Sacramento,
California -- I've driven a lot of Toyota RAV4 sport-utility vehicles over the
years ... And in truth, I currently own one.
What recently
showed up in my driveway was called a Toyota RAV4, but it was several light
years removed from any other RAV4 I had driven.
It was the
2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road sport-ute.
It was dressed up in edgy-looking skin, with a serious roof rack and
18-inch Matte Black alloy wheels wearing what looked to be stone-crushing tires.
It was sort of
a RAV4 on steroids ... or maybe a paramilitary RAV4 wearing camo and body
armor. No doubt, this new addition to the
2020 model lineup certainly looked ready to tame the unpaved wildlands. Toyota
proudly notes that the vehicle's hard-nosed suspension is specifically tuned for off-road
use. Heavy-duty coil springs and twin-tube shocks are key components of the
off-road hardware.
On top of the
rugged standard features, the tester was decked out in some $5,000 worth of
extras, including an off-road weather package, a premium navigation/audio set and an off-road technology package.
For me, the
most fascinating feature in the blizzard of optional perks was
the Digital Rearview Mirror. It displays a crystal-clear, wide-angle image
of what's behind you via a high-definition camera. I confess that the strikingly detailed image
projected onto the rearview mirror was so sharp that it took me some time to
get adjusted to it.
The tester was
powered by a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine rated at 203 horsepower. When I stepped on the gas for the first time,
the noise was so loud that I thought I had mistakenly left the RAV4 in neutral. Turns out that's just the normal sound the
engine makes with an aggressive nudge on the accelerator is applied. That also took some getting used to.
Three notable
things: The Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road has a max five-star overall vehicle score
in federal government safety ratings.
The robust power plant gets an impressive 25 miles per gallon in the
city and 32 mpg on the highway. And all
those options on my tester pushed the bottom line on the sticker to a lofty $42,507.
Given all this,
I wager that this particular RAV4 would be a dream car for a serious off-roader
who also enjoys many of the comfort/convenience perks of a contemporary motor
vehicle. Would a weekend warrior who
loves to climb over rocks in the Sierra Nevada now and again love this
RAV4? My guess: Absolutely.
But if you are
happy with your standard RAV4 daily driver and chore doer -- and many
Californians have long loved and purchased that very version of the model -- I'd stick with what
you have.
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