The Toyota RAV4 elucidated
Fancy owning a Toyota car? Looking for a 5-seater family hauler offering good city and highway mileage? Are you an SUV person and want to buy a car high on safety credentials? Why not consider buying a new Toyota RAV4? If you do, here are a few things you might want to know before buying.

How is the new 2018 Toyota RAV4 ranked in its segment?

• With several car reviews put together, the 2018 Toyota RAV4 has an average score of 7.8 on a scale of 10.
• It is ranked 12th among the compact SUVs.
• It stands at the 22nd position among SUVs with 2 rows.
• The new Toyota RAV4 is ranked 35th in the crossover SUVs segment.

What is new in the 2018 Toyota RAV4?
With an average fuel economy of 22-23 on city roads and 28-30 on highways, the new 2018 Toyota RAV4 comes with drivetrain that offers both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive and up to 176 horsepower. While most things have been common over the years, the 2016 and 2017 RAV4 are almost identical to each other. A few additional things offered in the new 2018 Toyota RAV are these:

• It offers a new adventure trim level. The trim claims to have a higher ground clearance, an exterior styling that is more specific, and a tow package that comes as a standard.
• The cargo hold comes with an outlet that is three-prong household-styled.
• Its maximum towing capacity increases from 1,500 to 3,500 pounds.
• The RAV4’s hybrid power train is made available on Toyota’s entry-level trim, the LE model.
• A suite of active safety features is made standard across all variants. Some of them are the adaptive cruise controls, lane-keeping assist, automated emergency braking, and automatic high-beam headlamps.

What are the features that make the new 2018 Toyota RAV4 stand out?

• Along with driver assistance, there are a lot of advanced safety features that come as standard.
• IIHS has named it a top safety pick for 2018. It has an overall five-star safety rating from NHTSA.
• Driving is fun since the car is solid and well built and offers a stable handling.
• This crossover offers the largest cargo space in its class.
• With basic warranty coverage of 3 years/36,000 miles and a powertrain warranty of 5 years/60,000 miles, it gets a J.D. It has a power score of 4 out of 5 for predicted reliability rating. This score of the 2018 Toyota RAV4 is above-average.

What are the drawbacks of this car?

• The materials used in its interior designing feel very drab and uninspiring, giving it a low-rent feeling when compared to its competitors.
• The fuel economy offered is just average in its segment.
• The acceleration feels stagnant.
• Its features with the infotainment system fall behind its class leaders.

How much does the new Toyota RAV4 cost?
A new Toyota RAV4 costs slightly higher for a compact SUV. While a front-wheel drive is offered, along with a standard drive-train in every trim level, it can be upgraded to an all-wheel drive with an additional charge of $1,400. Here’s a list of the pricing of each spec:

• The base LE trim comes at a starting price of $24,510.
• The XLE trim is offered at $25,600.
• The middle variant Adventure, the new trim offered in 2018, costs around $27,800.
• The SE spec comes at $28,890.
• The limited trim level costs about $31,005.
• The top end spec, the platinum trim, comes at a price of $34,850.

Who are the competitors for the new Toyota RAV4?
Even with so many plus points in Toyota RAV4’s kitty, there are so many competitors in the class who are well rounded and outperform the RAV4 in the rankings. A few of them are as listed:

• The Mazda CX-5, which has delivered many miles per hour.
• The Honda CR-V, which feels more classy and cavernous.
• The NISSAN ROGUE® is considered to be a solid choice among many auto-enthusiasts.

Should you wait for the new 2019 Toyota RAV4?

• The 2019 model of the RAV4 is expected to be offered in five trim levels, including gasoline and hybrid powertrains.
• It will be built on the TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform.
• This platform also underpins the other Toyota siblings like the latest Prius, Camry, and the next-generation Corolla.
• It is expected to be put in together with the components of the Toyota Safety Sense, which means it will come with additional safety features that will be made standard across all trims.