2023 Toyota Rav4

Pros:

• The inside is quiet, and the ride is smooth.
• Enough room for people and their things
• Easy-to-use buttons and knobs
• The TRD Off-Road trim has better off-road capabilities.

Cons:

• Poor acceleration
• Hazy steering

How do you drive the RAV4? The RAV4 doesn’t do well in this category, which is a shame. Around town, the engine runs smoothly, and passing and merging are done without any trouble. If you’re in a hurry, you might notice that the machine has less power. From 0 to 60 miles per hour, our test RAV4 Adventure took 9.1 seconds, which is a little longer than the average for the class.

Another problem is that the steering is hazy in the middle and needs more weight or feel. Because of this, it’s easy to undervalue what you’ve done. The better news is that the RAV4’s optional enhanced all-wheel-drive system has hill descent control, terrain settings that can change, and rear axle torque vectoring. With these systems and the RAV4 Adventure’s decent ground clearance, it can go off-road better than most small SUVs.

How lovely is the RAV4 to ride in? The tuning of the RAV4’s suspension gives it an outstanding balance of control and comfort. When driving over bumps, the body doesn’t float or stick, and it’s easy for the car to handle small to moderate impacts. The front seats are shaped well and have enough padding, but the bottoms become flat. Because you can’t change the passenger seat, it may be hard to find a comfortable position.

Most of the time, the RAV4 is quiet when it is going fast. The only time the engine sound changes are when you press the gas pedal hard to speed up quickly. The climate system is doing an excellent job—all-around great ventilation, with fully-closable vents in the front and rear.

How does the inside look? The driving position, space inside, and ease of getting in and out are all great. But the RAV4 would get a better rating if the front passenger seat on most trims could be lowered or wasn’t so high. Only the RAV4 Limited has a front passenger seat that can be adjusted by power. Even though the steering wheel and driver’s heart have a good range of adjustment, tall drivers would like a little more adjustment. It is better to be visible from the outside.

The labels are big and easy to read, and the layout of the controls is simple. Everything else is right where you’d expect it to be, except for their little islands’ music system and climate controls. The big knobs of rubber on the HVAC controls are also very helpful. The only thing we don’t like about this car is that the touchscreen is too far from the driver. Reaching is primarily needed to turn the tuning knob.

How good is the tech? The RAV4’s interface is easy to learn, even without reading the owner’s manual. Both the touchscreen and the traditional buttons are easy to use. Even though the RAV4 is new, the graphics on the touchscreen look old. The sound system isn’t imposing but does what it needs to do. Smartphones include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s also good because Toyota’s Entune software still needs to be fixed.

The wide range of driver aids that come with the car is impressive. It has features like automatic emergency braking, automatic high beams, recognition of a driver who is getting sleepy, 0 mph adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, and Line Tracing Assist, which is a hands-on steering aid.

What about putting things away? RAV4 features a class-leading cargo space. There are 69.8 cubic feet of space when the back seats are folded down and 37.5 cubic feet when they are up. The RAV4 is also easy to load because its floor is low. In the front of the cabin, several shelves and bins can store different travel items. Some models of the RAV4 can pull up to 3,500 pounds, which is a lot for a small SUV.

The RAV4 will be appealing to parents with young children. It’s easy to find lower car seat anchors and put safety seats on them. It’s also easy to connect to the three top anchors. The front seat will likely need to be moved up to make room for a rear-facing car seat on the passenger side. Booster seats and seats that face forward are easy to fit. The problem is that the front passenger seat is way too high.

How well does it use gasoline? According to the EPA, the RAV4 gets between 28 and 30 mpg on the highway and in the city. Three passengers, gear, and luggage traveled 7,000 miles in an AWD Adventure. On diverse roads and weather, we achieved 28.6 mpg. The best tank got 32.3 mpg, lowest got 25.6.

How much does the RAV4 cost? The inside of the RAV4 is very well made, with friendly layered materials and seams that are part of the style but can’t be seen. It has things you can feel, like rubberized grips on the radio, climate controls, and door pulls on the inside. The optional fake leather interior of the RAV4 is soft and has neat stitching. Even though Toyota’s warranty coverage is average, you get complimentary scheduled maintenance for two years or 25,000 miles, which is a significant discount.

It’s not wrong to drive a RAV4, but it’s also not something you’ll remember. The best choices are the Adventure and TRD Off-Road trim levels. The RAV4 stands out because it has an intelligent torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, a capable traction control system with different settings for different types of terrain, and a slightly more rugged design.

As of this writing, Toyota has yet to announce the 2023 RAV4 officially. We’ll change our recommendation if anything changes, but based on the RAV4 from last year, we recommend the XLE Premium trim. In addition to everything that comes with the LE and XLE models, you can get upgrades like a power liftgate, a sunroof, and upholstery made of synthetic leather.

Toyota RAV4 models

There are six different trim levels for the RAV4. They are LE, XLE, XLE Premium, Adventure, TRD Off-Road, and Limited. All models come with a four-cylinder engine with 203 horsepower and an automatic transmission with eight speeds. Most model levels come with front-wheel drive, but all-wheel drive can be added as an option. The Adventure and the TRD Off-Road have a better all-wheel-drive system that can help when the road is slick or loose.