2012 toyota Rav4 Sport

The 2012 Toyota RAV4 is like a champ nearing retired life: it's showing its age, however it won't decrease without a battle. That's because this existing RAV4 simply obtained a lot basically right from the moment of its debut in 2006. The difficult yet controlled styling has actually come to be a component on our highways, as well as those crisp, simple lines continuously motivate modern crossover layouts. The readily available 3.5-liter V6 engine offers the RAV4 the acceleration of a sporting activities car, yet it still delivers solid fuel economic situation. You can also get a third-row dive seat in case added children occur for the trip. In these respects as well as even more, the RAV4 continues to be an engaging selection - 2012 Toyota Rav4 Sport.

Certainly, however, some chinks have actually appeared in the RAV4's shield. The base 4-cylinder engine isn't really poor on its own, but you can only get it with a 4-speed automated, which is an antiquated piece by current standards. Additionally, this course has seen substantially improved indoor top quality, leaving the RAV4's heavyset, hard-plastic dashboard by the wayside. Toyota has done an excellent job of maintaining the RAV4 up to day highly, yet there's just a lot a car manufacturer can do with a product entering its seventh year on the marketplace.

But we're still big followers of the 2012 RAV4, as well as we wager you'll have the ability to obtain a great deal on one when the next-generation version begins turning up at dealers. The RAV4 is a tried-and-true crossover that has remained surprisingly fresh. That's a formula we'll always support.

2012 Toyota Rav4 Sport

Convenience & Utility

The 2012 Toyota RAV4 comes in three trim degrees: base, Sport and also Limited. The base design maintains it basic essentially, shaking 16-inch steel wheels (17-inch alloys with the V6), cooling, a tilting and telescoping guiding wheel, power accessories as well as recurring windshield wipers - but there's an enjoyable surprise through the conventional six-speaker stereo, which boasts iPod/USB and Bluetooth connection.

The Sporting activity includes 18-inch alloy wheels, a sport-tuned suspension, a larger back spoiler, foglamps as well as unique charcoal indoor textile. The Limited has 17-inch alloys yet likewise gets a roof shelf, dual-zone automatic environment control and keyless entrance with push-button start. A fold-flat third-row seat is readily available on every RAV4, while other remarkable options, depending upon trim degree, consist of a sunroof, leather furniture as well as a power chauffeur's seat. Just the Limited is eligible for the optional navigation system, which includes sophisticated conversational voice-recognition software program, a 6.1-inch touchscreen user interface as well as the smartphone-based Entune mobile application system.

No 2 means concerning it, being in the motorist's seat of the RAV4 seems like remaining in a time warp. On the bright side, exterior presence from the commanding, if a little flat, front chairs is better compared to today's standard, considering that the RAV hails from a less complex time when great sight lines were considered a safety and security function. But the control panel - apart from the crisp Optitron determines - looks like someone's decade-old concept of "sturdy and outdoorsy" - it's all heavyset shapes as well as tough plastics.

Don't get us wrong: Toyota's been building this thing for a very long time, so we're confident everything is screwed together fairly well. It's just not the cabin of an advanced crossover.

The RAV4's second row is installed below the front seats. As a matter of fact, it's reduced enough that travelers with lengthy legs may find upper leg support lacking. Room is or else sufficient, nonetheless, and the seat also reclines and also slides fore and aft. The optional third-row seat is strictly for children or abnormally tiny and also limber grownups, but we're not complaining. In this course, it's unusual for a crossover to have a third-row seat at all, and also there's no question that this one adds convenience to the RAV4's already appealing biography.

Cargo space is an additional stamina at 12.3 cubic feet behind the 3rd row, approximately 37.2 cubic feet behind the second row and also 73 cubic feet with all the back seats folded down. That's some serious transporting capacity for a small crossover.

Nevertheless, the RAV4's cargo door is depended upon the guest's side rather than in hatchback design on top, so it swings bent on that side when you're packing stuff. If you're parked on the appropriate side of a road, you'll have to walk around the open door to access the freight bay, and in a tight parallel-parking situation, that could be tricky.

Modern technology

We prepared to dent the RAV4 for lagging the moments in tech, yet Toyota beat us to the strike. Even one of the most basic RAV4 now comes with a common high-content stereo, including iPod/USB and also Bluetooth integration. Outstanding. We are dissatisfied in Toyota's choice to limit the new Entune system - and the navigation system it comes bundled with - to the pricey Minimal version, instead of making it offered throughout the lineup. For those ready to spend for it, Entune will likely please with its capability to integrate mobile apps like Pandora as well as OpenTable into the 6.1-inch touchscreen display screen. Just ensure your smartphone strategy could deal with all the data usage.

Performance & Gas Economic Situation

The RAV4 has either front- or all-wheel drive and also either a 2.5-liter inline-4 or a 3.5-liter V6 engine. The 4-cylinder sends its 179 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque via a 4-speed transmission, while the V6 cranks out its 269 hp and 246 lb-ft via a 5-speed automatic. We actually do not mind the base engine whatsoever, as it's alert sufficient as well as respectably smooth; it's just the clunky old 4-speed automatic that we have a problem with. To be reasonable, we can't suggest with the fuel economy, which checks in at 22 mpg city/28 mpg highway with FWD and 21/27 mpg with AWD. Yet the V6 is so much better in every other regard, tearing through its 5 equipments with equal components rush as well as refinement - and also its gas economy actually isn't really far off the 4-cylinder's speed, at 19/27 mpg with FWD and also 19/26 mpg with AWD.

Safety

The RAV4 comes criterion with security control, six airbags, active front head relaxes, as well as four-wheel ABDOMINAL. The federal government hasn't already crash checked the RAV4 since adopting its brand-new methodology in 2010, yet the independent Insurance policy Institute for Freeway Security offered the RAV4 its highest possible mark of "Good" in every group other than the roofing system toughness examination, in which the RAV4 was deemed "Appropriate.".

Driving Impacts

Thanks to carlike characteristics as well as the superb outward visibility we stated earlier, the RAV4 is an enjoyment to drive. It's a terrific dimension, big enough for 3 rows of seats but tiny sufficient to feel manoeuvrable in urban locations. The steering is relatively sharp, and we didn't think twice about rolling over large fractures and even pesky aesthetics if necessary. If we required a crossover for the city, the RAV4 would be near the top of our checklist - and also if we lived in a suv or rural setting, we would certainly order a RAV4 V6 and also enjoy several of the most effective reasonably valued SUV velocity on the market.

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