Toyota RAV4 vs Mazda CX-80

What's the difference?

The Toyota RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid 2WD model reaffirms why the RAV4 is so popular in Australia. It offers families space, convenience and features in a well-priced and handsome package. The cabin noise might be an ick for some but for everything else this model offers it could be overlooked.

The Mazda CX-80 Touring G40e will do everything you ask of it and outside of pricey ongoing costs, there’s not much to annoy. It’s too large for my small family of three and if it’s kid stowage that you’re looking for, a people mover might offer better practicality and comfort than what this does. Would it be a model that you jump through hoops to get? Maybe not, but it still has a place as family hauler and is easy to drive.

In anticipation of the next-gen model, there hasn't been any design changes for the RAV4 - it remains a good-looking family SUV despite being a little heavy-handed with its angles.

Some external design highlights include garage friendly dimensions and a host of black accents across the body, including 18-inch alloy wheels that help to create an edgy kerb-side appeal.

Head inside and the RAV4 Cruiser offers a premium cabin-feel with its leather upholstery and large tech screens that headline the dashboard.

As always, there is a sense that design is based on functionality rather than style, which is typical of Toyota, but the simplicity makes the cabin relaxing to be in.

You’re not overwhelmed by touchpads or gadgets as can be the case in other new cars and there is a certain charm about that.

I've said it before but Mazda SUVs all look like scaled versions of each other to me and the CX-80 looks ridiculously similar to every other larger SUV model in the Mazda stable with the long pronounced nose that features sharp LED lighting and its general robust size.

The rear is where it differs with the proportions becoming a little bulbous but it’s practically shaped and overall is a nice-looking family SUV at the kerb side.

Head inside and the interior is pleasant with its high-quality trims and heavy-handed styling that matches the exterior dimensions with big panelling and air-vents up front to balance out the long width of this dashboard.

However, the whole car tends to lack personality for a model that’s a part of Mazda’s ‘premium SUV’ range. It's nice but doesn't add anything new.

The RAV4 continues to impress with its practicality.

Access and comfort for both rows is excellent. The heat and cool functions for the front seats are perfect for all seasons and the two-position memory function on the driver’s side is handy if you often share driving duties with your partner.  

The rear row seating is well-padded and middle seaters will love the legroom the lower transmission tunnel offers. Head- and legroom is good in both rows, even for taller adults.

Amenities and storage are also great throughout the car.

Front rowers enjoy a decently sized middle console which I can squeeze my small handbag into, a glove box, two cupholders, two drink bottle holders, a phone tray and two shelves in the dashboard. You also get a sunglasses holder!

In the rear you get a single map pocket, two cupholders and two drink bottle holders, which is enough for my little family of three.

In terms of technology, you get a bunch and the usability is great.

The 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks really nice and is now the same system that Lexus uses, which is a big plus as it’s much easier to use than the previous Toyota one. The next-gen model should see this upgraded to a 12.3-inch system, which is more in line with its rivals.

You also get built-in satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto. CarPlay maintains a strong connection.

There's a multitude of charging options throughout, including a USB-A port, four USB-C ports, a 12-volt socket and a wireless charging pad.

Rounding out the cabin is a boot that offers plenty of space with its 580L capacity and you get a temporary spare tyre, as well as, a retractable cargo cover.

However, the quality of the cargo cover isn't the best and it would be easier to use if it had a handle to grip onto.

The Cruiser model comes with a powered tailgate, which is always handy but the 'warning' alert as it opens or descends is very loud. Truck-reversing-beeping loud. Everyone will know when you open the boot!

Seven-seat SUVs tend to really be a 5+2 combo, where the rear two seats are for kid- or emergency-use only. You'll be pleased to find that all passengers enjoy a decent amount of space in each row in the CX-80. The third row is still a little cosy for an adult but my 6ft2 brother managed to get back there without too many grumbles. However, we all giggled as he sort of fell in due to the lack of handholds (sorry, Mack).

Otherwise, the 170mm ground clearance and wide door apertures make it an easy SUV to get in and out of. The doors are heavy and sometimes miss their 'hold' position if you open them too quickly, making them swing back. My eight-year-old got whacked a few times because of it!

Amenities and storage are best in the first and second rows with front occupants enjoying those heated seats, two USB-C ports, a 12-volt socket and wireless charging pad. You also get dual-zone climate control, and powered seats with adjustable lumbar support. The seats are well-padded but fairly narrow and short in the base, making it easy to fatigue on longer journeys.

Storage includes a large glovebox that can hold a manual and a fair bit more, a shallow but handy middle console because of its dual-opening lid and a total of four drink holders. There's a sunglasses holder but not much else for smaller loose items.

In the second row you get two map pockets, a small storage bin in each door and a total of six drink holders. There's also individual reading lights, two USB-C ports, climate control, directional air vents, a fold-down armrest and retractable sunblinds (always a winning feature in my house).

The third row gets four drink holders, two USB-C ports and two directional air vents.

Feedback from my passengers (kids and adults alike) hasn't been great for the air-conditioning system with all complaining how long it took for the rear two rows to cool down. The low and awkward positioning of the air vents also prevents direct air flow to passengers. The third row is impacted by this as the passenger's legs cover them.

The rest of the technology is solid with the multimedia system offering a rotary dial operation. The system hasn't seen any recent updates, so if you're familiar with the Mazda system, you'll get along just fine.

The built-in satellite navigation is simple enough to use and the wireless Apple CarPlay is easy to connect to. There's also wireless Android Auto. Call connections remained consistent but feedback was that there seemed to be a fair bit of background noise on my end during calls.

Rounding out the interior is the boot space which offers a level loading space, retractable cargo blind and underfloor storage which houses the tyre repair kit. There's also a 12-volt socket and 220-volt/150W AC socket housed on a side panel.

With all three rows up, you get 258L of capacity and that figure jumps up to 566L when the third row is stowed. The CX-8 offered more boot space but the CX-80 is still respectable for the annual family road trip. Plus you get a powered tailgate function in the Touring model, which is always appreciated.

Mazda offers a choice of five CX-80 grades and for almost all of them, you get the option of a new mild hybrid petrol or diesel, or a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

The Touring G40e model on test for this review is second-from-the-bottom and has a petrol mild-hybrid powertrain. It is priced from $61,950 before on-road costs and the Artisan Red Metallic paintwork our test model has adds $995 to the price tag.

The Touring is more affordable than some of its rivals, including the Toyota Kluger GXL at $70,440 MSRP and Hyundai Santa Fe Elite at $62,500 MSRP. However, these two models are full hybrids and the Santa Fe has a slightly longer features list for only a little bit more money which makes it better value overall.

The great thing about Mazda is once you move up from the entry grade, you often benefit from a host of great standard features that would usually come as part of a package or cost extra with other brands. For example the Touring gets leather upholstery, heated and powered front seats and a wireless charging pad, which isn't too bad for a grade that sits towards the start of the range.

There are some solid practical features like the keyless entry and start, rain-sensing wipers, dusk-sensing headlights, powered tailgate, three-zone climate control, retractable sunblinds (second row) and 360-degree view camera system.

Tech feels well-rounded with a 10.25-inch multimedia system, six USB-C ports, two 12-volt sockets, a 220-volt/150W AC socket, satellite navigation and wireless/wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

In terms of value within the CX-80 range, the Touring G40e is the pick of the litter.

All RAV4 models have a continuously variable automatic transmission and the same hybrid combination of a 2.5L four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor which combine to produce up to 160kW of power and 221Nm of torque for front-wheel-drive models. 

The combo delivers decent power for an SUV of this size.

 The CX-80 Touring G40e model has an eight-speed auto transmission and all-wheel drive via a 3.3L turbo-petrol in-line six-cylinder engine coupled with a 48-volt mild hybrid system that produces up to 209kW of power and 450Nm of torque.

It’s not ridiculously powerful but pick up is great and there's more than enough to move the CX-80's big body around and support a 2500kg braked towing capacity.

The Toyota hybrid powertrain produces the lowest official combined fuel cycle figure compared to its rivals at just 4.7L/100km and the best theoretical driving range of up to 1170km courtesy of its 55L fuel tank.

After covering a mix of open-road and urban driving this week, the on-test figure is 5.5L/100km, which proves Toyota does hybrids well.

The Touring G40e model has a 74-litre fuel tank and an official combined fuel cycle usage of 8.4L/100km, which gives you a theoretical driving range of up to 880km.

The mild-hybrid system works well enough that I didn’t hit double digits for fuel usage despite not being shy on using the power while hauling cargo and people on a mix of open road and urban trips.

My real-world use popped out at 9.3L/100km and while the diesel variant has much more efficient outputs and range, this result is pretty good for such a massive SUV.

The RAV4 Hybrid Cruiser 2WD is stupidly easy to drive which is one of its best qualities.

The driver is front and centre for design, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to twiddle with climate controls or changing your music. That makes the driving feel… well, cruisy.

Power delivery is mostly smooth and offers decent punch when you need to put your foot down. However, it can be laggy off the mark from a cold-start, so take care when crossing traffic.

Suspension feels well-tuned for our Aussie roads, even the regional ones, but never feels floaty. This is well-grounded but you do get some roll in corners.

A drawback is the cabin is annoyingly loud once you hit the open-road and there is a wind-whistle near the driver that drove me nuts.

There are also a lot of squeaky/rubbing noises when you hit bumpy roads. However, it is a refined experience around town, when engine noise is all but nil. The urban environment is where it shines. 

The steering is direct with a tight 11.4m turning circle, which makes the RAV4 easy to park. It also helps that the 360-degree view camera set-up is top-notch, which is not always the case for Toyota, and you get front and rear parking sensors too. 

The Touring G40e model is pleasant, if a little boring, to bum around in. Boring may be too strong a word but there's not much that gets you excited about the driving experience. The Touring performs and has decent power through most situations but it lacks a certain edge. It's not particularly sporty, nor does it sound mean when you put your foot down.

It's nice and does what you expect it to do.

The ride comfort is good with cushioned suspension with enough road feedback but people in the back will jostle a bit over the worst of the bumps.

Road noise can creep in at higher speeds and third rowers will struggle to be a part of the conversation but overall the cabin is refined for longer journeys.  

Visibility is mostly good because of the big windows but the wider pillars mean I check my blind spots very carefully, as the side mirrors seem a tad too small for the bulk of the car.

The CX-80 has a small turning circle of 11.6m and most of the time it never feels like it lumbers, but when you’re manoeuvring it in a tight car park the steering can feel heavy and a three-point turn starts to feel clumsy.

A saving grace is the excellent quality of the 360-degree camera system which takes out some of the puff from parking it. The CX-80 fills a space and it’s one you'd be careful to park so you don't get crowded.

At the time of this review the new Mazda CX-80 hasn’t been tested with ANCAP and is thus unrated but it has 10 airbags which is great for a big family SUV and includes side-chest airbags for the second row and curtain airbags that extend to the third row.

The Touring G40e model features a robust list of standard safety features including auto emergency braking (AEB), safe exit assist, front and rear cross-traffic alerts, blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert and monitoring, forward collision warning, lane keeping aid/departure, front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera system, traffic sign recognition, intelligent seatbelt warning and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

The adaptive cruise control is one of the most user-friendly I’ve sampled recently and other than a sensitive lane keeping aid, all systems follow that user-friendly vibe.

There are a total of five top-tether points and two ISOFIX child seat mounts. The width of the middle seat means you should be good to fit three child seats side by side if they're not too large.

The RAV4 is offered with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, but you add two more years if you service exclusively with Toyota and on schedule.

There is a five-year capped-priced servicing program and it costs just $260 per service, which is very competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12-months or 15,000km whichever occurs first.

The CX-80 is let down a bit by its ongoing costs.

Mazda offers the CX-80 with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty which is fairly standard. A number of its rivals are offered with up to seven-year terms these days.

You get a five-year servicing program with services averaging $694, which makes it on the more expensive side, but servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.