TOYOTA RAV 4

LOOKS . Out There
PERFORMANCE. In There
HANDLING . Whoa !
AMBIANCE . Plain Jane
COMFORT . Rambunctious
QUALITY . Basic Values
STEREO . Had One
FUN TO DRIVE . Peppy
GADGET FACTOR . Wanted More
HEADS TURNED . RAV-ers
EMOTION . Get Up & Go
CACHET . Next Wave

SPECIFICATIONS

RAMBLER

Way cool. The RAV is a rave and a wave of fresh thinking. The Explorer vibe wafted over to Japan and comes back funned up, freaked out, JEEP Lite. Think free, think fun, sun and summer tripping, ski adventure wheelstyle. City rambler, back road scrambler. Easy on gas, heavy on kicks and easy to own & run.

We like the attitude. Blondra found the adjective - hideous, but grew to dig the quirkiness in time. Don't expect everyone to be as ready as you are to move forward with a look. Our RAV was red, saucy magged and bold blue on the inside. Fun fabric livened up a pedestrian dash. I expected Star Wars; maybe next time.

Get up & go just about anywhere. The well-sized four pulls strong and sings. EZ on the benzines, especially compared to a typical 4x4. Short wheelbase and full time 4WD, with the mountain goat center diff lock, means agility over rough stuff and fearless venturing up unknown trails. Inspires a go-for-it stance. Go just about anywhere, just don't go too fast, the RAV's a little shaky at speed.

Base RAV's are available with 2 wheel drive and a 4 door model is offered as well. The 2 door 4WD combo on our RAV seemed most in character. Twin sun roofs open our RAV like a safari vista car. The rumble seats in the back reclined for a swept back attitude and folded to fit more cargo, a limited prospect with the seats up. For the cash, the interior was very plasticky and featured minimal standard equipment, no remote on the mirrors, no clock, lots of blanking plates in the dash to remind you of the options you did not spring for. Most trim was in a durable, not fancy vein and not up to the fun level of the styling & concept. A quick peak underneath showed that Toyota did not skimp on the engineering quality, so maybe that's where the money goes. One expects much better long term reliability than typical in an off roader.

Not quite a Mini Moke, but equally enjoyable spinning around a Caribbean island, or just pretending you are. A fun car!

REXX TAYLOR