Toyota RAV4 collection, the “fun cruiser”

[garethj]

... presumably to differentiate it from their Land Cruiser which is a very different vehicle.

I was looking for a Volvo V70 diesel but with a manual box for 50mpg thrills.  Turns out that people tend to hang onto them until they’re utterly fucked because finding one in half decent condition is almost impossible.

Instead, because reliable motoring is quite addictive, I bought a 2006 Toyota RAV4 diesel.  It should just nudge 50mpg on my usual motorway commute, probably helped by the 6 speed box and the fact that 60mph is 1750 rpm 😳

This is the third generation, only available as a 5 door and it’s fucking massive inside.  The boot looks like it could hide a washing machine without folding the seats down and even at 6’1” tall I’ve got stacks of headroom.

The spec of these things is complicated but this is the 134bhp diesel 4x4.  They did petrol versions, a 180bhp diesel and a 2WD too.  This has 4WD on demand and you can lock it in 4WD with a button on the dash, it works up to 25mph.

This one is definitely the base model though.  There are reminders everywhere that you didn’t get the Ghia version but the Popular Plus.

No front fog lights.

None of these.

Nor these.

Earlier RAV4s were supposed to be sharp handling things (this must have been relative) because this is definitely adequate and not much more.  The high driving position means you get a cracking view of the road ahead and you can certainly zoom down the B roads faster than most traffic but it’s obviously no sports car.

The engine is very responsive which helps and when things get slow you’ve got a turning circle that encourages laps of a mini roundabout 😀

The stereo is pretty good, the seats are comfortable (cloth in this poverty-spec version) and the rear seats slide and recline like in a CRV.  I’ll let you know how I get on

 

 

 

[garethj]

Either the trip computer is wildly optimistic or the ludicrously high gearing is effective.

Driving to work on the B roads this morning I thought it was a bit sluggish to pick up, it wasn’t boosting.  A look down at the revcounter and we’re doing 1200rpm 🤪

I ordered an aux input for the stereo so I can stream podcasts from my phone and I’ll be interested to see what the real fuel economy is when I brim the tank again.

[garethj]

Time to fit the Bluetooth module.  This was a real war on my Spaceship Civic where you basically start by removing the trim panel under the dashboard, then start removing the centre console and the dashboard top and eventually the vectors combine near the radio which you can remove.

I had a look at a YouTube video for this and it was only a minute long.  This seemed good as basically most YouTubers can talk for 3 minutes about just changing the wiper blades.

Step 1, using a set of those plastic trim removal tools, pop off the side panels

This shows 4 bolts that hold in the radio on its frame. Remove the bolts, putting a blob of Bluetack on the socket because the lower ones are a bit buried and I don’t fancy dropping it inside the dashboard.

 

Pull the radio out and locate the CD changer port on the back.  Plug in the module and only then give some thought to where the 3.5mm jack will come out and you can locate the Bluetooth unit.

 

Down by the cigarette lighter seems good as it needs a USB 5V supply.  Pop out one of the (many) blanking plugs and then basically play the funfair game of Hook A Duck through the back of the dashboard as you dangle the wire down and try to grab it.  Using side cutters, snip a slot for the wire to come through the blanking plug.

Then, as we all know, reassembly is a reversal of removal.

It’s well hidden down there, has a short connection to the 12V socket where my phone charger is and it works - result!

[St.Jude]

On 4/27/2021 at 11:12 PM, garethj said:

Earlier RAV4s were supposed to be sharp handling things (this must have been relative) because this is definitely adequate and not much more.

I think they are relative to other 4x4/SUV cars. I know mine handles that bit better than the CR-V I had a few years ago. But half a tonne of weight does make a difference.

Your one is looking smart though!

[garethj]

That’s true, it’s a bit sharper than the CRV we have.  I did a few trips to Milton Keynes this weekend in the RAV4 and as I’m trundling towards yet another roundabout in the left lane, a BMW 3 series came hammering down behind me doing at least 90 in the right lane.

He’s going much faster so we actually arrive at the roundabout at the same time.  Years of riding fast motorbikes but never getting a speeding ticket have taught me the benefits of smooth driving that looks slow, so I took the roundabout pretty fast and came out about 2 car lengths ahead of the Beemer.

Obviously on the straight he nailed it and went shooting past me as I changed up at 2000 revs but - if the question is how well does it handle, the answer is better than people who can’t drive very well 😀

I also filled the tank and according to my app got 45mpg.  That’s a mix of my careful motorway cruising through the roadworks to the office, a few trips through the roundabouts of Milton Keynes and a trip to Surrey and back with my son driving.

Pretty good I think

[Spurious]

You're 100% right about the V70s. Especially the D5s. Most of them for sale have the chocolate box automatic.  I couldn't find a good one when looking and didn't want to play gearbox roulette with the auto. 

Those RAV4s are certainly looking to be good value these days and the D4D is a good unit.  Maybe a bit of remapping action for a few horsies? 

Nice work with the Bluetooth. Can't manage without it in cars nowdays. 

Would a little green Laning be of interest? perhaps we could have the AS green lane botherers when lockdown is lifted. Pottering about "off road" (yes I know they're roads) is always fun. 

[garethj]

8 minutes ago, Spurious said:

Those RAV4s are certainly looking to be good value these days and the D4D is a good unit.  Maybe a bit of remapping action for a few horsies? 

My mind still boggles at the whole remap thing.  When I think back to my youth and the faff of polishing ports, changing expensive carburettors and whatnot, all to get about 5 horsepower more.  Now for £300 this can go from 134bhp to 180bhp, or for £150 it can go to 160bhp.  Madness.

[Spurious]

4 minutes ago, garethj said:

My mind still boggles at the whole remap thing.  When I think back to my youth and the faff of polishing ports, changing expensive carburettors and whatnot, all to get about 5 horsepower more.  Now for £300 this can go from 134bhp to 180bhp, or for £150 it can go to 160bhp.  Madness.

forced induction yo

[Spottedlaurel]

I wonder if this is a similar engine to what I had in my 2010 Avensis, from memory that was a 2.0 of about that power output. Not much on paper but seemed like a faithful plodder with plenty of torque, I much preferred it to the 1.8 petrol Avensis that I replaced it with (briefly). I recall that was getting me high 40s to low 50s MPG.

[St.Jude]

10 hours ago, Spurious said:

Would a little green Laning be of interest? perhaps we could have the AS green lane botherers when lockdown is lifted. Pottering about "off road" (yes I know they're roads) is always fun. 

That sounds like a plan

[garethj]

2 more refills of fuel, 49mpg and 47mpg which is pretty good.  I think to beat 50mpg I’d need to have a week where I’m not going through Milton Keynes which is a repetition of slow down and accelerate for miles and miles.

There seems to be a small oil leak which I’ll have a look at when it stops raining, I’ve also ordered a new tailgate check strap because the UK spec one doesn’t let the door open 90 degrees.  The lighting rules say that tail lights have to be visible when the door is open and the spare wheel on the door blocks the offside light.  They got around this by only letting the rear door open 80 degrees but one from the US should fix this

Once you get the hang of the initial body lean, handling is pretty good 

[garethj]

Fuel economy seems to be 46-48mpg which I’m pretty happy with as there’s always some reason to drive through a city somehow.

Time to address one of the issues with this car - how wide the rear door opens.   Due to lighting regulations, the rear door opens to about 70 degrees so you can still see the tail lights with the door open.  Fitting wide things in the boot is hard.

Fortunately the US spec cars had a check strap that allows the door to open wider.

Firat step, get the trim off.  It just pulls off with clips.

This is the problem; the door only opens this wide

10mm socket, 2 nuts and a bolt and the old check strap is off.  Replacement, as they say is the reversal of removal.  This is how it looks now

Trim back on which took less than a minute 

[garethj]

This continues to do nothing except keep going without issue.  It’s 16 years old, got 140k on the clock so it’s way past old and knackered by anyone’s standards, yet you turn the key and it just goes.  It’s handling things just like a brand new car.

My commute is about 60 miles a day and with evenings and weekends I’m doing about 500 miles a week.  It never breaks down, still does 45mpg even on non-motorway driving and has stacks of room inside.

I’d like to replace it with something more economical but it’s a very useful mix of handy attributes.

[holbeck]

Your glowing endorsement might have put one of these on my radar. 

[garethj]

MoT was last month and it failed😳

Rusty fuel filler neck which seems to be a curse of Japanese cars, at least the ones I’ve owned.  Rusty brake lines on the rear axle which I didn’t spot when I was changing the diff oil last year, and a numberplate light.  Arse.

A new filler neck was pricey and I wondered about getting a second hand one, but that’s usually the point where you find a vital clip is missing and you’re off the road for another few days while it arrives.

All done and it feels good to be back on the road.  For occasional trips to move large items it’s incredibly useful, it also drives very well considering its size, which is probably 5% bigger than a new Yaris.

Unfortunately I’m now doing 20,000 miles a year so it’s got to go, even at 45-48mpg🙁

[grogee]

This is my neighbour's one, also a dizzle. It's got more buttons and pleather seats but basically the same. I've driven it a bit and it feels rough, it's pretty noisy too. But it's her 'dog car' so not a big deal really. 

[grogee]

19 minutes ago, garethj said:

MoT was last month and it failed😳

Rusty fuel filler neck which seems to be a curse of Japanese cars, at least the ones I’ve owned.  Rusty brake lines on the rear axle which I didn’t spot when I was changing the diff oil last year, and a numberplate light.  Arse.

A new filler neck was pricey and I wondered about getting a second hand one, but that’s usually the point where you find a vital clip is missing and you’re off the road for another few days while it arrives.

All done and it feels good to be back on the road.  For occasional trips to move large items it’s incredibly useful, it also drives very well considering its size, which is probably 5% bigger than a new Yaris.

Unfortunately I’m now doing 20,000 miles a year so it’s got to go, even at 45-48mpg🙁

I do wonder if a 1.6d Mondeo or 1.5d Gooner might suit your high miles. Both long and low so respectable mpg on motorway, and both fuel sipping engines. But, both still very practical and spacious inside. 

There's a lot of alarmist guff about that Ford/PSA 1.6d which I think isn't fully justified. 

 

[TrabbieRonnie]

On 1/8/2022 at 5:38 PM, garethj said:

This continues to do nothing except keep going without issue.  It’s 16 years old, got 140k on the clock so it’s way past old and knackered by anyone’s standards, yet you turn the key and it just goes.  It’s handling things just like a brand new car.

My commute is about 60 miles a day and with evenings and weekends I’m doing about 500 miles a week.  It never breaks down, still does 45mpg even on non-motorway driving and has stacks of room inside.

I’d like to replace it with something more economical but it’s a very useful mix of handy attributes.

"Old and knackered?!". Nah...

30 this year, still turning and burning...  Old Toyotas never die. 

 

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞😅

[garethj]

52 minutes ago, grogee said:

This is my neighbour's one, also a dizzle. It's got more buttons and pleather seats but basically the same. I've driven it a bit and it feels rough, it's pretty noisy too. But it's her 'dog car' so not a big deal really. 

Maybe it’s had a hard life?  I don’t find mine rough or noisy, especially once you’re up to speed.  It’s a bit gruff when you work it hard around the doors though, most big diesels of that age are.

46 minutes ago, grogee said:

I do wonder if a 1.6d Mondeo or 1.5d Gooner might suit your high miles. Both long and low so respectable mpg on motorway, and both fuel sipping engines. But, both still very practical and spacious inside. 

There's a lot of alarmist guff about that Ford/PSA 1.6d which I think isn't fully justified. 

 

I’ve owned a lot of cars over the years and right now I need reliable and frugal.  Another Toyota or Honda will be in my future.

A fair amount of my driving is now on A roads with tedious things like junctions and roundabouts so I’ll get something Civic or Corolla sized

[grogee]

4 minutes ago, garethj said:

Maybe it’s had a hard life?  I don’t find mine rough or noisy, especially once you’re up to speed.  It’s a bit gruff when you work it hard around the doors though, most big diesels of that age are.

I’ve owned a lot of cars over the years and right now I need reliable and frugal.  Another Toyota or Honda will be in my future 

Probably has had a hard life, I think she bought from bomb site trader for £too much. I'm definitely not saying they're all like that! 

It'll probably go on forever though. 

Good luck in your search for a hypermiler, I can't really think of anything other than a Yaris 1.4d that might significantly beat the RAV-4 mpg. 

[Gruber]

And now it's mine!  All mine!  

I'm the proud new owner of this perfectly adequate chunk of... well... car.  Collected this afternoon from Gareth.  Lovely chap.

First impressions from the 40 mile drive home are entirely positive:  it's a very relaxing thing to pootle along the A421 in.  Loads of room, nice and comfy.  Very pleasing in a modest and adequate kind of way.  Just what we need as the new family hack.  

[garethj]

When Toyotas combine!  Good to meet you, Steve

The journey of 40 miles starts with pulling out of a tight spot with Spotify on the stereo😀

[Gruber]

Three months into ownership:  time for an update!

It's a very likeable thing this Rav4.  Not fast, not fancy and certainly not in the first flushes of youth.  But solid and dependable.  It just trickled over 150,000 miles and seems to be going strong.  

...well, except for the starter motor, which has played up since (literally) Day 2 of ownership.  Every three or four starts, the starter would spin up but not engage.  It always engaged second turn of the key, but gradually the non-starting became increasingly frequent.  So last week the bullet was bitten and a new starter fitted.  Not cheap, but now it starts first time every time.  While "in", it had oil and a filter and a good check over, also resulting in two new rear tyres.  An expensive day at the garage.  

But now the old girl is prepped and ready for a big trip:  driving from Cambridge to Stranraer this Saturday, then over to NI for a fortnight's holiday.  

It has proved VERY useful for tip trips and carting big stuff around.  And a couple of mates have borrowed it and were suitably impressed.  

She's probably not a keeper:  once the NI trip is behind us, I'll need to move her on to make room on the driveway for a caravan.  So if you fancy a big slice of reliably solid shite, feel free to form an orderly queue.  

 

 

[Gruber]

 

The old girl is doing great work as the family holiday hack.  Having done about 800 miles in it over the past week, it is really growing on me.  Bags of room for 'stuff'; confidence-inspiringly solid at a steady motorway lope; enough get-up-and-go to zip past tractors on country roads; rides nicely; and everything works despite 16 years and 151,000 under its belt.  It wears its age and miles with a few battle scars but, as a family hack to leave in tight spots at supermarket car-parks, that's ideal.  

Having never owned a Toyota before, it's a bit of a revelation.  It feels like a big Golf, in the best possible way.  Highly recommended shite!

And of course, the coastal roads of Northern Ireland are properly stunning.  

 

[garethj]

Yes, it’s got the same solid feel as a Mk2 Golf, I hadn’t thought of that!  Glad the holiday is going well, it’s a good week to not be in the sweaty south of England😀

[Gruber]

8 hours ago, garethj said:

Yes, it’s got the same solid feel as a Mk2 Golf, I hadn’t thought of that!  Glad the holiday is going well, it’s a good week to not be in the sweaty south of England😀

It's fair to say there's very limited chance of heatstroke here on the north coast of NI.  😀

[Gruber]

‘Fun cruiser’ (?!) beach pic.
 

[stuboy]

4 hours ago, Gruber said:

‘Fun cruiser’ (?!) beach pic.
 

did u rein-act the hoff and and pammy running down to the sea?

[Gruber]

39 minutes ago, stuboy said:

did u rein-act the hoff and and pammy running down to the sea?

It'd be rude not to, right?  I do a great Pammy:  I increasingly seem to have the body for it.

[808 Estate]

On 1/8/2022 at 5:38 PM, garethj said:

This continues to do nothing except keep going without issue.  It’s 16 years old, got 140k on the clock so it’s way past old and knackered by anyone’s standards, yet you turn the key and it just goes.  It’s handling things just like a brand new car.

 

Welcome to Toyota world.