We test drove a Rav-4 Limited model and the "Soft Touch" seats were so cheap. They carried that same material to the door and across the dash. As soon as I sat in it and felt that stuff I knew I wouldnt be buying one. My wife said the same thing when she got out of the car.

I did like the actual drive of it though.

 

You won't get anything like an XT in a RAV4, if that is your wish, it doesn't have anywhere near that kind of performance option.

And RAV4 AWD is a reactive, non continuous AWD. So don't bother.

If you are in the southern states outside the snow belt. 2WD RAV4 is definitely the more economical buy. No argument there...

 

Should have qualified - the XT was an unfair comparison. Ideally I would go with that trim, but may end up with the manual 6. That would have been a better comparison.

The AWD of Subaru is good.....with decent tires in the winter.

 

We went from an '11 RAV4 to our present '11 Forester, but only because of my wife's delayed discovery that she couldn't find a comfortable driving position without her right knee jammed into the dash (a problem solved after the '13, I believe).

The RAV's "reactive" AWD, or technically 4WD, I found to be seamless: never could tell when it went in our out of the mode in 6" to 9" of snow, which it handled faultlessly. I also thought, after moving to the Forester, that the RAV had a wee bit more pep, and its steering felt a wee bit more responsive. BUT: the RAV's road noise was atrocious, and the main reason I'd never recommend that year.

You should also compare engine access for maintenance; full size spare vs. donut (along with allowable tire wear differences); and interior amenities, such as usable cup holders and cabin storage.

 

Ahaha! Very true.

Still a comparable Rav4 is cheaper. Guess they just don't hold as much value (relatively speaking)

 

What's important is what you want, not what we think you want. If you like the Rav, get the RAv.

 

Oh I know. Just looking for some insight as well. Because we all know people can miss stuff.

 

I don't know Alfa Romeo, Volvo and Jaguar all have super powered SUVs that kind of are in a class by themselves. Not much more really than a touring XT.

 

my wife didn't really want to take our 17 Forester for long trips so we went car shopping and looked at a lot: Rav4, CRV, Q5 and RDX. She got a 17 Acura RDX.

 

Not sure the Rav4 is bigger. Cargo volume supposedly is 73.4 cu.ft vs. 74.7 in the Forester. My wife and I both were on the fence about these two as well, but after reading about the Rav4's supposedly less capable AWD system and one full inch less ground clearance, we went with the Forester. MPG appears to be slightly better, too, at least on paper.

 

When I was shopping, I was considering a forester, cx5, and RAV4. Loved the CX5, fun to drive and good interiors - but they want a lot of scratch for a CPO. The RAV4 was competitively priced - maybe $1k-1500 less for similarly spec'd vehicles. That said, the Toyota, in my eyes, was always the least fun, least sexy vehicle. I live in a snow belt, and rating them for winter driving: forester clearly the leader, then the CX5 which was good but not great, and finally the RAV4 which left a lot to be desired. There's a auto review video where Mazda paid the gents to pit the cx5, RAV4, and Forester against each other on snow if you're curious. All three have great reliability, with Toyota leading a rock solid score for the RAV4, and the cx5 & Forester in basically a tie for second place.

I owned a '13 legacy (totaled in a recent hailstorm) that introduced me to the brand and built my trust in Subaru - so the Forester was an easy win for me.

 

I have driven the 2017 RAV4 a few times, and when I was looking to decide on a new SUV/CUV, I didn't even consider it. The main reason is that aside from the hybrid, the only engine option is a 2.5 liter/176 HP. Even though the interior was nice, visibility was poor, and the car didn't feel quick or responsive.

The Mazda CX-5 drove similarly to the Forester XT, but I dropped it due to poor visibility, fewer safety features than EyeSight, and IMO an overly confusing control scheme.

The Honda CR-V was the last one to drop out for me. I liked the 1.5 liter turbo (190 HP). It handled well and the interior was IMO the best of all the cars in this range. Visibility was not as good as in the Forester but acceptable. I would have been happy with it, but it was selling well and dealers in my area were not motivated to bargain.

One thing you can't overlook in the Forester is its handling in bad weather. Not all AWD systems are created equal so if you are shopping by checklist alone, you would underestimate one of the key capabilities of the Forester (and the Subaru line-up). Except for the Jeep which I did not evaluate, I don't think there is another vehicle in this class with that high clearance (9"). It will come in handy in the snow even if you don't plan to go off-road.

 

A RAV4, CRV, and Forester all drive into a bar. Only the Forester is able to leave because it has better ground clearance and AWD. No joke.

 

Great feedback all. I was thinking the Rav4 was more "plain jane" anyway. My '09 (used in '11) has been great thus far.

Never hurts to ask.

 

While we were in the 'market' for a new ride I rented a RAV4, and I rented a Nissan Rogue. I tried to rent a Honda CRV but couldn't... the rental car places said they couldn't keep them out of the shop so they don't use them anymore.

The RAV4 was a nice car. We have driven Corolla's for years and the kids are still beating them up. Reliable...? You bet. Lots of features... wow... but what killed the RAV4 for us was the windshield and the hood and the seating position... plus that strange look of the front where it looks like it was in a crash. We couldn't see the end of the hood... we sat way too low and could never get high enough to see the end of the hood... just killed it for us.

The Rogue was nice you did sit up pretty high but the roll-over thing was a factor. We did like the A/C Vents in the back-seats but we didn't like the way the radio worked... you had to really take your eye off the road to fiddle with it. Plus we weren't sure about long-term reliability.

I tried to rent a Subaru but nobody had one so I settled on several test drives, and I was sold on quality, look, and style. So bottom line, for a few dollars more we bought our first Subaru... and we love it.