The cockpit is traditional Toyota, offering a sporty three-spoke steering wheel. Unibody construction lowers the step-in height, making it easier to get in and out, yet it carries a higher ride height than a sedan for traversing obstacles and deep snow.
The sloping hood, tall driving position, and generous greenhouse front and rear make visibility excellent. Our only caveat on the visibility score is the tailgate-mounted spare and tall rear door, which block rear vision just a bit.
Cloth seats are contoured and comfortable and controls and gauges are well located. The instrument cluster incorporates a digital odometer and dual trip meter and upgraded radio features. Sliding controls operate the ventilation system.
Our test car had full carpeting with carpeted floor mats. Standard are dual outside mirrors, intermittent front and rear wipers and a rear window defogger. Front door pockets provide storage, while dual cupholders are integrated into the lower instrument panel. Four-door versions come with an auxiliary power outlet in the rear cargo area for battery-powered coolers and other accessories.
All major safety bases are covered with dual airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners and force-limiters and side-impact door beams. Adjustable seat anchors are added to the front seats on the four-door model.
The RAV4 is not simply a sport-utility wannabe. It has proven itself to be a standard-bearer for this new breed of mini-utilities. A well-designed independent suspension and rack-and-pinion power-assisted steering make it nimble on and off the road.
Standard brakes are power-assisted front disc and rear drum; ABS is available as a $590 option.
We were impressed with the all-wheel-drive traction, finding it useful in snow and slush. Automatic transmission models have a center differential that automatically locks up when excessive slip is sensed between the front and rear axles. On manual transmission models, the driver utilizes a switch to manually lock or unlock the center differential. A limited-slip rear differential is optional and recommended for improved traction off-road.
The RAV4 is fun to drive. Its unibody construction gives it a handling advantage over truck-based sport-utilities with body-on-frame construction. The longer wheelbase on the four-door RAV4 smoothes some of the choppiness found in the two-door version. The engine feels peppy and can cruise at 80, but it runs out of power in the higher rpm range. Still, the RAV4 accelerates to highway speeds with reasonable enthusiasm.
We enjoyed the five-speed manual, logging miles at Pocono International Raceway and all over New England.