Toyota RAV4 vs Holden Trailblazer

What's the difference?

The RAV4 is undeniably better than the last generation, and brings with it a level of driving refinement the most popular car in the world should have.

It also levels up its tech without falling into the overcomplicated, messy systems newcomers to the market think will impress buyers. While the base GX is a sound option, the few extra mod cons in the GXL are worth the extra cash.

But its lack of ANCAP rating is surely a point of anxiety for Toyota, and while the safety systems seem sound, we can’t definitively say this RAV4 is as safe as Toyota claims it is.

If you’re willing to trust Toyota on that, you’ll find a very enjoyable car that’s uncomplicated and efficient. But if those five stars from ANCAP matter to you, give it a few months and see how the new RAV4 performs before you put your money down.

The Trailblazer is a solid all-rounder and deserves the consideration of those in the market for a decent seven-seater 4WD. It does everything well without ever really excelling at any one thing.

Is it fantastic? No. Is it a game-changer? No. Does it represent pretty good value for money in the grand scheme of things? Yep. 

The pick of the bunch for me is the LTZ – solid, off-road capable, and suburbs-friendly with just a hint of leather-appointed class. In the LTZ, you get everything worthwhile in the Trailblazer mob and if you’re a family man you won’t feel the need to fork out an extra $1000 for the Z71’s try-hard window dressing.

The Trailblazer is a mostly comfortable SUV wagon, stacked with features and is well worth your consideration if the Isuzu MU-X, Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuner don’t float your boat.

Each RAV4 in the range is more visually distinct than before, but most variants feature a similar honeycomb grille that’s a departure from the ‘safe’ design language Toyota is known for.

The outlier is the Edge variant, which gets a more traditional front-end treatment as well as its 20mm wider wheel tracks to go along with the intended purpose of light off-roading.

Despite the fact Toyota has clearly tried not to change the new RAV4 too much in too many ways compared to the last generation (and why would you when it was already so popular), the new design feels a little more adventurous.

It includes elements of Toyota’s latest design language including the ‘c-shaped’ headlights and more streamlined tail-lights but retains the overall size and shape of the RAV4.

The RAV4 is 4600mm long, 1855mm wide and 1680mm tall, a very similar size to before and as such its interior feels similarly spacious.

Inside, the layout is tidy with a little more visual distinction for controls than the last-gen RAV4.

Updated, sleeker buttons and controls replace the ageing fixtures and large screens make the mid-size SUV feel much more up to modern standards.

The Trailblazer is a solid-looking wagon – all clean, tight lines from front to back – and overall it has a real squat and substantial presence. If we’re going to get all ‘fancy Dan’ with our hyperbole: chrome-accented daytime running headlights swoop back along the chunky body to slick LED tail-lights. If we’re sticking to basics: the Trailblazer looks good.

Inside, the tweaked interior has a tidy if rather basic feel to it – but that’s not a bad thing in a wagon that will have to cop dirt and dropped ice creams amid the general chaos of day-to-day life.

The leather-trim seats add a touch of class to otherwise family friendly dimensions and environment.

But despite the sleeker look inside the new RAV4, Toyota hasn’t fallen into the trap of shoving as many digital features into the system as possible.

Many newcomer brands create confusing digital environments by having menus upon menus filled with options and features, but Toyota has avoided this by retaining a simple, almost siloed system.

In the multimedia display, navigation, media, phone and settings are the key shortcuts visible down the side of the screen, though a customisable home screen allows you to make the system your own.

It’s far preferable to the many sub-menus and confusing layouts some manufacturers (especially newcomers) use, and means you’re able to focus on driving.

There are also still plenty of physical controls for the key functions of the car, no need to go into digital settings to sort your drive mode or climate.

The new system, dubbed 'Arene' by Toyota, is a much-needed update for the RAV4, bringing it into the current decade when it comes to tech.

Its voice command system is still a little too keen to interrupt, but the general function is extremely easy to get acquainted with.

The interior is also physically extremely sensible, with good vision and light thanks to a low dashboard and large windows, well-considered ergonomic positioning, comfortable seats and storage options.

The centre console storage bin lid is also able to be opened from either side, or removed and flipped between a hard plastic surface or cushioned elbow rest, though a bit of non-slip surface on the plastic side wouldn't go astray.

Behind the front seats, the second row passengers don’t have a massive amount of amenity, but are far from cramped. The vents, armrest with cupholder, bottle storage in the door and document holder on the backs of the seats are all quite standard, though the outboard seats are heated in the top spec Cruiser.

Behind that, a huge 705L of space in the boot includes a netted pocket if you opt for the Edge grade, plus there's a proper spare wheel under the boot floor. Wins all round.

Climbing in is easy enough with a sturdy "overhead assist handle" for all comers and goers.

All of the Trailblazer’s seats are mostly comfortable except they are quite flat and hard, which may prove a hindrance over longer trips. The driver’s seat is six-way electrically-adjustable and there is little in the way of lumbar support.

The second row will better suit two passengers than three for long-distance comfort but there is enough room all round – head, shoulders and legs – to avoid most complaints, for a little while anyway.

Third-row passengers will need to be children or those of a shorter stature to cope with the ‘back of the bus’ squeeze – and even then trips should be kept to shorter distances to avoid an in-car riot. It’s not a terrible place to be, in the third row of this thing, but it’s not ideal either – pretty much in keeping with the rear-row offerings of its rivals.

Back up the front again and the dash design is clear, user-friendly and easy to get used to with day-in, day-out use.

There is a fair bit of storage space in the cabin but some of it is awkward to access and actually use. The glove box is big enough to cope with one or two handfuls of bits and pieces. There is a sunglass holder up near the rear-view mirror.

Passengers in the back also get air vents and manual aircon control.

There are two cup holders in front of the small centre console housing the USB port which, when used, eats into that available space.

All doors have a moulded bottle bulge, which wouldn’t cop our CarsGuide water bottle without forceful encouragement.

The second-row passengers get a fold-down centre arm-rest/cup holder when there’s no one sitting in the middle. Passengers in the back also get air vents and manual aircon control.

With all seats up, if you pack to the roof, there is 235 litres of cargo space at the very rear; with the 50/50 split-folding third-row seats folded down, there is 878 litres; with the second-row (60/40 split-fold and tumble) and the third-row seats down, there is 1830 litres of cargo space. There is a retractable cargo blind stowed away under the floor at the rear.

With the second-row seats folded forward, it is easy enough to get into the third-row seats; no contortionist moves required.

There are two 12-volt outlets in the centre dash; one at the back of the centre console (for second-row passengers); and one in the rear cargo area.

Up top, the roof rails are rated to carry 100kg.

The Trailblazer is available in three spec levels, each with a market-competitive price: base-spec LT (from $47,990, excluding on-road costs), LTZ (which we tested; from $52,490) and the limited-edition Z71 (from $53,490).

But those prices soon start to climb when you add in accessories such as all-weather floor mats ($130 for a pair), boot lip protector ($80) and a rigid cargo barrier ($960). Our test vehicle had a Power Blue (prestige paint) colour on the exterior, at a cost of $550.

All models have the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine and six-speed automatic transmission. The 4WD system is a dual-range part-time shift-on-the-fly set-up.

The LT’s standard features include cloth seat covers, 17-inch alloy wheels, a seven-inch touchscreen to go with its Holden MyLink infotainment system, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, front fog lamps, signature daytime running lights, side steps, limited slip diff, rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

The LTZ gets all of that (although its touchscreen is eight inches) and more: integrated satnav, blind spot alert, forward collision alert and heated front seats and leather-appointed seat trim. It has 18-inch alloy wheels.

The Z71 has all of that gear as well as a distinctive sports look, replete with black bonnet, black mirrors, black exterior door handles, Z71 leather-appointed trim and 18-inch black alloy wheels.

The 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with series-parallel hybrid is less powerful than before, but Toyota says it did this for better efficiency and has made up for it with improvements to the battery and electric motors.

The figures are now 143kW and 221Nm (in 2WD and AWD variants), the power down from 160kW in the last generation. All RAV4s still use a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Basically, lower numbers, but performance on par with the current RAV4 Hybrid according to Toyota.

The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine punches out 147kW at 3600rpm and its big-gun 500Nm at 2000rpm and is well-matched to a six-speed automatic transmission. This Trailblazer is, on paper, a very good tow vehicle with so much torque available and from down so low.

Its towing capacity is 3000kg (braked), but I’d prefer to see how it fared in a real-world tow test before I pass judgement.

The new RAV4’s efficiency is of much interest, obviously, and with figures claimed at 0.2L less per 100km over the last RAV4, it’s another case of incremental improvements.

The 2WD comes with a claimed 4.5L/100km, the AWD with 4.6L. During testing we saw numbers as low as 6.8L and 6.9L, respectively, and that was giving it the beans in some pretty twisty mountain roads.

Keep in mind the RAV4 needs 95 RON minimum now, rather than the 91 RON it could deal with before.

Claimed fuel economy is 8.6L/100km (combined). We recorded 9.6L/100km fuel consumption after 200km of mixed driving, including about 30km of gravel tracks, and 10km of hard off-roading. As mentioned earlier, it has a 76-litre fuel tank.

Put it this way - the RAV4 doesn’t feel like it’s lacking power. Despite the lower output, the new generation car doesn’t seem to struggle with having enough pick-up to keep moving along, even in spirited driving.

The first time I properly took off it surprised me with how punchy the response was. And from there on the new RAV continued to impress.

It’s one of a few things that, dare I say, makes the RAV4 rather fun to drive.

Like its predecessor, it’s built on the 'TNGA' platform, which underpins pretty much everything Toyota builds these days.

It’s a well-sorted basis for a car, making even this relatively large family SUV feel nimble.

Some changes to the suspension help here, too. New geometry and spring and damper rates mean the RAV4 is sharper and better controlled than before.

That control comes with the trade-off that it’s not always cloud-soft, but given Australian preferences and the need to keep the rubber on our rough as guts roads, Toyota has the balance right here.

It also hasn’t seemed to matter massively whether the RAV4 is front- or all-wheel drive even in the wet on twisty Tassie roads. The 2WD requires a little more care being flung into corners but the mid-sizer holds its own well enough.

There’s clearly more ability in the RAV4 than it’ll make known, almost as to keep the driver behaving safely just in case, while being confident in knowing the RAV4 is more capable than many will ever find out.

It’s handled high speeds, sharp corners and unsealed roads to a higher degree than anyone would reasonably expect of a family SUV.

It helps that the steering, throttle and braking are all well-calibrated. Planting your foot brings urgency without a jolt, there’s no guesswork in the steering and the brakes won’t have you lurching at a tap but can pull you up rather rapidly if needed.

It’s easy to drive, which is pretty big compliment and surely one of the key goals for the engineering team.

The LTZ is 4887mm long (with a 2845mm wheelbase), 1902mm wide (excl mirrors), and 1846mm high. It has a kerb weight of 2203kg.

Its turning circle is 12m but it feels like more of a cumbersome beast when trying to manoeuvre in the bush or in the city, though not enough so for that characteristic to be any sort of deal-breaker.

The tilt-adjustable, electrically assisted steering lacks any reach-adjustment, which is annoying, but it can still be counted on to deliver a precise feel – light at low speeds, heavier at high speeds – when pushing the Trailblazer along at a fair clip on open roads or in and out of corners.

Acceleration seems livelier now; there is more off-the-mark oomph for take-offs and safe, smooth overtaking, even on long gradual climbs, than before. The torquey engine and six-speed auto – with its smooth changes and gear-holding when appropriate – make for a high-achieving combo.

Ride and handling seem better than in Colorado7 guise although the tweaked suspension – Aussie-tuned coil-spring front and coil-spring live-axle rear – and Bridgestone Dueler H/Ts tyres* may account for some of that. However, we did feel some body-roll while driving along back roads, unlike the last time we were in a Trailblazer LTZ. (*The Trailblazer has a full-sized 18-inch spare.)

The locally tuned suspension is, at times, a bit too firm; when we hit heavy bumps and deep potholes on rough gravel tracks several times, we were unsettled because the Trailblazer’s suspension bashed its way over and through.

NVH levels on open-road bitumen can still tend towards the rougher side of things with diesel engine clatter, tyre roar and wind rush clattering a tune on your ear drums.

We completed a series of emergency braking scenarios – on bitumen and dirt – and the Trailblazer’s disc brakes – 300mm at the front and 318mm at the rear – helped rip us into a controlled stop.

Off-road, we had a ball because the beefy Trailblazer seems a much better fit for gravel-track fast blasts and slow-going bush driving than it does for any jaunts in the stop-start city.

Our drive loop included a decent bit of four-wheel driving – coastal sand, bush tracks peppered with rocks of all shapes and sizes, and shallow mud in a dried-out dam. Drive modes can be switched via the centre console dial between 2H, 4H and 4L; high range modes are actually represented by an ‘up’ arrow on the dial; low range is a ‘down’ arrow. Bonus: the Trailblazer’s 500Nm of torque is readily available from way down low.

The Trailblazer has a limited slip diff, 218mm of ground clearance and a wading depth of 600mm, which was never tested as our usual creek crossings were so bone-dry they were more like puddles. Approach, departure and ramp-over angles are 28, 25, 22 respectively.

Its armoury of off-road tech – auto hill-start assist, hill-descent control and more – make it almost unstoppable, straight out of the showroom, for anything demanded of it on a light- to medium-difficulty adventure weekend.

Its 76-litre fuel tank, however, hinders any claim it has to off-road touring potential.

The Trailblazer has 3000kg towing capacity (braked); 750kg unbraked.

Note: Holden has persisted with a system which, when you open a door, the front windows automatically slide down a bit, an action aimed at reducing air pressure when you close the doors. It remains annoying but we still weren’t annoyed enough to actually bother to check the owner’s manual for a possible hack to switch it off.

The Trailblazer range has a five-star ANCAP rating. The LTZ has seven airbags, and electronic stability control (ABS, EBD etc), rear view camera, front park assist, rear parking sensors, forward collision alert, blind-spot alert, lane-departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, a tyre-pressure monitoring system and trailer sway control.

The second row has three child restraint anchor points and one ISOFIX child restraint anchor point.

Toyota’s standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is not just disappointing compared to other mainstream brands, but should be much higher given the brand is the biggest in the country (and world) and trades on its reputation for reliability.

The warranty can be extended to seven years from delivery if you maintain your logbook servicing with Toyota dealerships, but even then it falls short of Nissan and Mitsubishi’s 10-year (also servicing-conditional) warranties.

Capped-price servicing costs $325 per service and is available for five years or 75,000km, with intervals every 12 months or 15,000km.

Toyota boast a long-established national network of around 300 dealers covering all states and territories including major cities and key regional and rural centres.

The Trailblazer comes with a three-year/100,000km warranty. Lifetime capped price servicing includes a free inspection at one month, then $299 (at nine months/15,000km), $399 (18 months/30,000km), $479 (27 months/45,000km), $479 (36 months/60,000km) and so on.

(At time of writing, the LT was being offered for $45,990 driveway with a seven-year/175,000 warranty.)

Potential problems might include cumulative driveline wear and tear from people towing heavy loads (horse floats, boats etc).