Rav4 Owners...or other smaller 4WDs

[Floweryfields]

Opinions please, looking at moving up to a 4 cyclinder smaller style 4WD...Ravs are my favourite, or Honda CRVs...but are they good little cars?
Tell me your opinions please!

[Enchanted]

I love Rav's as well. We have a barge of a wagon which I would love to get rid of and they are on my list!

My Mum had a 1999 CRV and LOVED IT! It was her fave car ever, she bought a couple of other cars after she sold it (she didn't want to sell it) and then bought a 2007 CRV and loves it equally as much! She has never had any mechanical trouble with them and it's not too bad on fuel.

[Miss.September]

I LOVED my Rav 4. 2002 model, silver with all the extras. Was the car I always wanted and I finally got.

BUT

There is a major problem with the auto transmission. My car was only a few years old, had done under 100,000kms and the transmission was dying. Starts with skipping, then clunks. Took it to a transmission specialist, couldn't find anything wrong with it. Problem got worse. Started trawling the net for info and found that in the USA, the car was recalled for the transmission. The computer gets too hot, sends error messages and if the computer isn't replaced, then it cooks the transmission. But by the time you can feel the problem, it's already too far gone. $1500 for a new computer, $3500 for a new transmission. But to replace the computer in that model - there was no upgrade. So basically they would put in the same model computer, for the problem to happen again and again. Toyota here told us that there was no problem, was a load of rubbish. We spoke to lots of people. When we went to get rid of it, we spoke to a guy at Ford and told him we were getting rid of a Rav. First thing he said was "Transmission problem hey?". Six months after we got rid of it, my friend's mum with the same car had her transmission go. She took it to her dealership where another eight Ravs were sitting, all with the same problem. We were told that it wasn't a case of "If" with them, but "When". Mine was top of the range, cruiser model and had been babied. Absolutely hurt like mad to get rid of it.

So if you're looking second hand, and at the model that looks like the 2002 era, get a manual!

[RhiChiChi]

Have a CRV and loooooveee it! I was adamant I was getting another Mazda and a sedan but DH liked the look of the Captiva so we started looking at similar type vehicles. We narrowed it down to the Mitsubishi Outlander and the CRV & DH convinced me to get the CRV & I am so glag her did. My Dad has one and so does my cousin and we all love it

[Cranky Kitten]

Heh, we went with the Outlander - can't fault it thus far, it's quite good on fuel for a car of it's type but still has plenty of get up and go when I want it. Plus it's really roomy and comfortable without driving like a tank. About my only bugbear would've been the temporary spare (seriously, who has one of these in a 4WD??) but we got a model that has a full sized spare.

[willow5]

My BFF has a Rav, she loves it. Tyres are a bit more pricey than an average car I think but they seem to last ages. Some other things service wise can cost a bit more. There isn't a whole lot of room in the back, passenger leg room wise either, so I guess you need to weigh up how many kids/passengers will be in there. I recently installed a rear facing car seat in there for her too and it did restrict how far the passenger seat can go back a bit.
She's had the car for about 5 years, all her services are up to date and she's never had a problem with it (It's a manual)

[Amy_jellybean]

Have a CRV and loooooveee it! I was adamant I was getting another Mazda and a sedan but DH liked the look of the Captiva so we started looking at similar type vehicles. We narrowed it down to the Mitsubishi Outlander and the CRV & DH convinced me to get the CRV & I am so glag her did. My Dad has one and so does my cousin and we all love it

We have the 2010 Honda CRV as well and couldnt be happier, its a great car and has a massive boot considering the size of the car!!!

[~Kim~]

We just got rid of our Outlander and we really loved it. Sad to see it go.
Lots of room, good fuel economy, comfy. We opted for a full spare, but that's just what suited us.

[Lily Dust]

LOVE my Rav!!!! So much so we plan to upgrade to a new Rav next time we get a car. Cannot fault mine except ours only has space for 2 carseats in the back but I doubt the newer larger model does.

[*Twinkle*]

We love our Rav. Loads of space for a family of four, great in town and on highway. Mine is a 2009 model and has no transmission problems. My mum has a 2011 and has no problems either. We'll be upgrading ours next year and cannot wait! Love them!


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[Mum2SweetCs]

My first car was a RAV4, LOVED ITTTT

My second car was a CRV. LOVE that too!!! Although the fuel consumption is slightly higher than the smaller cars but I just feel alot more safer in the car as I feel i can see all around me.

At first i thought the CRV was a bit too big for me as I was use to a RAV which was slightly smaller but after you drive it, they are not that big.

[fionas]

I only started driving last year so my RAV is my first and only car. Think I'll be buying them for life. Love it. I got the smallest one (sorry, not a car person, no idea about models) and a bit more boot space would be nice but we currently have a pram and a wheelchair in there no probs. Might be a bit squashy if we had to take a lot of baby paraphernalia on holiday but really, that's a short-term problem. DP likes driving it too.

[Frangipani]

I've got a 2002 RAV 4 and I do love it. It does what I need it to do for now....though I think next car I would prefer something a little bigger.

As previous posters have mentioned there isn't a lot of room in the boot and yeah not much leg room for rear passengers but it suits our little family of 4. There is also only room for my 2 car seats in the back....so no 5th passengers for us for a while. Also my boys are in reach of each other which can be a good thing and a bad thing....depending on their mood (not good on fighting and grumpy days...).

But i do still love it....had no problems mechanically so far (touch wood) and I've had just over 2 years now- as there was no way I was going to fit my 2 boys in my 2 door sporty Lancer

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[Bloom]

Check out a Nissan X Trail. We love ours. I think it has more useable space inside than either a RAV or a CRV (they were our main alternatives). A bit chunky looking on the outside, but that doesn't really matter to us.

They have a great boot configuration where there is a large flat base (ideal for changing nappies on!) and shallow drawers for storing stuff underneath. The seats have a 40/60 split and can fold flat (great to moving stuff).

We have a manual and get good fuel efficiency from it. Nice to drive, not too big to park and a great height for getting kids in and out of.

Ours friends have a CRV so we lined then up side by side and there is definitely more space in an xtrail.

[Megan]

Like Bloom, we bought a Nissan X Trail. I initially wanted a Rav4, but the X Trail won us over with the space and comfort.
We bought the manual Diesel model. It costs the same to run as my Astra so very fuel efficient.