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Brand T is so confident in the front-drive RAV that it is forecasting a 50:50 showroom split with the all-wheel drive model, right from the start.
A city-first RAV4 is the new price leader in Toyota's SUV lineup.
The newcomer bins the ability to go off-road, hardly a giant selling point anyway for the vast majority of RAV buyers, in a favour of a front-drive showroom sticker. It now opens the action at $28,990, just under the psychological thirty-grand barrier and a full $3000 less than the all-wheel drive RAV4.
There is no chance to add a V6 engine, and the front-driver is only available with the Cruiser and CV equipment packages, but Toyota believes it will do the job against a heap of compact SUV rivals led by the Hyundai ix35. "It makes the RAV a more affordable alternative," says Toyota spokesman, Mike Breen.
Brand T is so confident in the front-drive RAV that it is forecasting a 50:50 showroom split with the all-wheel drive model, right from the start. "We think it will be similar to the Kluger, and that's half-and-half," says Breen.
The front-drive move follows a similar strategy to other brands, led by Hyundai. It fired the Tucson City into the action and how Nissan also splits the choices on its compact Dualis. The front-drive RAV is lighter and expected to be a little quicker, although without the all-wheel drive security in corners. But the driveline change does nothing to freshen the looks of a RAV which is now being left behind by the class leaders, particularly the ix35.
It will still score on secondhand value and the value deal is solid, with the basic CV coming with two airbags, ESP stability control, anti-skid brakes and cruise control.
