Toyota RAV4 2006 review: snapshot

This third generation of Toyota's smallest (for now) SUV does away with permanent all-wheel-drive in favour of a "pro-active" package of electronics to control slips and slides plus tackle rougher back roads.

It has grown, this RAV4, to a wider, longer body (now 4.6m in length) that offers more people and cargo space. Along the way the bigger RAV4 picks up an extra 140kg and leaves the door open for the possibility of a smaller, more junior soft-roader from Toyota down the track.

The RAV4's 2.4 litre, four-cylinder engine gains an extra 5kW (to 125kW) and there are no more three-door versions of the Toyota.

Instead, the six 2006 RAV4 models are all five-door wagons with the choice of two transmissions, three trim levels and prices starting at $31,990 for a five-speed manual CV model.

Moving up the line, the RAV4 Cruiser is $37,490 and a premium Cruiser L starts at $41,990. The four-speed automatic option adds $2000.

All new RAV4s sit on 17-inch wheels (sexy steel for the CV, alloys for Cruiser models) and arrive with dual airbags, airconditioning, power windows and mirrors, MP3 compatible CD stereo, steering wheel-mounted audio controls plus cruise control.

All have ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and electric-assisted power steering plus Toyota's "Active AWD" which uses a number of sensors to determine when drive should be diverted to help out the back wheels.

Toyota claims this system is "pre-emptive", working through steering, throttle and speed sensors to have the drive shifted immediately (if not sooner) to keep the RAV4 moving in tricky spots and cornering; "pre-emptive" may be stretching the technology concept but the system appears to react with more speed and subtleness than most, a seamless transition from front to all-wheel-drive. The Toyota system, as with others, can be locked into 50:50 drive under 40km/h.

And there are hints that these "active four-wheel-drive" systems may find a place in bigger Toyota four-wheel-drives, such as the next generation LandCruiser now under development.

Over the base model RAV4 CV, the Cruiser version adds further interior refinements and extra safety with side plus curtain airbags and six-stacker CD. Outside there are mudguard flares, alloy wheels, roof rails and fog lamps. The Cruiser L gets lashings of leather and a moon roof.

More importantly, the Cruiser twins score stability control, traction control and hill-start assist. Downhill assist — automatic retardation on steeper slopes — is available on automatic Cruisers. The Vehicle Stability Control can straighten out understeer or oversteer, reducing engine rpm and braking individual wheels to correct slides; all these electronic-mechanical aids are tied together through a Vehicle Control Management System.

Despite all these gizmos, the RAV4 Cruiser remains an entertaining, engaging drive on a back country road, best appreciated in the five-speed manual to make the most of those 125kW. These bigger, more comfortable RAV4s look the part, offering a more mature body style than predecessors and in some parts looking like a junior Kluger. (Indeed the V6 engine offered in some markets will not be headed here, helping keep a price and performance differentiation between RAV4 and Kluger. Nor is a diesel option on the cards.)

The 2006 RAV4, say Toyota heavies, will help reshape the compact SUV market and offer a real alternative to family sedans.

While most buyers of compact SUVs have been active, 30-something singles, Toyota's sales and marketing director David Buttner says these bigger, new generational machines will also attract interest from slightly older buyers, including more couples with young children.

Toyota sees the compact SUV market (headed by Subaru's venerable Forester in 2005) further maturing and diversifying. So the top-shelf Cruiser L is a move to claim a "new, premium sub-segment" of the SUV niche.