Toyota - RAV 4 Euro NCAP - 4 STARS
Redefining what an SUV is all about, the Toyota RAV4 combines excellent comfort, outstanding agility and cute stylish looks.
Whether you're ploughing through rush-hour traffic or zipping around rural roads, the RAV4 performs well it even opens automatically as you approach - and starts with a pushbutton, which is almost as good as having your own chauffeur.
Engine choice is from a single petrol engine (an exuberant 150bhp 2.0-litre unit), or one of two 2.2-litre diesels - the 140bhp offering a great mix of performance and economy, whilst the 180bhp D-4D T180 is a very quick car for its size and class, getting from 0 to 60mph in a very creditable 9.3 seconds and a top speed of 124mph. The petrol model is available with a five-speed manual gearbox, while the diesels are offered with a slick six-speed manual gearbox only.
Toyota has for a long time been at the forefront of green motoring so it should not come as a surprise to learn that Toyota was joint winner of the prestigious WhatCar? Green Award for 2007.
The new diesel engines are cleaner, more powerful and more fuel efficient as evidence by the fact that both return combined fuel consumption figures of over 40mpg.
Inspector gadget on wheels - the RAV4 range is loaded with goodies. Even the XT3 entry model has electric power steering, height and reach-adjustable steering wheel, electric front and rear windows, heated electric door mirrors, six speaker, MP3 radio/CD player, air conditioning, driver's seat height adjustment, tinted glass, colour-coded bumpers and door mirrors, 17-inch alloy wheels and roof rails. XT4 models six CD autochanger, electric sunroof, leather steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery and front fog lamps. XT5 has climate control, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, electrically-adjustable driver's seat and heated front seats. The range-topping T180 gets, amongst other things, a tyre pressure warning system, rear privacy glass, unique front grille, 18-inch alloy wheels and headlamps with a smoked glass finish.. Toyota's clever MPV style, fold-flat rear seats are also standard across the range.
The safety kit is comprehensive and puts several more expensive 4x4s to shame. All vehicles come with nine airbags, including dual front, side and curtain airbags and a knee bag for the driver. ItÂ’s not therefore surprising the RAV4 performed well in the Euro NCAP crash test, receiving four out of five stars overall and scoring maximum points in side impact and pole tests. ISOFIX child-seat anchor points, ABS with electronic Brake Force Distribution and Brake assist, remote central locking and an alarm are standard. XT4 specification models and above get Hill assist control, vehicle stability control and traction control.
Even though Toyota consistently tops build quality surveys every new Toyota car is still protected by a comprehensive warranty. In addition to the 3 year or 60,000 mile (whichever comes first) Mechanical Warranty, that includes full RAC recovery service for the first 12 months, there is a 3 year Paint Surface Warranty and a 12 year anti-corrosion and perforation warranty.
About the manufacturer
The Toyota name has for a long time been synonymous with pioneering developments of greener motoring, and the organisation is totally committed to reducing its environmental impact. From improving fuel efficiency and reducing exhaust emissions, to the management and reduction of the environmental impact throughout the entire lifecycle of vehicles - from development to production, use, disposal, and recycling.
Toyota's mission has always been to provide clean and safe products. Thus, the company has positioned the environment as one of its most important issues and has been working toward creating a prosperous society and a world that is comfortable to live in. With this goal in mind, Toyota has been actively developing various new technologies from the perspective of achieving energy security and diversifying energy sources, which is necessitated by the dwindling supply of petroleum resources. For example, in motive power sources for automobiles alone.
Toyota has been continually improving conventional engines and have developed and commercialised lean-burn petrol engines, direct injection petrol engines and common rail direct-injection diesel engines, etc. They have also been modifying engines so that they can use alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas, instead of gasoline or light oil, and have been installing these engines in commercially sold vehicles. Toyota has also developed and been marketing electric vehicles that use motors for the driving source; hybrid vehicles that combine an engine and a motor, fusing the advantages of these two power sources; fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHV) that use fuel cells to generate electricity based on a chemical reaction between hydrogen and the oxygen in the air and that supply this electricity to electric motors to produce driving power.
In pursuit of the ultimate environmentally friendly car, in 1997 Toyota introduced the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, the Prius - one of the most fuel efficient 5-person mass-produced gasoline passenger vehicles in the world.
In December 2002 Toyota began limited marketing in the U.S. and Japan of the hydrogen-powered TOYOTA FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle, the first-ever market-ready fuel cell vehicle. After further improvements, the TOYOTA FCHV became the first fuel-cell vehicle in Japan to acquire vehicle type certification under the amended Road Vehicles Act, and on July 1, 2005, Toyota began leasing it in Japan and the U.S. The FCHV is seen as the closest yet to the ultimate eco-car.
However, Toyota will not be satisfied until such ultimate eco-cars become available to everyone. Toyota's completely original fuel cell - the Toyota FC Stack - is a performance leader among vehicular fuel cells worldwide, and is already on the verge of surpassing gasoline engines in power density.
Toyota has developed the concept of Hybrid Synergy Drive, upon which it has developed a new-generation Toyota hybrid system called THS II, which achieves high levels of compatibility between environmental performance and power by increasing the motor output by 1.5 times, greatly boosting the power supply voltage and achieving significant advances in the control system, aiming for synergy between motor power and engine power. As a consequence the Harrier and Kluger hybrids have qualified as vehicles that meet an exhaust emissions level 75% lower than the 2005 Exhaust Emissions Standards.
Since 1990 Toyota has been actively working to make easy to recycle vehicles, taking into consideration the entire vehicle lifecycle, from development to disposal. In the development stage Toyota has been developing easy to recycle materials and designs that take dismantling into consideration, while developing and introducing various recycling technologies in the production stage. Toyota has built a system for dealers to promote the reuse of automobile parts and for collecting and recycling bumpers that have been replaced. For end-of-life vehicles Toyota has been advancing research into efficient dismantling technologies as well as promoting the use of shredder residue. The recycling activities of the individual stages are coordinated and information from each stage is provided to Toyota's development divisions.
Toyota's efforts in recycling end-of-life vehicles began with the foundation of a shredding company in 1970, Toyota Metal Co Ltd, and in 1990 the establishment of the Recycling Committee, which led to the operation of the world's first mass-production ASR Recycling Plant in 1998. In 2003 Toyota announced the Toyota Recycle and the launch of the new Raum into which Toyota incorporated many new designs for recycling features. Toyota plans to continue taking action to attain goals such as the early achievement of a 95% vehicle recovery rate.