This week Toyota Ireland launched the all-new RAV4 priced from only €27,995. The new fourth generation SUV features all-new distinctive, sophisticated styling, refined, premium-quality interior design, a new Integrated Dynamic Drive System and an engaging drive with fuel efficient powertrains and reduced emissions, resulting in road tax from €270 per annum. In addition, with Toyota Flex, customers can own an all-new RAV4 from €299 a month.
First launched in 1994 and with more than 4.5 million units sold across 150 countries since then, Toyota’s incredibly successful RAV4 embodied the creation on an entire new motoring category -the compact SUV. However, much has changed over the past 19 years and the new RAV4 has been developed to fully respond to the evolving customer requirements of the core C-SUV market: active lifestyle families with a growing demand for space and versatility.
The new model is longer by 205 mm, and also wider (+30 mm ) but it sits lower (-25 mm ) than its predecessor. In the words of Toyota itself, the new RAV4 showcases an all-new silhouette that emphasises its versatility, roominess, and improved dynamic capabilities.
The all-new exterior combines the sophisticated, stylish signature elements of the new Toyota frontal design language with clean, frill-free aesthetics and the muscular image of durability expected from a vehicle with its class-leading four-wheel drive credentials. It is available in a choice of nine body colours.
Combining a spacious, comfortable cabin with a cockpit-like driver’s environment, the all-new interior design provides greater roominess, higher quality finishes, and a more focused, engaging SUV driving experience. Extended use of leather on the instrument panel emphasises the high quality feeling of the cabin, and all instrument and switchgear back-lighting is now a clear blue colour - which brings a powerful visual consistency to the new interior.
Though retaining the compact exterior dimensions essential to manoeuvrability, the new RAV4’s overall length of 4.57 m and its wheel base length of 2660 mm equip it with significant additional interior space, bringing passenger roominess and loadspace up to a par with larger, D-segment vehicles.
The new RAV4’s powertrain line-up now comprises a 151 bhp 2.0 litre petrol engine, a new 124 bhp 2.0 litre diesel, and a powerful 150 bhp 2.2 litre D-4D diesel engine. Every engine in this new line-up benefits from reductions in CO2 emissions. Of particular note, the 2.0 litre diesel, front-wheel drive derivative new to the RAV4 range is equipped with Toyota’s Stop & Start technology, reducing CO2 emission to only 127 g/km.
The RAV4 features a new Integrated Dynamic Drive System with all-new Sport mode function which coordinates control of the RAV4’s new Dynamic Torque Control 4WD, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC ), and Electric Power Steering (EPS ) systems to enhance the compact SUV’s performance, handling, and safety.
The RAV4 marries the best of in-car technology such as reverse parking camera and the Toyota Touch multimedia system, with a host of safety features such as VSC, Hill Start Assist Control, and seven airbags, with and a new anti-whiplash seat design. The SUV has been engineered to achieve a five-star rating in the gruelling 2013 Euro NCAP crash test programme.
At the Irish launch last week, David Shannon, managing director of Toyota Ireland told the Advertiser: “We’re delighted to be able to introduce the spectacular RAV4 at a brilliantly competitive price, especially considering the high specification and features packed into the vehicle. At only €27,995 we expect the new RAV4 to be in high demand from the start and have high hopes for the model to firmly re-establish Toyota back within the C-SUV segment which we created back in 1995 when we launched the first generation RAV4 in Ireland.”
