2008 Toyota RAV4 Limited review from North America

There has been a very intermittent rattle in the center stack since new. I haven't bothered to take it in for service as it is very minor: The duration of the rattling occurrences is only 5-15 seconds, and it has only done the rattle 3-4 times so far since purchasing the vehicle. I cannot willingly reproduce it, and it does not affect functionality.

I purchased this vehicle after having done extensive research, wanting a car that would serve many purposes:

*Not too slow, and decent passing power.

*Capable of light towing.

*Sizable cargo space (but huge space not necessary).

*Capable of seating four adults comfortably.

*Decent gas mileage for the vehicle class.

*Sufficient ground clearance for sharp angles between driveways and roadways (a problem where I live).

*Reasonable safety features and crash-test ratings.

*AWD.

*Projected reliability is not below average, and preferably above average.

*Available with cloth seats on whichever trim/equipment level I choose.

The RAV4 perfectly fits these criteria. I recommend it to anyone looking for an all-purpose vehicle.

One of the nice things in this car is that there are a lot of little touches, at least compared with many of my past vehicles. Several places that would otherwise be dead-space are turned into a small cubby or storage area. The seatbelts have height adjusters. The sun visors have pull-out tabs to help block additional sun. The automatic function on the driver's side power window has both auto-up and auto-down capability (in my experience, most cars will only do one or the other). Various things like this make me feel that someone designed this car with a lot of thought on practicality and usability.

Gas mileage is decent; it's no economy car, but it is easy to beat the EPA 2008 estimates. I've gotten over 28mpg and have yet to take a trip where I drive 100% highway miles.

Alltogether, the vehicle instills a sense of trust in me, as I know that for 99% of the driving situations I may face, the RAV will do the job.