2009 Toyota RAV4 2WD: Slalom straightens things out

KATHY RENWALD FOR THE TORONTO STAR

The two-wheel drive test RAV4 sports a 179 hp engine that Kathy Renwald found satisfactory. Front-wheel drive, four-cylinder models start at less than $26,000.

Kathy Renwald

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

It's a sleepy Wednesday morning and instructor Jeff McKague has found an immense empty parking lot to show me a thing or two about the Toyota RAV4.

I like the RAV4 for its size and sensibility, but I've always wondered about the handling chops of sport-utility vehicles. I'd arranged with Toyota Canada for McKague to demonstrate sudden lane changes in the RAV4. I am testing the two-wheel drive version.

McKague runs the driving programs for car-preparation and drive-test company L.A. Detail in Scarborough. He's raced, coached and most recently competed in Targa Newfoundland.

We pick a wide-open stretch of tarmac and he quickly changes lanes at speeds of 60, 70, and 80 kilometres an hour. As Mary J. Blige sings, there was "No More Drama." At most, the RAV4 gives a little goldfish waggle, but it's under control and composed.

"The evasive movement might feel more dramatic than it is because of the higher seating position," McKague explains. "If you keep your (left) foot on the dead pedal and push back in the seat, it feels more secure."

Many people buy SUVs because of their height and the notion that it improves visibility and safety. I feel the opposite, that their height and higher centre of gravity makes them oafish and harder to steer out of sudden trouble. Well McKague showed me that the RAV4 is more capable than I imagined.

That puts another feather in the cap of a vehicle I liked the first time I drove it. The RAV4 is right-sized for me: the seating position; the reach for the steering wheel is both correct and comfy; there's good visibility; controls are close by – it all feels like a custom fit.

A two-wheel drive version is new this year for Toyota. I had the $25,785 base model with all the prudent choices: four-cylinder, 2.5-litre, four-speed automatic cloth seats and steel wheels.

I had driven a deluxe model four months ago so the memory was distant enough that I didn't feel sorry for myself in this rather plain RAV4.

Though I never had the SUV loaded up, I felt the 179 hp satisfactory for the driving I did. On the highway, it kicks down fairly fast if you need passing juice. From a stop, I thought the throttle was a bit twitchy, launching the vehicle with more urgency than needed.

The four-speed automatic seems rather parsimonious these days; a fifth gear would be sweet. A manual transmission, I guess, is out of the question, like asking for a book instead of a Kindle.

Though the RAV4 is petite, it feels substantial. That's a cool combo. The doors close softly, it's quiet on the highway, and you can actually see out the back window because the back seat head-restraints retract very low.

The 2WD is offered at an attractive price, but the 4WDs are immensely popular. Toyota is coming off its best June ever for the Canadian-made RAV4, with 2,615 models sold. Is the extra $2,700 or so worth it for the 4WD? I'd say so.

Like most front-wheel-drive vehicles without AWD, you can spin the tires in jackrabbit starts on wet roads; more important is the promise of 4WD capability in snow.

So maybe take your lunch to work and spend the savings on all-wheel traction, but at least Toyota offers the lower-cost 2WD version, which also uses less gas.

All RAV4s offer the same clever cargo management. The back seats fold easily to make a flat cargo floor. From the rear, it's accessed by a door that opens to a low load-in floor.

Because the spare is mounted outside on the door, there's extra storage underneath the cargo mat: a deep bin and a shallow bin.

There are small storage compartments on the sides, and hooks for securing stuff that might slip around.

I've always liked the exterior styling of the RAV4, although the interior is more serviceable than stylish.

Controls for climate and radio are big and have clear markings, though I found the instrument gauges hard to read in bright sun.

There's gobs of competition in the SUV/CUV category, but not everyone offers 2WD. The generic looking Dodge Journey, stylish Nissan Rogue and popular Ford Escape are onboard with front-wheel-drive versions and are within dollars of the RAV4.

Though they may be as capable as the RAV4, I haven't been sprinting through a parking lot leaping from lane to lane in them.

I now know that if something drops off a truck, or an animal bolts into my lane, the RAV4 can be steered out of trouble by an attentive driver.

The RAV4 shines for me because of its size, fit, feel and choice of 11 models ranging from modest to well padded.

Add to that a good grade for sudden lane change manoeuvrability, and the whole package is just short of ravishing.

Freelance auto reviewer Kathy Renwald can be reached at kathyrenwald.com

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