19 Years of the RAV4

Mar 21, 2013

The Toyota RAV4 is a pretty great automobile. It combines the reliability of the Toyota nameplate with the dependable performance of an AWD drivetrain, and wraps them both in a reasonably compact, fuel-efficient body. In fact, it is exactly this winning combination of fuel economy, reliability, and convenience that makes the RAV4 one of the most popular SUV’s on the road. But when the RAV4 was first introduced in 1994, it caused quite a controversy among SUV enthusiasts. At that time, almost all SUV’s were built on pickup truck platforms. So when Toyota unveiled the RAV4, which was built on the Celica All-Trac platform, many people were skeptical. However, what Toyota recognized was only about 5% of all the truck-based SUV’s were acutally used as off-road vehicles. By using a car platform, Toyota introduced a crossover that provided AWD reliability but with better fuel economy and a smoother, more comfortable ride. The spikes in gasoline prices we have soon over the past decade have helped to cement the popularity of the RAV4, and to further underline the fact that for most people, an AWD crossover vehicle like the RAV4 is perfectly sufficient. The RAV4 just goes to show that once again, Toyota has used superior product design and management to change the automotive industry for the better.