Test drive: the Toyota RAV4

The Toyota RAV4 has grown another ten centimetres. As always, this longer version of the new car has come over to us from the United States. As a birthday gift, the RAV4 got a new radiator grille. It's now even plainer than it was on the previous versions of the model. But that's not the main thing about this reworked design. The long RAV4 hasn't just grown taller — its wheelbase has also grown by a hundred millimetres. And everyone knows that a longer wheelbase means more room inside the cabin. This crossover now looks a lot more like its “big brother”, the Toyota Land Cruiser 200.

And since it comes from the same family, there's no doubting the RAV4's “toughness”. It turns out that this tiny difference, ten centimetres, was exactly what this car was missing to satisfy everyone. Its overall dimensions have stayed perfectly sensible, while the boot has grown from four hundred and ten litres to five hundred and forty. The back seats got a lot more “living space” too. For rear-seat passengers, that space has grown from eight hundred millimetres to eight hundred and sixty-five millimetres. That's how much the distance between the front and rear rows of seats has increased.

But the rear seats can be folded down when needed. And in return you get a cargo bay of enormous size. And any homemaker would envy the huge organiser built into the floor, like a shopping trolley. If the whole family happens to be heading to the market, you can slide the rear seats into a position where only the kids can sit comfortably, giving you more than enough room for luggage.

There was a time when the RAV4 was seen as a car for young people. And not just young people in general, but young women in particular. It earned a reputation as a “woman's car”, and a respectable man who pulled up to a Toyota service centre in one would get sent off with smiles. But time has shown that a reputation as strictly a youth car, or strictly a woman's car, strongly affects a car's target audience and its sales. Having drawn that conclusion, Toyota began reworking this car's style, generation after generation. Nobody could accuse the updated RAV4 of being “feminine” now, even though the changes haven't actually been all that extensive. The front bumper has changed, the headlights and taillights have a new design, the fog lights got a chrome surround, the radiator grille has become more distinctive, and alloy wheels are now fitted.

The cabin hasn't changed much either. Everything here is familiar and everything is as expected. The only difference is the centre console frame and the trim around the side vents, done in dark grey, but that has nothing to do with the car's driving qualities. What has changed a lot is the number of buttons on the steering wheel. Now they control the audio system, voice commands, and the multifunction instrument display.

The RAV4's “territory” is paved roads. Visit any Lexus or Toyota service centre, and the mechanics there will confirm it. Well, a somewhat rutted gravel road is possible too. The suspension allows for that. But calling that ride comfortable would be a bit of a stretch.