2019 Toyota RAV4 XLE AWD Rental Review!

"Pistol Whipped Cream" (heynickhere)
05/11/2019 at 16:50 • Filed to: None

I’ll make this short and sweet! We headed down to North Carolina for the Easter weekend and I have a ton of National Free Days to use up by June so we figured we would rent something. I was happy to find this guy on the Emerald Aisle.

It definitely feels bigger both inside and out than the outgoing RAV4. It’s Recreational! It’s Adventure-y! Oh and it’s definitely Vehicle-y!

The addition of AppleCar play is a huge plus! thank you Toyota for catching up to 2019. The dashboard was well thought out and everything has it’s place. The XLE comes with Dual Zone Automatic Air which was very nice.

The Tach can be customized and you can look at your Fuel Economy, AWD status and a variety of other information. The rest of the interiors very nice though. the one we had only had cloth seats. I wish it had the Softex seats. Those are nice.

Above you can see the many modes that you can select from. I only played with them on a dirt road so I don’t have any great feedback. One other note, there is a Parking Brake release, even though th e car automatically sets the Parking Break when you shift to park and disengages it when you shift out of it. Pretty cool!

I promise I know how to park. Though this image is proof of the contrary.

Overall, this would be a great buy for a smaller family (like ours; we have 1 baby). It was definitely roomy and got great fuel economy (I averaged between 35-40MPG)

My only critique would be that the little 2.5L engine isn’t quite enough power. It was perfect for cruising around town but it didn’t love doing hills at highway speed. This thing could use a 2L Turbo like the Ford Escape.

If I were to buy one today, I think I would get this one. The auto air is a must for me. I would also spring for the upgraded seats. Overall, it knows its place and it does its job well.

DISCUSSION (24)

Captain of the Enterprise > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/11/2019 at 17:24

Thanks for the quick review. I could definitely see myself picking up a used one as a daily in a few years to replace my 2011 Camry. I like that color too. How the head and legroom in it? I’m 6’3” and is it comfy?

HammerheadFistpunch > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/11/2019 at 18:50

35-40 mpg? damn. thats really good for something this size, my gen 1 with less car in every way never really saw much better than half of that. Sure would love to see greater the better side of 20 these days.

50ford500 > HammerheadFistpunch
05/11/2019 at 19:14

It really is amazing fuel mileage. And a big part of why I think crossovers are taking over the world now. Space AND gas mileage?

HammerheadFistpunch > 50ford500
05/11/2019 at 19:16

My thoughts exactly.

Tapas > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/11/2019 at 20:58

I’d buy it if it wasn’t so ugly.

Id rent it to play with the climate control nipples.

WLM86 > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/11/2019 at 23:02

We test drove a Limited model when we were SUV shopping in January and wanted so badly to like it , but found it lacking power like you did and also did not like how extremely buzzy the engine sounded in the cabin. They are definitely nice to look at and comfortable to sit in , though.

Jordan > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/12/2019 at 08:42

If I was after a relatively affordable new family car, the Golf wagon is what I’d go for . Not this minivan-pretending - not- to- be- a- minivan.

Pistol Whipped Cream > Captain of the Enterprise
05/12/2019 at 09:11

Hey I have a 2011 Camry too! I liked the color too but my wife did not. They also offer two tone roofs as well. Head and legroom was fine for me. I’m 6ft exactly. Not sure how it would be for you. If you had the seat all the way back it would be fine I imagine. If you fit in a Camry, you'll fit in this.

Pistol Whipped Cream > HammerheadFistpunch
05/12/2019 at 09:14

Yeah I was super impressed! So it did 40mpg on the stretches where the speed limit was 65 (so I would be going about 70). There isn’t an interstate part of the way between OH and NC. It did right around 35 when the speed limit was 70 though.

We had a 19' 4Runner (2WD) in Texas last weekend and it only got 22mpg but some of the speed limits were 75. The 4 Runner desperately needs another gear.

Pistol Whipped Cream > Jordan
05/12/2019 at 09:15

Mini vans have sliding doors and 3 rows...

Pistol Whipped Cream > WLM86
05/12/2019 at 09:16

Yes it would thrive with a turbo. I didn’t notice the cabin being too noisy. But my Camry has a noisy interior and my wife’s car has off road tires so it is noisy too.

HammerheadFistpunch > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/12/2019 at 10:33

the 8 speed can't come quick enough to the runner and Tacoma. i wonder what's taking them so long?

Pistol Whipped Cream > HammerheadFistpunch
05/12/2019 at 11:20

Seriously. My dads 17 Tacoma averages around 16 around town. Haven’t done a road trip in it. It’s about even with out GX in all honesty.

HammerheadFistpunch > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/12/2019 at 11:32

road trips the tacoma does a lot better than my gx, about 22, but its could be better both places.

Jordan > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/12/2019 at 12:32

Fine, an MPV, the minivans European cousin. Some have 3 rows, some don’t.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/12/2019 at 15:07

CR-V is better in terms of performance and comfort and interior space

Captain of the Enterprise > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/12/2019 at 18:04

How cool! Mines a 2.5 Le in grey. I got it a little over a year ago now and it’s been great! I hope yours has been good to you as well!

I figured I would be fine in the new one my cousin has a previous gen rav4 and I fit fine it in. I like the looks of this one more especially the interior.

Pistol Whipped Cream > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
05/12/2019 at 21:24

I don’t really care for their looks. Just personal preference.

Pistol Whipped Cream > Captain of the Enterprise
05/12/2019 at 21:26

Yeah it seems like a good car! And we just had ours for 4 days but I would love to rent another one.

bhtooefr > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/13/2019 at 07:33

My guess is that a 2.0T Escape would’ve had far worse fuel economy, though.

And, by “it didn’t love doing hills at highway speed”, you mean it probably had to downshift a couple gears to get into the powerband, right? The power’s there, though, once you get up to 5000+ RPM (where the torque peak is).

That said, the hybrid would be interesting, because it’s a fair bit higher power (219 system hp instead of 203 hp), and could probably dump a fair amount of electric power into the drivetrain to keep engine revs down, while also getting better fuel efficiency yet.

TysMagic > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/13/2019 at 09:22

I saw pretty much exactly this car on my commute this morning. The design fits in with the rest of the line up a lot better, but it also looks so grumpy/sad

Pistol Whipped Cream > bhtooefr
05/13/2019 at 09:33

Some of those turbos do pretty well but it depends how you drive them. That 3.5 ecoboost is a hoot to drive but doesn’t do great on gas. Or you can be mellow and it doesn’t very well. The hybrid will be interesting. I hope the additional weight won’t negate the improved power.

Pistol Whipped Cream > TysMagic
05/13/2019 at 09:34

I think it looks more aggressive than the last gen for sure though!

Captain of the Enterprise > Pistol Whipped Cream
05/14/2019 at 06:43

Nice! I think it’s a good car too!