Don’t fear a high-mileage RAV4: it’s built to go the distance
JOHN EVANS
SECOND CHANCETOYOTA RAV4
I f a high mileage – anything above 100,000 in 10 years – is a good indicator of a car’s quality, then the fourth-generation Toyota RAV4 (2013-18) is an SUV you can buy with confidence. At least 55 listed on one popular website can claim this distinction at the time of writing. In fact, more than 120,000 miles is not unusual and, over far fewer years, some have chalked up the kinds of mileages commonly associated with former Prius cabs.
Naturally, most of these high-milers are diesels, split evenly between the 122bhp 2.0 D-4D, which was replaced in 2015 by a BMW unit producing 143bhp, and the 148bhp 2.2 D-4D, which was dropped during the same year.
But there’s also a handful of 149bhp 2.0 V-Matic petrols and, perhaps less surprisingly, a solid number of 194bhp 2.5 VVT-h hybrid petrols, a version that was also launched in 2015. At the time, our testers reckoned this 2.5 VVT-h, which has a CVT gearbox, was the best all-rounder, praising its performance, refinement, mid-range torque and responsive gearbox. It sold well such that today there are around as many used ones as there are used diesels.
Depending on the engine you opted for, the RAV4 was available with two- or four-wheel drive, and CVT or manual transmission. Most buyers chose their diesels with a manual gearbox and, by a nose, four-wheel drive. Not that this qualified the RAV4 for extreme off-roading. It’s very much a road car, although, as we noted when we tested it, its “beefy-feeling, lightly jostling damper settings speak of a strong, over-specified rolling chassis that’s just itching to prove its worth down a rutted trail”.
With a set of winter tyres fitted, a two-wheel-drive RAV4 will make light work of a snowy or icy road, so think twice before spending extra to get a four-wheel-drive one. Don’t fear RAV4s with the automatic CVT either. It’s a responsive gearbox that can handle towing duties quite well.
A facelift came in 2015. Along with changes to the engine line-up, the RAV4 also gained revised styling, improved cabin quality and additional safety features, including, on some versions, autonomous braking.
Across all vehicle ages, the interior is roomy, the rear impressively so. The previous model has a side-opening rear door but this fourth-gen RAV4 plays safe with a top-hinged affair that makes loading and unloading easier. With the rear seats folded down, the load bay is almost two metr
