Toyota RAV4

The Toyota RAV4 is a family-friendly soft-roader which comes as a 4x4 in all guises, unlike some of the opposition. But it’s getting expensive these days and doesn’t have much to mark it out as special.

• Comfort

  The ride is pretty good, and the high driving position makes it easy to feel at ease. Passengers are reasonably well catered for too, thanks to decent head and leg room out the back. The petrol engine is a bit noisy simply because you have to rev it hard to get much of a result.

  

• Performance

  Obviously the 200kW V6 goes like the clappers, sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 7.4 seconds. In 2.4 guise though, it's just another soft-roader with marginally better fuel consumption than the big six.

  

• Cool

  No, it's way too mainstream for that.

  

• Quality

  A fine effort in cabin quality from Toyota, in a class where plastics tend to be a bit low-rent. There are few worries about reliability, as most of the major components have served in other Toyotas.

  

• Handling

  As it's very road-biased, the RAV4 is OK with schlepping around town or suburban roundabouts. But it can't disguise its height if you push more, leaning a bit. Still, the active 4WD system keeps things in check on a slippery road.

  

• Practicality

  The RAV4 is well thought out for family use. It includes sliding rear seats to bring kids within the front passenger area and expand the boot space, and the seats fold quickly to a flat load bed.

  

• Running costs

  Depreciation isn't much of a worry on the diesels, and insurance is a reasonable group. The RAV4's economy is class-competitive.