The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

2019 Toyota RAV4 Adventure AWD Review by David Colman +VIDEO - It's E15 Approved


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
2019 Toyota RAV4 Adventure AWD

A practical daily driver in a visually stimulating package that you will love

By David Colman
Special Correspondent to THE AUTO CHANNEL


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
2019 Toyota RAV4 Adventure AWD
It takes guts to revamp the biggest selling (non-pickup) passenger vehicle in the USA. But Toyota has undertaken the task for 2019 by redesigning the RAV4 from the ground up. This fifth generation sport utility now utilizes the same TNGA platform that also underpins the second best selling passenger vehicle in America - the Toyota Camry. Toyota offers the revamped RAV4 in a multiplicity of combinations, starting with the entry level, front-wheel-drive, LE which carries a modest base price of $26,595. As you work your way up the food chain, through XLE, XLE Premium, and Limited grades, you arrive at the top combination we spent a week driving, the full-time, all-wheel-drive Adventure AWD. With a base price of $32,900, boosted by no less than $6,068 worth of options, our test RAV4 poked through the $40K barrier at $40,263.

While the newest RAV4 offers many delights, its top model seems a bit overpriced, since it's powered by the same 203hp engine that propels lesser variants. With a curb weight of 3,510 lb., the critical power-to-weight ratio of the Adventure yields an uninspiring figure of 17.29lb. per horsepower. Even though the 2.5 liter inline 4 drives through an 8-speed automatic transmission (with manual shifting mode), the RAV4's raspy motor never feels powerful enough to satisfy your need for thrust. If you are looking for slightly more punch, opt for the RAV4 hybrid which slightly increases output to 219hp. But really, the top echelon RAV4 Adventure is otherwise so good that it deserves a V6 for power.

PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
2019 Toyota RAV4 Adventure AWD
Handling, for example, is splendid. The ride of the Adventure is stiffer than you've come to expect from this family friendly SUV. But in return for the added crispness of the suspension tuning, you enjoy better modulated response to curves, bumps and road surface camber changes. Helping keep the Adventure glued to the road are Toyo A39 radials with a Treadwear Rating of 300. These oversize rollers (235/55R19) come mounted on visually arresting 7.5Jx19 inch alloy rims specific to the Adventure AWD model.

Additionally, the handling of this RAV4 gets a boost from two other model-specific features. Adventure is the first RAV4 to be equipped with a drive mode selector. This one works particularly well when tuned to the "Sport" setting. As Toyota explains, this choice is "suitable for when crisp handling is desired, such as when driving on mountainous roads." In addition, the Adventure is the only AWD RAV4 equipped with a torque-vectoring rear axle that can decouple the driveshaft to improve fuel economy. This feature is also optionally available on the Limited model. The decoupling helps the Adventure attain its excellent 28MPG overall fuel consumption figure.

PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
2019 Toyota RAV4 Adventure AWD
If you liked the look of Toyota's discontinued and much lamented FJ Cruiser, you'll love the interior and exterior treatment of the Adventure. Both the FJ and the new RAV4 share an ebullient design vocabulary that consists of boxy architecture softened by slashing diagonals. The layer cake-like stacking of white roof/ charcoal window frames and fender flares set off the "Lunar Rock" exterior body color. This festive "Two-Tone" presentation will cost you an extra $500. Inside, Adventure designers have lavished a LEGO-style vocabulary on such normally boring interior components as the seats, dash and flooring. This interior combo, tantalizingly named "Ice Edge" by Toyota, consists of extensive color layering that mimics the multiple segments of the exterior. The white seating surfaces are not only perforated, but embossed with a discrete rhomboid pattern that carries over into the optional ($199) door sill protector plates. The dark gray top surfaces of the dash yield to lighter gray insert bands set off by orange stitching. Useful storage shelves embedded into the dash are upholstered with orange trim to match the stitching. Floors get the brawny Weather Tech treatment, thanks to a $269 set of "All Weather Floor Liners and Cargo Try."

A national motoring publication recently reviewed the Adventure and found its "sillier style touches" to be "trendy trespasses." I completely disagree. I think that Toyota's stylists have done a marvelous job of transforming this practical daily driver into a visually stimulating package that you will love to own.




2019 TOYOTA RAV4 ADVENTURE AWD

    ENGINE: 2.5 liter inline 4, DOHC, 16 valves, Dual VVT-i
    HORSEPOWER: 203hp
    TORQUE: 184lb.-ft.
    FUEL CONSUMPTION: 25MPG City/33MPG Highway
    PRICE AS TESTED: $40,263

HYPES: Interior Offers Quality Components, Exciting Style

GRIPES: Engine Underwhelming

STAR RATING: 8.5 Stars out of 10