2013 Toyota Rav4 Review and Prices

Styling: The 2013 Toyota RAV4 will look different in shape and detail from its 2006-2012 predecessor, but precisely how is open to debate. One school of thought suggests a sleeker 21st-century look. That would dovetail nicely with the need for smoother aerodynamics to benefit fuel economy.

Other sources maintain the next RAV could actually become a bit truckier-looking. RAV4 buyers seem to appreciate a profile that’s not artificially aggressive but is tougher than the crossover norm.  And Toyota probably knows a body with some muscle would help the 2013 RAV4 appeal to men as well as women, an important marketing edge in this class.

However it looks, the fourth-generation RAV4 will need to shed weight to improve fuel efficiency and to unburden the four-cylinder engine of performance-robbing pounds. The outgoing RAV4 is among the larger crossovers in its competitive set and the trend is to shorter bodies but longer wheelbases.

Wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear axles and largely determines a vehicle’s passenger space. Putting a shorter body on a longer wheelbase creates a more athletic stance. And it could enable Toyota to sustain the RAV4 among the very few compact SUVs available with seven-passenger seating – albeit likely to again be a token third-row bench friendly only to small children. A tailgate hinged to open to the side rather than swinging skyward is a RAV4 tradition and is apt to remain so on the redesigned model.    

Crossover SUVs use car-type unitized body-frame construction instead of truck-like body-bolted-to-the-frame design. The 2013 RAV4 will again slot into the Toyota lineup as the automaker’s third and smallest crossover, beneath the more station-wagon-like five-passenger Toyota Venza and below the minivan-flavored seven-seat Toyota Highlander.

Toyota’s enjoyed good success with a three-model RAV4 lineup and is likely to return the 2013 version in familiar Base, Sport, and Limited versions. Visual distinctions probably will again be modest but noticeable. Expect, for example, the Sport model to have aggressive details such as standard fog lamps and body-colored exterior trim while the Limited affects a dressier look with a chromed grille and fancier wheels.

Finally, the RAV4 has traditionally carried its spare tire on the outside of the tailgate. This helps free up cargo room inside but is also an important symbol of a crossover that takes itself at least a little seriously as an SUV. Outside-mounted spare tires have fallen out of fashion in this class; indeed, RAV4 Sport models have been offered with an option that deletes their outside spare. Where Toyota places the fourth-generation RAV4’s spare tire is a subtle insight into how it intends to position its new crossover in the growing and intensely competitive compact-SUV segment.

Mechanical: The 2013 Toyota RAV4 is likely to signal a shift in powertrain strategy for this crossover. The third-generation RAV4 was among the very few in its competitive set to offer a V-6 engine in addition to a four-cylinder powerplant. With a robust 269 horsepower, the 3.5-lier six transformed the RAV4 into the hot rod of the class.

Brute force, however, has given way to high-tech. Performance leaders in this class now use four-cylinder engines of around 2.0-liters equipped with turbochargers and other advances such as direct fuel injection. They generate 240-260 horsepower and because they weigh less than a V-6, deliver similar performance with a fraction of the fuel consumption.   

Oddly, a turbocharged four-cylinder doesn’t seem in the near-term picture for the redesigned RAV4. Toyota doesn’t have one in its North American powertrain portfolio and doesn’t seem in a rush to develop one. It may concede the hot-rod crown to such compact-crossover rivals as the turbocharged 2013 Ford Escape and Kia Sportage and instead concentrate on maximum fuel economy by adopting a naturally aspirated four-cylinder philosophy.

Expect the 2013 RAV4’s only engine to be an evolution of the outgoing model’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder or a 2.7-liter four borrowed from the Venza and Highlander.

In the third-gen RAV4, the 2.5-liter four made 179 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque. That was good for just-adequate acceleration but this engine might give a better account of itself in a lighter-weight fourth-gen design -- or Toyota could massage it for a bit more power. The 2.7 performs surprisingly well not only in the heavier Venza and Highlander but in the larger-still Toyota Sienna minivan, where it’s rated at 187 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque.

Key to the 2.7-liter’s overachiever nature is the smooth, responsive six-speed automatic transmission Toyota uses with it. No matter what engine the 2013 RAV4 has, it’ll need to step into the modern era by adopting an automatic transmission with more than four speeds and preferably one with more than five. The greater the number gears, the better the opportunity to maximize engine efficiency and fuel economy. Top RAV4 rivals use a six-speed automatic. Toyota saddled the third-generation RAV4 with a four-speed automatic in four-cylinder models and a five-speed automatic in V-6s.

As per compact-crossover practice, the 2013 RAV4 will reprise a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive (AWD). The AWD system in the outgoing RAV4 normally ran in front-wheel drive but could automatically shuffle power to the rear wheels to quell front-tire slip. It went a step further than the system in most competitors with the ability to lock in a 50/50 front-rear power split (via a dashboard button) as a low-speed traction enhancer. Whether Toyota would offer such a feature again is another clue to its thinking about the redesigned RAV4’s image. In any event, the RAV4, like virtually everything in this class, never was intended for severe off-road use and the redesigned replacement won’t be, either.

On a final mechanical note, Toyota is jointly developing a purely battery-powered electric version of the RAV4 with electric-vehicle specialist Tesla Motors. Few details were available in time for this review, but the RAV4 EV likely will be introduced during calendar 2012 as a low-volume specialty model. It won’t initially be available nationwide and in fact may not use the fourth-generation RAV4 design but be an adaptation of the 2006-2012 platform.     

Features: Toyota tends to take a slow approach to gee-whiz doodads – the RAV4 didn’t even get a USB iPod interface until model-year 2012, long after the feature was available on top rivals. So don’t expect the all-new version of this crossover to compete for bragging rights by offering things like lane-departure warning, a proximity-sensing power tailgate opener, or the ability to automatically parallel park itself.

Instead, the 2013 RAV4 will continue to furnish a carefully considered selection of standard and optional equipment intended to meet its buyers’ expectations without taxing their imaginations.

Again included in the base price of every 2013 RAV4 will be such essentials as air conditioning, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, tilt/telescoping steering, remote keyless entry, and power mirrors, windows, and locks. Leather upholstery, heated front seats, pushbutton ignition, and a power moonroof will continue among available features.

On the infotainment front, the USB interface and hands-free Bluetooth mobile-phone and music-streaming connectivity will return as standard. And Toyota will again make available a GPS navigation system, though whether it would continue to confine it to the Limited model or extend it to the Sport as well is up to the company’s internal marketing analysts.

The option is, however, almost certain to be Toyota’s Display Audio System with Navigation and Entune. This employs a both a dashboard touchscreen and voice commands for navigation and audio functions. It includes features such as text-to-voice capability that reads incoming text messages aloud and iTunes tagging to store music for later purchase. The Entunes element links with an onboard smartphone to deliver with such mobile apps as Pandora Internet radio.