2016 RAV4 se
 

My wife's 2007 Rdx with tech package is getting old.
High miles with not so cheap parts if anything breaks.
Been great 160k miles but, as things start to break, I noticed how expensive everything is, to top it off lot of parts are dealer only items.

Was looking at few cars for her.
Highlander, Lexus, maybe Mercedes.
But once you price them with awd and interior upgrade, these cars become much higher priced cars.

I also didn't feel like buying base higher end cars, no offense to people with cla250 or i320.

And I saw the new RAV4.
SE in awd with tech package.
Wow what a nice car.

Ride is much better then 2015 model and I love the 18inch wheels.
Picked her up in white and very happy with it.
I never uploaded picture on this forum so I will work on it in the morning.
Already ordered bug deflector, window visors. And looking for mud flaps.
:)

congrats - we shopped for the RAV4 as well but it was a tad bit under power for us. Wife went and ordered a NX 200t

perfect now you just need a trailer so you can tow your FRS to the track :burnrubber:

I've always liked Rav4. The OG of crossovers.

i don't think RAV4 can tow anything. Haven't checked the towing capacity but, rather do it in big truck like tundra.

I was also looking at nx 200t but website didn't show awd option. We go camping once in blue moon, and we were stuck in snow by north California one time. Awd in Rdx worked great, so awd was must feature for us.

Engine is under powered for sure, but I have other fast car for speed fix. Wait never mind my Frs is just as slow ..

:lol: well played sir hahahaha

RAV4 feels faster than FR-S for sure though. Get a V6. We have a 2009 4cyl, real world mpg is 26-32 hwy, city 24mpg...

Toyota stop making v6 for RAV4 long time ago. But with increased sound deadening this year makes car really quite vs last years model.
I would like to have real power house suv like srt8 jeep, but I am very familiar with other makes and model cars. I work in dealership so I get to drive lots of cars.
Little details and feeling of the materials are always best on toyotas.

Kinda wished I would have gotten hybrid RAV4 but they don't make se in that trim.

Coming from Rdx with 18 to 20 average mpg, RAV4 is huge upgrade in mpg.

Nice. How are you liking the bird's eye camera, lane departure alert, blind spot monitor, and the 11 JBL speakers? The cameras is a trip if you've never seen one before, and the second gen of the Green Egde speakers are so much better.

LED headlights are great too, plus that adjustable liftgate is nice for garage doors.

Tech package was worth the extra money. Down side is Toyota is going to make most of this feature standard on all cars this year. Not sure if future se trim will get cheaper or not.
So far so good, love the car. Auto high beam is soo cool :)

Why is awd so important?

Also. Check this
https://youtu.be/k-TQdIqFvZo

The Toyota Safety Sense (P and C) will eventually make its way to every Toyota. It'll still be a couple of years I think.

The AHB is cool too. Would be very beneficial in my commute.

I tried the adaptive radar cruise control (dynamic radar CC), it's a trip. I was a little uncomfortable with it. http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/image...s/biglaugh.gif

To me awd is not important, but rather it's my wife.
She knows nothing about cars, real old Asian bad driver type (we are Asians)
But after 7hour snow trip she is convinced that awd is must have.
I don't argue with my wife, something I learned long time ago.

AWD will also hold a better resale value compared to the front wheel drive. It'll also provide better traction in the rain. The Rav4 shows an independent wheel power gauge (oddly enough, the same gauge shows what looks like a g-force ball meter http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/images/smilies/rotfl.gif)

The AWD version will also corner better than the FWD version when in sport mode.

Compared to the Rav 4, the Forester is a safer, more-efficient, and cheaper (by about $1500) vehicle that has the option of a turbo. People will buy the Rav 4 for brand perception, but Subaru still makes the best product in the segment for practical purposes, and why buy a station wagon if it isn't for practicality? I hear Mazda makes the most fun car in the segment, but does that matter?

NX series has absolutely terrible storage in the back and costs a ton. It's a good car, but it sacrifices substance for style.

I do regret that I did not give forester enough chance this time.
I am also aware that Subaru awd system is superior to toyota's cheating fwd to awd system. But maybe next time :). We are still young got lot of different car to get down the road.

I'm helping my girlfriend choose her next car, as she graduates this academic year and will be a teacher. So, SUV type comes into mind. Having a Subaru myself, I'm biased towards the Forester. But we might have to take a look at the RAV4. It sounds nice! The sound deadening is a plus for her. But them again, she's coming from a 2007 Mustang GT and 328i, so she might like the get up and go of the Forester XT.

Has anyone here considered the Crosstrek? Or is not the same class? I like the fact that AWD will retain its value better, and since its standard on all Subaru's(Except ours. Lol.) I think a Crosstrek looks fun and appeals to younger demographic.


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Crosstrek isn't in the same class. It's essentially a lifted Impreza.

Crosstek is cool, and I think it keeps its value well. It's a real hipster car. Style/substance. Nothing wrong with that. Not really a functional wagon either. Like Kaotic said, it's a raised Impreza, but for loads more money.

We have a 2014 Forester 2.5i. The biggest problems are low towing capacity and low mileage compared to, say, a Prius. The marginal mileage gain of a Rav 4 Hybrid isn't worth the massive extra cost.

Not sure if there's an alternative with truly great mileage.

Ummm, the Rav4 Hybrid XLE is about $750 more than the gas model. If you're primarily doing city driving, that 34mpg looks way better than 22mpg (awd model). Highway driving, 2mpg difference isn't considerable.

I don't think any of the small crossovers have much towing capacity. The Rav4 is rated only 1,500 lbs for towing.

That $750 difference is only for the top end model. You're looking at 28k starters for a hybrid. 33k for the limited. Almost 26k just to get AWD. Vs 22k for the Forester 2.5i w/AWD. And those are just sticker prices. It's also much easier to get money off on a Subaru. At 33k, you're in BMW X1/Acura RDX territory.

Course that's all MSRP. I like to go by Edmunds TCO. How much does it cost to own the car for 5 years, including insurance, depreciation, gas, etc, driving 15k/year?

http://www.edmunds.com/subaru/forest...8/cost-to-own/ = $38,860
http://www.edmunds.com/toyota/rav4/2...4/cost-to-own/ = $40,371

There's no Rav 4 hybrid numbers yet. But just for comparison...

A 2015 Camry Hybrid LE = $38,438
A 2015 Camry LE = $37,529

So unless you're doing massive miles, an intelligent non-hybrid choice will save likely you money.

The funny part is looking at BRZ vs FRS TCO. The FRS shits its pants on depreciation and insurance costs, making the BRZ the winnah! Too bad for me.

Here are the spec sheets for similarly equipped Rav4 XLE AWD and Hybrid XLE. Looking at it from an MSRP point, it's a $700 difference. Now, discounts will be more for the gas than the hybrid.

Like I tell my customers, unless you're driving 20k miles a year or are planning on keeping it for 15 years, or just solely drive city streets, don't bother with the hybrid. You'll lose out on 3 cubic feet of cargo space, plus the rear area will be much more slanted in the hybrid.

That better AWD will be so useful when the CVT shits the bed. Judging by the build quality of my 16k mile FR-S and the 4 Subarus in my immediate family, I'd avoid Subaru if it doesn't offer some sporty driving to compensate. Since both my wife and I can drive a stick, getting a manual would be a reason to buy a Forester.

Motor Trend was getting in the high 30s in normal driving in the hybrid. More power and much better fuel economy for $700? People pay more than that for a hole in the roof. Seems well worth it, IMO.

Definitely...if Toyota would just build more of them. Lol.