The original RAV4 and the first-generation Vauxhall Tigra happened to be launched at about the same time, and I remember a Vauxhall person telling me that as far as he was concerned the two cars were rivals. This made a lot of sense, because it was clear that both were pretending to be what they quite definitely were not - or, to be more charitable, each was letting its potential owners feel that they were buying into the sports car and SUV scenes respectively, even though they did not truly qualify in these categories.The new RAV4, introduced early in 2006, has come a long way from those early days. Despite the presence of four-wheel drive, it's no more of a serious SUV than it ever was (Toyota showed off the original car's off-road ability by inviting journalists to drive it over a field no more treacherous than your front lawn), but it has certainly grown up.As Mike Grundon pointed out in his launch review, the latest RAV4 seems designed to appeal to the same people who would have bought the first-generation car more than a decade ago. There is now no short-wheelbase three-door version, talk of four-wheel drive GTIs has been consigned to history, and there is more emphasis than before on quality and comfort.This comes at a price. The two-litre XT5 tested here, which admittedly comes pretty high up in the range, costs £24,495. The only way to spend more is to go for automatic rather than five-speed manual transmission, or for turbo diesel rather than petrol motivation, or to take the plunge and spend nearly £27,000 on the range-topping 175bhp D-4D T180.The 2.0 VVT-i petrol unit makes the RAV4 about as quick as the normal turbo diesel, and not much slower than the T180, though it's nowhere near as economical as either. On the other hand, it's notably smooth and quiet, which in turn means it's relaxing on a long run.XT5 is the highest trim level, and includes satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, keyless door-opening and engine-starting, automatic wipers and headlamps, cruise control, heated front seats and electric adjustment of the driver's seat.None of this is available as standard on the lesser models, but what the XT5 shares with all the others is a very impressive amount of room. Luggage space amounts to 586 litres when the rear seats are up and 1469 litres when they're down, and there is no question of this being achieved by short-changing the passengers.On the contrary, and in keeping with Japanese designers' general aptitude for packaging, there is an enormous amount of room for people sitting in the rear. The test car's duties included transporting four adults - one with her leg in plaster - on a 100-mile journey, and there was not a whisper of complaint about discomfort from anyone.A couple of days later, I made a solo trip of nearly 1000 miles without any trouble. Normally I can't go much more than two hours non-stop without having to get out and stretch various muscles, but this time I could do three hours no problem.That was partly because of the ride quality, which had not impressed me at the start. The RAV4's suspension is very soft, so there's an amount of body lean which seems quite alarming at first. It soon becomes apparent, though, that nothing is likely to go wrong unless you do something silly, and on motorways most road imperfections are well soaked up before they are transferred to the cabin.As with many other Toyotas past and present, the RAV4 is an easy car to forget, but this is because it does its job efficiently and without fuss. There's a lot to be said for that. Engine 1998cc, 4 cylinders Power 150bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 32.8mpg / 202g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.6 seconds Top speed 115mph Price £24,495 Details correct at publication date
Our Rating
