There’s a new Toyota RAV4 on its way to Australia in the first quarter of 2013 and it’s bringing three new engines with it.
Actually it’s about time Toyota did something about the engine in the RAV4 … the current petrol engine has always seemed to be a little heavy on fuel for a vehicle of the RAV4′ size and the lack of a diesel has been a little hard to understand.
New Engines
However all that is about to change with a new range of engines that includes a 2.2-litre 4 cylinder turbo-charged common-rail diesel, a 2.5-litre 133kW 4 cylinder petrol engine similar to the engine currently fitted to the Camry Altise and a 2.0-litre 102kW petrol engine similar to the engine fitted to the Corolla Ultima sedan.
Toyota haven’t yet said what the fuel consumption figures will be for the petrol versions but they say that fuel consumption figures for the diesel version will dip ” below 6.0 litres/100km”.
Transmissions
The standard transmission for all three engines will be a 6 speed manual box.
A 6 speed auto is available for the diesel and the 2.5-litre petrol version and the 2.0-litre petrol version is available with Toyota’s MultiDrive Sport CVT 7 speed sequential manual box.
Body changes
A look at the accompanying photos will show any body changes that Toyota has planned but one that may not be so apparent, even though it’s glaringly obvious once it’s pointed out is the change to the rear of the Toyota RAV4. The spare wheel has disappeared … it has been moved to under the cargo floor and a one-piece tailgate that hinges at the roof has been added.
The new Toyota RAV4 will come with seven airbags, an improved driving position, better all-round vision and an advanced all-wheel drive system.
Premium features
Top of the range variants of the new Toyota RAV4 will get a power-operated tailgate, blind-spot monitor, rain-sensing wipers and an electro-chromatic rear vision mirror.
It’s hard to believe that the Toyota RAV4 has been around since 1994 but it has and almost 200,000 of them have been sold in Australia since then. If looks are anything to go by the new RAV4 will certainly be just as popular as all the models that have gone before it.