi toondoug,

I know what you mean, the T180 is the best rav4 to date. I used to have a GX 2.0 diesel but found it a tad crampt, and the rear door didnt open fully as the spare restricts full 90 degree opening. So when i got my T180 not only did it have all the toys and space, the rear door opened fully because its on RFTs. Handy for unloading stuff. My local dealership has the gear to deal with RFTs, and even said the cost of replacing them isnt that much dearer than ordinary tyres of the same size. I thought RFTs were the way forward, but i guess i will find out soon as i have done 40k miles on mine, and have 10k of tread left. But all said its a great car to have.

[sywy]

Yep, I prefered the 'clean' look too, and it was one of the (many) reasons I chose the T180.

[Hoovie]

..... I used to have a GX 2.0 diesel but found it a tad crampt, and the rear door didnt open fully as the spare restricts full 90 degree opening. So when i got my T180 not only did it have all the toys and space, the rear door opened fully because its on RFTs. Handy for unloading stuff.....

Just to clarify one thing.

It is a decision by Toyota UK to restrict the opening for cars with door mounted spares. Other makes with similar wheel and light arangements do not have this restriction and you will find a large number of people (myself included) have fitted the Toyota supplied full-length check strap to allow a full 90 Degree rear door opening on any RAV4.

Without that change, I fully agree it is annoying and frustrating.

[sywy]

I believe it's because if the door opened fully, it would cover up the tail lights. Why they didn't move the lights on subsequent models like the 4.3, I've no idea!!

BTW, I too believe that RFT are the way forward, but not the Toyota system!! They're not even RFT's anyway, as pointed out by Hoovie, in another thread.