Toyota RAV4 2004 News

Here are our top 10 cars released in the first 25 years of this century.

Toyota Australia has recalled more than 180,000 vehicles over fears that faulty airbags could spray shrapnel when deployed.

Toyota has issued a global safety recall on 6.58 million vehicles, with the impact hitting the popular Hilux ute, RAV4 SUV and Yaris small car.Statements issued by Toyota Australia today said that 179,000 of the Hiluxes built between April 2004 and December 2009 have been recalled for a defect that could see a cable between the steering wheel and  column sustain damage when the wheel is turned, activating the airbag warning light and preventing the driver's airbag from deployingA separate safety recall on 118,600 of the Yaris hatches and sedans built between June 2005 and May 2010 is to fix a defective seat track spring on the driver's and front passenger's seats. The statement says the spring can break and become stuck, giving the false impression that the seat is properly locked in place.In the meantime, the Yaris can still be driven but if there is any difficulty in locking the seats in position, owners should contact a dealer to arrange an inspection. The repairs will take about 1.5 hours for the five-door hatch and sedan, and about three hours for the three-door hatch in which the front passenger seat will also have to be removed.The number of RAV4s being recalled is not yet confirmed. Toyota says neither of the problems with the Hilux and Yaris have resulted in any accidents or injuries in Australia. Vehicle owners are being contacted by Toyota, but can get more information on the brand's campaign helpline on 1800 643 242. 

There is a clear-cut champion in the compact four-wheel-drive class.It is the Subaru Outback, which does easily the best job for the majority of shoppers who want the size, comfort and command driving position of a soft-roader but don't plan to do much of the rough-and-tough weekend work in the bush.The Outback is a high-riding and tougher-looking Subaru Liberty wagon, which means it is a new-age station wagon for people who are convinced that four-wheel-drives are the best bet for the 21st century.But it's not the only way to go in a class which is as varied as any in Australian motoring.The all-paw smalls are a split-personality line-up which ranges from serious bush buddies to suburban shopping trolleys, with everything in between.Some talk the talk, but don't go remotely close to walking the wilderness, and others are surprisingly capable despite their soft-form looks. And looks aren't always the best – or easiest – way to make a choice.The Daihatsu Terios has the high-rider style you expect to see in a serious four-wheel-drive, but it could have come just as easily from the world's best-selling carmaker – Matchbox.The Suzuki Jimny is much the same, though it can really romp in the rough and is priced from just $17,990.At the other end of the action, there are several contenders which push past $40,000, including the over-priced and under-done Land Rover Freelander.The compact class also opens the options between "all-wheel-drive" vehicles focused on blacktop work and "four-wheel-drive" vehicles with serious off-road grip and dual-range gears, in a battle which rages all the way to the $100,000-plus machines in the luxury four-wheel-drive world.The split between the soft-road and hard-rock vehicles means it's important to split the winners, with the Nissan X-Trail taking top honours for real off-road work and the Subaru Forester and best-selling Toyota RAV4 – now with a punchier 2.4-litre engine – scoring on the soft side. The Outback was completely updated last year and picks up the five-star safety and top quality from the latest Subaru Liberty.But it also gets a tougher look, extra ground clearance, rough-road tyres and all the other gear you need for weekend expeditions.The price is pretty rich in a class where most of the action is below $30,000 – the H6 engine can lift it from $31,180 to more than $50,000 – but it's the one to recommend to friends and family if they can afford it. The Nissan Patrol is a heavyweight four-wheel drive star and you can see and feel the family connection to the X-Trail.It has the stumpy looks of a serious off-roader and backs it with a 2.5-litre engine hooked to a grippy drivetrain and a tough body.Nissan has also created a funky cabin for the X-Trail, with all the right stuff for twentysomething owners.It's not cheap, with pricing from $31,990, but the price is right for the class and the competition. The Forester, like the Outback, was developed for rougher roads than the regular all-paw Subaru family wagons.So the Forester sprang from the Impreza, as the Outback did from the Liberty, but with a much bigger change to the body.The Forester looks like it will work off the bitumen and it does, provided you recognise its limits.It also comes with a punchier turbo engine, though it's not WRX, and Subaru Australia has just rejected a Forester STi which would have really rocked the compact four-wheel-drive scene.            

The prawn burger started climbing back up the gullet as the Prado nosed into the big red hole.Dashboard lights flash, there's more urgency from the V6 and, tyres slipping and grabbing, the wagon slides right on through to the other side.A Toyota Prado can be trusted when the track turns to muck.The prawn burger, a fine lunch from Archies at Rainbow Beach, settles back down.So here comes the Kluger, one Toyota down in size and a world away in off-road ability. The Kluger has all-wheel drive in a suburban family wagon, less ground clearance and less confidence.This one slips off to the side, gets stuck in, nose first.So the count is now Prado this side, Kluger in the muddle, LandCruiser wagon and the brave little RAV4 on the other side of this clay mine.And well before the 30 minutes of slipping and sliding and some laughs is over, there is one lesson learnt here – when the entry to the Cooloola Way (south of Fraser Island, north of Noosa) suggests four-wheel drive is advisable, particularly in wet weather, it means four-wheel drives, not all-wheel drive.For where the Kluger has run up the beach in fine style, matching it with its bigger and smaller brothers for ride comfort on hard-packed sand, it loses out with suspension travel and traction when the going gets tougher.Words of caution: the sand was damped by recent rain and there'd been little traffic to dig holes and trenches. Besides, the Kluger was running with just one up; a loadful of family may hinder beach progress.It has its place.The Kluger is a safe machine for the school bus runs, trips to the snow, maybe down and along the beach for a picnic.If tackling tougher tracks, take a bigger Toyota four-wheel drive along for the security.No doubt the Kluger would run this Cooloola track in dry weather; indeed it handled much of the slip and slide of a wet dirt road without drama although that softish front suspension can be caught out over ruts, bringing the nose down.In these conditions, the Kluger is favoured with constant four-wheel drive and a viscous coupling centre differential; these work well with the five-speed automatic on slippery surfaces.And there is, according to the factory, 187mm of ground clearance on the Kluger Grande with its 17-inch wheels, 184mm on Klugers with 16-inch wheels.In contrast, the RAV4 Cruiser has 180mm, the Edge version has 190mm. The smaller Toyota, smallest of the crowd's recreational vehicles, gains off-road credentials with a shorter wheelbase and more compact dimensions and a weight advantage.Some of this crosses the mind while looking back across the Cooloola chasm at the rest of the fleet.Here the LandCruiser, trying to tow the Kluger out, has slipped sideways into a gutter of much deeper goo.So, now it's Prado safe, Kluger and LandCruiser stuck, brave little RAV4 waiting.The five-door RAV4 gets the Kluger out, with a little strain and a yank back. (The excuse on this side is that the Kluger's nose is buried too deep to hook up). Now the Prado goes back through the hole, and with a decent snatch, frees up the big Cruiser.From here, with some local knowledge and fresh approaches developed over the last half hour, the four Toyotas slip and slide through the hole, running on to the next adventure.Damage is limited to a wounded plastic shroud underneath the Kluger's bumper. And a tonne of mud over the machines.There is nothing more untoward on the track, some slips and slides, a couple of minor washouts. The Kluger does drag its belly a touch through some of the (soft) ruts on the forest roads.And then there's a turn right somewhere where it should have been a turn left and the four Toyotas end up in Gympie, not the bucolic Kin Kin.Still, it is an easy run from here to home.And the day's discoveries?Toyota's fleet of recreational vehicles – prices ranging from $30,000 to $92,000 – are all fine and handy machines in each of their respective niches.The RAV4 is forever a trier.Despite a lack of low range and minimal ground clearance for off-roading, the five-speed manual here was never found wanting. The 120kW, 2.4 litre engine was always willing and there is a certain amount of charm to the RAV4, whether on town or country duties.This is the one for getting out on the weekends, maybe down to the beach, maybe to the hardware store for those renovation specials or plants from the nursery.But the RAV4 cannot match the Kluger for on-road smoothness and quietness or interior space.The Kluger is a bland family wagon with all-wheel drive and a heap of room.It breezes down the highway but will not go as far, as easily, as its little brother off the road. It averaged 10.5 litres per 100km on the day.Soft-roaders have a place. But not on hard tracks.Yet the base Kluger costs more than a base Prado. And a five-speed manual, 4 litre Prado GX at a recommended $43,650 has to be a better value buy than an automatic 3.3 litre CV Kluger at $43,990 (with air).The Prado is a machine for the family adventurer, strong enough for a cross-country trip, handy enough for a run to the shops.It is impressive in the rough, looks smart around the town. There is that extra body weight, say 400kg, over the Kluger and that extra body height (the Prado's ground clearance is a useful 220mm) which makes the Kluger a better, more car-like driving business on the highway.The Prado averaged just over 15 litres per 100km for the mix of highway, sand and mud workThe LandCruiser 100 Series is a big and strong machine with constant four-wheel drive and a two-speed transfer case.It is quite a handy wagon under ordinary conditions, despite its size. But when the going gets serious or there's a full load, plus boat and trailer to tow on a regular basis, it is a superb wagon.And while this one ran the V8, it averaged close on 16.5 litres per 100km for the day's work, proving a big engine is not always that much thirstier when there's work to be done.So it's horses for courses and Toyota just about have the field covered. There is a recreational vehicle to suit most styles and budgets, a fair spread of engines and a tonne of appointments to pick through.And yes, Toyota had to cover this new-found soft-roader niche. Just don't expect the Kluger to measure up to some of its more established, more credentialled brothers if the weather closes in and the track gets sloppy.