Toyota Rav 4 gen1/gen2

[Stephen-H]

Anyone had much experience with the above vehicles i often toy with the idea of getting a small 4x4  two seater size for shooting/fishing/dog walking and general day to day stuff. I've always looked at the suzuki jimnys but the prices they demand vs how much they rust has always put me off I know there brillant for what they are but it made me wonder how good are the  toyota rav 4s. Anyone had one for the above usage & how did you find it? Cheers 

[jall25]

23 minutes ago, Stephen-H said:

Anyone had much experience with the above vehicles i often toy with the idea of getting a small 4x4  two seater size for shooting/fishing/dog walking and general day to day stuff. I've always looked at the suzuki jimnys but the prices they demand vs how much they rust has always put me off I know there brillant for what they are but it made me wonder how good are the  toyota rav 4s. Anyone had one for the above usage & how did you find it? Cheers 

We use these on our shoot along with Jimnys and the odd disco

They go where the others go and keep on going and running and wont die long after them ! The last one we got rid of was actually broken in half - thats how much hammer they take ! They are a little low for our ground - as are the jinmnys and dont carry the weight required for some jobs - so we use a navara or l200 too. 

For what you describe though should be perfect

[RCB56]

Be careful the older ones were only Front wheel drive.

[Stephen-H]

2 hours ago, jall25 said:

We use these on our shoot along with Jimnys and the odd disco

They go where the others go and keep on going and running and wont die long after them ! The last one we got rid of was actually broken in half - thats how much hammer they take ! They are a little low for our ground - as are the jinmnys and dont carry the weight required for some jobs - so we use a navara or l200 too. 

For what you describe though should be perfect

Cheers I had thought if I was to find a good one it might be worth fitting a 2 inch lift kit & some capable tyres onto it 

1 hour ago, RCB56 said:

Be careful the older ones were only Front wheel drive.

Cheers for the heads up I had wondered this as there isn't a selector for 2wd 4wd 4wl. We're the later ones a constant awd set up? 

[Sam_davies]

I had one for shooting and carrying the dog around. Brilliant bit of kit, although it used to go into limp mode and would struggle climbing a hill. No garage or myself could solve it, so sold it for spares. I loved it though.

I imagine the newer ones are more reliable

[Old Boggy]

I have a 1999 3 door 2ltr RAV4 for shooting and it’s brilliant. It’s permanent 4 wheel drive with diff lock if needed. It’s never let me down, sailed through the MOTs since I’ve owned it (6 years).  The back seats are permanently folded forward and gives me sufficient room for all my pigeon shooting gear. Being 2ltr, it’s not the most economic car to drive but as all my shooting is within a maximum of 10 mile radius, that’s not a problem. For a 23 year old car it still runs really well. I’ve only had to use the diff lock once and that was on a really sticky and muddy hill. Cannot fault it.

OB

[steve s×s]

Got one 2009 2.2 diesel 40 mpg diff lock comfortable nothing to dislike when bought £3000 and still worth £3000 🙂

[adzyvilla]

I had a (admittedly the 5 door) 2000 x reg rav4 gx petrol from new and only sold it 3 years ago because the wife needed something a bit more economical. 120000 trouble free miles, and with a decent set of tyres (latterly Michelin latitude Cross) it went everywhere I needed it to go on or off road. As others have said it does lack some ground clearance but careful driving will negate its shortcomings. Really comfortable even on long drives and simple enough to do most jobs at home. I'd say they are a bargain compared to the suzuki.

[Penelope]

Brilliant. If I hadn't upgraded to a Hi-Lux in 2017, I'd still have it.

2005 D4D diesel.

[Centrepin]

Not sure what gen 1/2 are. Mines a new hybrid. All wheel drive, not to be confused with proper 4x4 which has a low ratio.

Far too low to ground to be considered an off road vehicle, maybe 5" max and needs non road tires on to bite. My perm is very steep and has greasy mud which means I have to be extremely careful where I go unless it's bone dry and dusty.

On the plus side, it's so comfortable has almost everything I could ask for (I really miss a low ratio) and returns around 85mpg. Yup, 85mpg driven like an old lady going to church on a Sunday. Unfortunately I'm as low as 65 -69 using it off road.

 

 

[Savhmr]

I had a gen2.  Fantastic vehicle that would go virtually anywhere a landy might albeit limited ultimately in ground clearance, it was better than most suv's.  Reliable petrol engine, better than the diesel and very nippy too as well as economical, and used a clever auto-mechanical difflock which once at 18mph or below automatically locked the diffs and was permanent 4WD.  It saved weigth by omitting a low range box and instead used a crawler gear in first which was also a clever touch.  Never once got bogged down off road but avoided deep mud as clearly any SUV has its limitations, but steep grassy banks no problem, rutted racks no problem.  I had slightly raised suspension and used 16 inch fat tyres (geolanders).  Loved it.  No rust underneath as I'd coated it liberally with Lanoguard.  Only sold it last year as I was moving and already had two other vehicles so needed to raise some cash.  Could kick myself now as to find another Gen 2 (which I rate as the best of them) in such good condition is getting very hard and the ones locally are all silly money now, £4K-£5K.

Mileage isn't that important.  Those petrol lumps are virtually indestructible and use chain drive to the cams so no cambelt.

 

If looking for one, the major changes for the worst happened on the gen3 and gen 4 versions which were more road oriented.  Look for a 2001 to 2005 model (gen 2).  I rate those as the best.

On 03/08/2022 at 07:12, Centrepin said:

Not sure what gen 1/2 are. Mines a new hybrid. All wheel drive, not to be confused with proper 4x4 which has a low ratio.

Far too low to ground to be considered an off road vehicle, maybe 5" max and needs non road tires on to bite. My perm is very steep and has greasy mud which means I have to be extremely careful where I go unless it's bone dry and dusty.

On the plus side, it's so comfortable has almost everything I could ask for (I really miss a low ratio) and returns around 85mpg. Yup, 85mpg driven like an old lady going to church on a Sunday. Unfortunately I'm as low as 65 -69 using it off road.

 

 

Great road car but limited off road as they have now switched to the road oriented low profile 17/18 inch wheels & tyres.  New ones are either e-cvt or manual but without the crawler gear of the gen1 and gen2 which negated LR box to some extent.  Even the new 4wd versions are more for rain/snow than true off road 4x4s.  Not really as good an off road vehicle and really I'd be too scared of damaging a now expensive road car in that guise.  Great cars though.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Savhmr