Thinking Of Buying......internal Measurements

[the_duke]

Hi,

'Er Indoors is looking at changing her car and would love to get a (2000-2005) RAV4 5 door. I'm a bit concerned that there may not be enough room along the back seats to fit all the car seats (all 3 of them!!) and maybe not enough room for the Twin Pram in the boot along with all the other kit they require.

Would somebody be kind enough to provide me with the following measurements ??

(1) Distance between door handles on back seats

(2) Dimensions of boot space.

Many thanks.

[bothwell_buyer]

Hi,

'Er Indoors is looking at changing her car and would love to get a (2000-2005) RAV4 5 door. I'm a bit concerned that there may not be enough room along the back seats to fit all the car seats (all 3 of them!!) and maybe not enough room for the Twin Pram in the boot along with all the other kit they require.

Would somebody be kind enough to provide me with the following measurements ??

(1) Distance between door handles on back seats

(2) Dimensions of boot space.

Many thanks.

Hi

welcome to the forum

The front passenger seat comes out leaving plenty of space for the pram and more.

You can get roof racks easily, and fit the passenger seat up top for the mother-in-law or other doting relative.... Or remove the back spare wheel and bolt the passenger seat onto the bracket!!

Other than that, I don't have a 5 door - how about trying all seats at a car showrooms RAV4 for sale - they'll be a few around I'm sure. And try the pram etc as well. A salesman will happily help.

[sywy]

I think you should go to a dealer and try it out.

Having not owned a 4.2, I'm guessing it won't be suitable for your needs. In the 4.3, I reckon you'd be hard pressed to get 3 child seats across the back. The middle seat is next to useless!! Also, a single seat buggy just about fills the boot, when laid flat. As I said, best try it out for yourself, if you can.

[chatman]

You wont fit three proper child seats in the back of either a 4.2 model RAV or the newer 4.3 model.. the middle seat is really a child only and not really a proper seat... they spilt 50\50 so the middle occupant sits on the split :blink:

The boot is fairly large and also the rear seats slide forward/backwards to gain more or less room....so I feel a pram would easily fit...I can get my mountain bike in there with both seats up... :unsure: then lay the wheels in next ;) ;)

[Dippy]

Can't give you the exact dimensions, sorry. But I'll go and measure my 4.3 if it helps.

You may know (I assume UK and EU models don't differ?!) that there are only two wide seats in the back, rather than 3. So the middle will be sitting on a junction. I can't comment on the width at all.

One of the niggles about our 4.2 was that our 2 yr old daughter was just about kicking the back of the front seat with me driving (I'm 5.10) - in the 4.3 it is much better. But in both a key thing is the angle of the rear seat back, if you recline them a little you do gain extra legroom for the toddler. Another thing is that the seats slide forwards, almost enough to hit the front seats, so you can juggle kiddie legroom with increased boot storage space.

So remember when you find one and test it, there are a lot of possible combinations due to the 1. tilting and 2. sliding rear seats.

Legroom is better in the 4.3. Boot is debatable though. As stated above, it's not really huge in terms of floor area, and the disadvantage now is that it is lower - the raised (false) floor robs it of height. In the 4.2 we would stand our pushchair up in one corner, leaving loads of other space - we can hardly do that in the 4.3 (can do it but have to flip the wheels off first - or lay it down, taking up most of the floorspace).

Sorry, random info, hope it helps!

[bothwell_buyer]

talking about kids, I must admit (shock/horror) that I am now a grandfather (no - not a clock cos they don't drink whisky). This causes a little consternation (word found in an English dicshunary)

Can I rig out RAV number 2 for an ISO fixing for a Britax child seat????

No chance of number 1 being adapted the noo as the new harnesses for the 2 seats need to be fixed furst and I'd like to get a roll-cage done.

Number 2 has the original interior and 2 rear seats. Great Grandfather can get hooked onto the rear towbar with his high speed wheelchair.........

[anchorman]

talking about kids, I must admit (shock/horror) that I am now a grandfather (no - not a clock cos they don't drink whisky). This causes a little consternation (word found in an English dicshunary)

Can I rig out RAV number 2 for an ISO fixing for a Britax child seat????

No chance of number 1 being adapted the noo as the new harnesses for the 2 seats need to be fixed furst and I'd like to get a roll-cage done.

Number 2 has the original interior and 2 rear seats. Great Grandfather can get hooked onto the rear towbar with his high speed wheelchair.........

Congratulations Grandpa

[St Thicket]

Hi,

'Er Indoors is looking at changing her car and would love to get a (2000-2005) RAV4 5 door. I'm a bit concerned that there may not be enough room along the back seats to fit all the car seats (all 3 of them!!) and maybe not enough room for the Twin Pram in the boot along with all the other kit they require.

Would somebody be kind enough to provide me with the following measurements ??

(1) Distance between door handles on back seats

(2) Dimensions of boot space.

Many thanks.

If you want to fit all that stash into the rav4.2, then you need to apply a lot of thinking, a lot of swearing and plenty of pressure when closing the doors. You might be better off getting a bigger SUV like the Land Cruiser or a big people carrier of some sort.

I have some experience with fitting children and accessories into my rav, and it's just enough space to fit two kids in the back, and one pram in the back. You might fit two prams if you place them upright, but then you need a net to avoid them flying forward in case of a collision.

I once tried to fit my son (2y), his cousin (1y) and my mother (55y) in the back, and it was quite uncomfortable for all of them mostly because of my mother complaining about the limited space, and she is not big! With to baby seats in the back, there's only room for a half person...

When we go for our monthly mountain trip, we fill our car with quite a lot of luggage. We sometimes need to remove one rear seat to be able to fit it all. The Rav4.2 is based on a corolla chassis, and the corolla isn't really big. The only benefit with the Rav is that you can stack things vertically, because it's a bit taller than the corolla.

good luck