2019 Toyota RAV4 Review

The engine feels willing around town, and passing and merging are pretty much drama-free. But if you're in a huge rush, you might notice the engine's ultimately modest power delivery. In Edmunds testing, our RAV4 test vehicle needed 9.1 seconds to cover 0-60 mph, which is slightly slower than the class average.

It's easy to make smooth and steady stops in traffic, and the pedal conveys a sense of reassuring effectiveness without being jumpy. The RAV4 is also stable and secure during hard stops. In our panic-braking test, the RAV4 took 126 feet to stop from 60 mph, which is an average distance for a small crossover SUV.

The steering is indistinct and vague at the center point, and effort is a bit too light. And though it firms as you turn it away from the center and into corners, the amount doesn't match how hard the tires are working, so it's easy to misjudge your level of input. More positively, the RAV4 tracks well on the highway, and it's fairly resistant to crosswinds.

The RAV4 is coordinated and balanced, and it doesn't lean too much when negotiating corners. It's nicely resistant to bumps that come in the middle of corners, too. Torque-vectoring all-wheel drive helps turn this SUV more steadily in wet or snowy conditions. Tire grip is appropriate for the class.

The eight-speed transmission has enough ratios to avoid busy shifting on grades. Shifts are very smooth, and there's no reluctance to downshift, but the shift-smoothing strategy does make each shift take longer than you might want if you're in a rush. The Sport mode sharpens gas-pedal responsiveness and shift timing to a useful degree.

The Adventure and the Limited have an upgraded AWD system with rear-axle torque vectoring. They also have more advanced traction control systems that support a driver-selectable system of multiple terrain settings and hill descent control. These systems, plus respectable ground clearance, give the RAV4 Adventure above-average off-road ability for a small SUV.

The front seats are nicely sculpted and padded appropriately, but the seat bottoms begin to feel flat on longer drives. The passenger side's lack of seat height adjustment and coarse-adjusting manual backrest lever make it difficult to find a comfortable position. The rear seatbacks recline, and the seat bottoms and backrest are comfortably shaped and nicely padded.

The suspension is tuned to strike a good balance between control and softness. The body doesn't bound or float, and small to moderate impacts are absorbed without much drama. Deep potholes can feel sharp, but the overall smoothness of the RAV4 on a variety of surfaces is appealing.

The RAV4's 2.5-liter four-cylinder is thrashy and coarse, but at least the sound conveys some strength instead of weakness. The tight-sealing sill-overlapping doors nicely mute road noise. Wind noise is normally minimal, but it gets noticeable if you have the optional roof rack crossbars fitted.

Toyota's controls are excellent, with nice, big rubberized knobs that are easy to use, even when you're wearing winter gloves. Air distribution is also ideal, with forward vents that can be closed off completely as desired and vents for the rear seat. The seat heaters don't get very warm even on the highest setting, however.

The controls are easy to find and have functionality that is self-evident. Labels tend to be large and legible. The audio system and climate system controls are islands unto themselves, and everything else is right where you expect it to be. Our only gripe is that the reach to the touchscreen is a little long.

It's fairly easy to get in and out of the RAV4 because the short doors can be opened readily in tight parking spots. The rear door openings are nicely squared off at the roof, too, for added head clearance. However, tall or inflexible people will have to duck into the front passenger seat because it's set a bit high and can't be adjusted down.

The basic seating position relates well to the steering wheel, pedals and gauges. The telescoping steering wheel satisfied most everyone, but the tallest among us wished it pulled out just a bit more. The same was true of the driver-seat height: Most were happy, but our taller drivers wanted to drop the seat a little lower than it could go.

There's suitable space all around, but the front passenger may complain that he or she is too close to the roof because that seat is set too high and lacks any height adjustment. The back seat can accommodate a tall passenger behind a tall driver. There's plenty of headroom in back, plus lots of toe room and a seat recline feature.

The front pillars are slender and easy to see around, and a gap between them and the door-mounted mirrors ensures there's no front-corner blind spot. The rearview mirrors are large and offer good coverage. The rear three-quarter blind spot isn't big either because there are extra windows behind the rear doors. The optional surround-view cameras offer multiple useful viewing angles. The rearview camera image is pretty low-res.

The RAV4 is well-built inside, with nice layered materials and seams that are invisible because they're built into the styling. It has excellent tactile touches such as rubberized grip surfaces on the interior door pulls and the radio and climate knobs. The too-smooth leather upholstery looks a little artificial and cheap but its seams are tidy and straight.

The glovebox and center console are neither remarkably small nor uncommonly large. What makes the difference are the many useful nooks and good-size shelves all around. You'll have plenty of space to put things during long road trips. The door pockets aren't very large, but they will hold big bottles.

The liftover height is low, and the RAV4's cargo opening is broad. Behind the rear seats you get 37.5 cubic feet of capacity. The second-row seats fold nearly flat, and the hinge area is cleverly upholstered so there's no crack for items to fall into. Expanded capacity is generous at 69.8 cubic feet. The roll-up cargo cover has a special underfloor storage slot.

It's easy to locate and connect to the lower LATCH anchors. Likewise, tethering to the three upper anchors is straightforward. Forward-facing seats and boosters fit readily, but installing a rear-facing infant seat on the passenger side will likely require scooting the front seat up. The too-high front passenger seat mentioned earlier is the issue here.

Most RAV4s have a modest tow rating of 1,500 pounds; the Adventure can tow 3,500 pounds. This rating is pretty healthy for a small SUV, and certainly enough for the sort of outdoor gear you might want to tow to the trailhead.

The control interface involves a great mix of touchscreen and fixed buttons that are easy to learn without consulting the owner's manual. But the graphics and menu structure within the software already look dated whether you're messing with audio or looking at maps. The sound quality from the base system isn't anything special.

Apple CarPlay is available, but there's no Android Auto. 'Droid users must interface with Toyota's dreaded Entune system. One USB data port is supplied along with four power-only USBs: two front, two rear. Bluetooth pairing is easy and requires few confirmation steps. You can opt for a wireless charge pad that will hold the largest phones.

Toyota's standard suite of driver aids is quite impressive. It includes adaptive cruise control that works down to 0 mph, automatic emergency braking, drowsy driver detection, automatic high beams, lane keeping assist, and something called Line Tracing Assist, which is an active (but not hands-free) steering aid.

Toyota's voice control system works pretty well if you take a few minutes to follow the prompted procedure to teach it your voice. Of course, pressing and holding the voice button longer gets you to Siri or Google Voice on your smartphone, which is even more powerful. Not a bad combination.

Toyota RAV4 LE

You might expect the RAV4 LE, as the base-level trim, to be sparsely equipped, but that's not the case. It comes standard with 17-inch steel wheels, LED headlights, rear privacy glass, low-profile roof rails, Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 (forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and automatic high beams), a rearview camera, a 60/40-split folding and reclining second-row seat, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a 7-inch touchscreen interface with Apple CarPlay compatibility, one USB port, Bluetooth and a six-speaker sound system.

Toyota RAV4 XLE

The XLE adds 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, foglights, heated mirrors, push-button start, keyless entry, upgraded interior trim, a sunroof, blind-spot monitoring with rear-cross traffic alert, dual-zone automatic climate control, four additional USB ports (five total) and extending sun visors.

Toyota RAV4 XLE Premium

From there, the XLE Premium adds 19-inch wheels, a slightly raised suspension (8.6 inches of ground clearance versus 8.4 inches), a power liftgate, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a power-adjustable driver's seat, simulated leather upholstery (SofTex), and soft-touch dashboard materials.

Toyota RAV4 Adventure

The Adventure is a bit special since it adds some special styling flourishes along with its extra equipment. On top of getting most of the XLE Premium's contents, the Adventure has unique 19-inch alloy wheels, fender flares, all-weather floor mats, taller roof rails, an upgraded rearview camera (with guidelines), embossed seating details, an upgraded driver information display, an 8-inch touchscreen and satellite radio. The Adventure trim level is also rated to tow up to 3,500 pounds, while all other RAV4 trim levels can only pull 1,500 pounds.

Toyota RAV4 Limited

The Limited builds on the XLE Premium's equipment with chrome exterior trim, driver-seat memory functions, an auto-dimming mirror, the 8-inch touchscreen and a Toyota navigation system.

Some of the Limited's upgrades can be added to the Adventure, XLE Premium and XLE trim levels through a variety of packages. Other options, depending on the trim level, include a hands-free liftgate, a surround-view parking camera, a parking sensor system with automatic braking, a panoramic sunroof, a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, wireless smartphone charging and an 11-speaker JBL sound system.