2018 Toyota RAV4 vs 2019

What's the difference?

The diesel GX doesn't appear to be especially good value because it probably isn't. A $41,000 car with steel wheels and a cloth interior (even though I like it) is really pushing it on the value front. Added to that the lack of engine features, like stop-start, and a media system from the 21st century, you have to wonder where the money has gone. Wonder no more - it's all in the safety gear, which as a package is hard to beat at this price level.

For not much less, though, you can have the mid-spec GXL petrol and have mostly the same experience along with the now-standard safety tech... and a set of alloy wheels.

This new RAV4 has converted me. I didn't like any of the previous ones, with varying levels of displeasure. None of them were bad, they were just dull transport wrapped in what Toyota thought was fun.

The fifth-generation RAV4 joins the C-HR and new Corolla as genuinely likeable cars. Toyotas have always been 'good cars' - solid, dependable and could take a pounding few others would even contemplate. But that's not enough anymore and the TNGA platform is delivering cars that aren't just good transport but really very good cars.

The only problems with the Edge are that it costs too much and isn't a hybrid. Both of those things will probably have you saving a few bucks and buying the Cruiser hybrid.

A lot has changed in 23 years, including Toyota's consumption of bravery pills. While it's not an especially courageous design, the RAV is the sharpest and most handsome it has ever been. To be completely fair, the RAV has usually been a bit more interesting than most Toyotas, but this one is sharp and well-judged, clearly linked to the C-HR and newer Kluger models.

It manages to look very under-wheeled with the steel rims and therefore looks higher than it really is, which is a shame, because it's an otherwise handsome design. The front end is particularly well-executed and gets better with familiarity.

Thankfully, it goes without the awful bonnet scoop of past diesel RAV4s, too.

Here in the cheaper seats, it's a bit bleak. The RAV's interior design is already looking a little dated but you can't argue with its functionality. It's quite grey and plasticky here in the GX but there's no shame in the cloth trim, which if you ask me isn't available in enough cars.

I do feel a bit sorry for Toyota's designers. We moan about dull cars - the previous RAV4 was mostly pretty dull - and say, "Be more interesting." Then they pop out the new RAV4 and people like me say, "No, not like that."

While the overall look is pleasingly chunky and blocky, some of the details are less so. That weird black strip that joins the rear quarter window to the tailgate looks unaligned with anything else on the car. The Tiguan rear lights look a bit stolen.

The Edge looks like a ruggedised RAV4. It has its own bumper and grille treatment and chunky, unpainted wheelarches, along with its own exclusive colour palette.

The new cabin is a pleasing step up from the old car's. Here in the Edge there are some fun splashes of what looks like McLaren's Papaya Orange and even more splashes of rubber.

Some of the switchgear and grab handles are finished in rubber, harking back to the idea of a hose-out interiors of early Land Cruisers (do not hose out your RAV4).

That's about it for adventure, though, but that's okay. It's an interior that will take a family and its stuff without fuss.

The RAV is a spacious machine, with good headroom and legroom for both front and rear passengers. It's not too high that you have to consciously climb in and you can fit three kids across the back without drama.

Front and rear passengers each score a pair of cupholders, bringing the total to four, matched by the bottle holder count. 

Boot space starts with a pretty decent 550 litres and with the 60/40 split fold seats dropped forward, ends up at a whopping 1760L.

The orange bits in the Edge highlight a couple of very handy storage ideas. The dash shelf that I've often praised in the Kluger as being exceptionally useful is here, as well as a Qi wireless charging pad in the same vivid colour.

Both are rubberised so stuff doesn't slide and clatter about. There are USB ports everywhere, too - one for the media system, two in the central console and two for rear seat passengers.

Boot space is better than before at 580 litres with the seats up, an improvement of 33 litres. As is Toyota's wont, we don't have a seats down figure.

Given its likely use as a family car, the RAV's rear seat space is top notch. I had tons of room behind my driving position (I'm just under six feet) and number one son who is well north of six foot tall also had enough room for his knees and giant headphones.

The front seats are fantastic, which is becoming a trend for Toyota and the segment.

There are four cupholders and bottle holders, two up front and two in the back.

At nearly fifty large ($47,140), the Edge is, er, on the edge but it is loaded with stuff. You get 19-inch alloys, a nine-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, electric tailgate, leather wheel and shifter, keyless entry and start, front/side/reversing camera, active cruise control, electric driver's seat, sat nav, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, lots of synthetic leather, sunroof, power everything and space saver spare.

The nine speaker stereo is branded with JBL badges and has DAB. It has the awful user interface from the Corolla stretched across the 8.0-inch screen along with some cheap plastichrome buttons to operate it.

Toyota is promising us Apple CarPlay and Android Auto soon, but will want to do something about the washed-out colour on the screen

I know Toyota fans are fond of engine codes, so I can tell you that the diesel RAV4 is equipped with a 2AD-FHV 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel developing 110kW and 340Nm.

The GX diesel is a reasonably hefty 1635kg and can tow 1200kg braked and 750kg unbraked.

Under the Edge's high, flat bonnet is Toyota's 2.5-litre (A25A-FKS) four-cylinder, delivering 152kW/243Nm to all four wheels. An eight-speed automatic transmission gets the power out.

No turbos, no obvious trickery, just a classic Toyota machine, but this time it has a bit more power than previous cars. Irritatingly, you can't get the 163kW hybrid powertrain here at the top of the range.

The all-wheel drive system keeps the power up front for the most part, but can send up to fifty per cent to the rear.

The rear axle also has some clever torque vectoring tech. It won't have you out mixing it with a Land Rover Defender, but the system should make the RAV4 pretty handy in the rough stuff.

There is a terrain select dial where you can choose three different modes (mud and sand, rock and dirt, and snow).

Toyota's combined fuel figure is listed at 6.7L/100km which is a little way off the 8.7L/100km I managed in a mix of suburban and highway driving. To be fair, the highway average was showing an indicated 6.2L/100km, which is pretty close to the claimed figure.

The sticker on the windscreen will draw fuel from the 55 litre tank at a rate of 6.1L/100km, which would be nice if it happened. My week with the RAV4 cost fuel at a rate of 10.2L/100km.

Stepping out into the suburbs, the diesel RAV is a noisy beast. Most oil-burning medium SUVs manage to keep a lid on the racket of a diesel but the Toyota's is loud and proud. Low-rev clatter, noisy on start-up, this is old school.

Once you get going, though, the engine improves and by the time you're in the cruise zone, it's a happy camper. Only when you go for an overtake does it again invade the cabin with more noise than is probably absolutely necessary.

It is undeniably torquey, though, meaning a fairly relaxed drive. It's not a particularly sprightly thing, so if there is turbo lag, you don't really notice it. The diesel RAV doesn't really respond positively to a flattened throttle, so a gently-as-she goes approach ensures solid progress.

Which is probably just as well, because the ride and handling is a bit wooden. My view on this caused a bit of tension in Casa Anderson because my wife didn't agree. Well, I say tension, she just told me I was wrong. However, if you approach a corner at anything much higher than pensioner-on-the-way-to-the-bowlo speed, expect less than stellar steering and chassis response. The ride isn't all that flash, either, struggling to keep up with a dud road, the rear seemingly stiffly sprung. It's not unsettling and never, ever bad, but the RAV isn't up to the challenge the way a CX-5 or Tucson is and certainly not the similarly-priced VW Tiguan.

I came in to the RAV4 expecting good things. Underneath the chunky body is Toyota's Next Generation Architecture (TNGA) which is also under every good Toyota I've driven in the last couple of years - Corolla, C-HR and Camry.

The RAV is quite different to all of those cars. It rides higher and Camry excepted, is heavier. I also had reservations - the new RAV4 is chunkier than the old car by a fair margin and that rarely brings good news.

The first bit of good news before I even got going was finding out that the 2.5-litre engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic.

Getting underway, it felt slushy but is still preferable to a CVT. It may also have felt a bit slow because the engine makes quite a racket, especially compared to other cars in the segment.

A Tucson of the same grade packs a quiet, smooth 1.6-litre turbo and you can have a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel unit. You have to rev the RAV to get it moving, which partially explains the gap between claimed and real-world fuel usage.

Enough of the complaints, because the RAV4 is good. Very good. Quiet once you hit the cruise and super comfortable front and back, this thing will destroy road trips. The stereo will drown out the road noise, too.

Around the suburbs the ride is firm on the big alloys and even on 55 section rubber, it's a bit jumpy on sharper bumps like expansion joints. The chassis handled bigger bumps and depressions quite happily.

I am very pleased to report that it's good fun to chuck around. Despite that high-riding weight, it changes direction really well and it takes a lot to get to the eventual gentle understeer when you're really pushing.

The old car was a wooden duffer, with no steering feel and a deeply ordinary set of numbers when it came to performance.

On top of all that, the tech works pretty well and the lane keep assist doesn't try and break your thumbs or pierce your eardrums to keep you in your lane.

The RAV4 arrives with seven airbags (including driver's knee), stability and traction controls, forward collision warning, AEB (with pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist detection), lane keep assist, reversing camera, high beam assist, road sign recognition, blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

There are also three top tether anchors and two ISOFIX points.

The fifth-generation car scored a maximum five ANCAP stars in May 2019.

Toyota offers a three-year/100,000km warranty and servicing happens every six months or 10,000km. 

Toyota's lovably simple capped-price servicing ensures you won't pay more than $240 per service on the diesel engine, $60 more than on the petrol. The scheme runs for the first three years/60,000km of the car's life.

Roadside assist starts at $78 per year.

Toyota is close to leading the pack with warranty these days with a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and that can go up to seven years for the engine and transmission if you keep the car properly serviced.

If you return to a Toyota dealer every 12 months/15,000km, you'll pay $210 per service, which is absurdly reasonable.