1st words people say are "cute" It gets great highway mileage, 30 going to Las Vegas at 75 to 80 mph. The bucket seats could be a little wider for some of us "larger" people. Quality is great, fit is good, nice looking little car.We have 26000 miles with only a failed cruise control switch.

Tire noise is excessive. Power is a little down, Ours is a 5 speed so I'll bet an automatic is even worse. Radio is a little tinny, Ours is equipped with the "Bradley" alloys, GRIPE-- The give you four alloys and the spare(a full size tire) is a steel wheel which dosn't match at all. The spare is under its cover so you don't know this. So now you have a perfectly good spare that you can't rotate. Seems dumb to me, almost criminal. Also, the spare only comes with 3 lug bolts.

We paid 18400 in Calif, I have a few high performance auto's so speed is not a big issue, but it could use a bit more power. I absolutely recommend it for a family of 4 or less. Great little trouble free auto.

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Ford Explorer Sport. The RAV gets much better mileage, is just as comfortible, will turn far smaller circles and didn't have the quality.

The 4 wheel drive is great in the winter. The car is higher than most cars but a little lower than a mini-van. It handles easily and gets fairly decent mileage. it is sporty and good looking. It's easy to clean. It is also very roomy for a car this size. The back seats fold down; loading the back is convenient because the floor of the back is close to the ground. We've fitted snowblowers and lawn mowers in the back. Teenagers sitting in the back comment that there is ample head room.

The rearview window washer is not placed well; never cleans it all. The Rav is very compact; so compact that sitting in the front, especially in the driver's seat, is uncomfortable for long trips. There is no real armrest. There is no real room up front for a car phone. The beverage holders are too small and inconvenient. There is little room for the sound system controls. The floor mounted gear shift makes the front seem even more crowded; in addition, passengers accidently have knocked it into a different gear while in traffic. There is little pickup unless you turn everything (air conditioner, heater) off.

Would recommend it only if take my comments into mind--and could live with them.

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Like the Subaru Forester better, though it is lower to the grown.

4 wheel drive traction, fuel economy. Thats really it and the 4x4 traction is only sub par at that due to no ground clearance and crappy car tires.

NO power whatsoever. Do not even attempt to drive this contraption on the beach as the sand will overpower the little crappy motor. You'll have to use 4lo and won't be able to get out of 2nd gear w/o bogging down. This is a real crappy excuse for a car/suv.

Piece of underpowered Japanese garbage. I tried it, hated it, and traded it back in for a new Wrangler with the L6 engine. Now this baby moves!

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Jeep CJ7 (V-8, 4"lift, etc.) the ULTIMATE off road vehicle
2000 Jeep Wrangler - which this RAV4 was traded in on!

High road view - essential on our crowded freeways
Easy handling - I like cars, but they don't fit my needs
Relatively low noise - even with sunroof open
Compact footprint - it's a Camry wheel base
Not a gas guzzler - 300+ miles per fillup (330 or something like that, didn't check to empty ;-).
Good sonic attributes - music sounds nice with a nice system
Fits my lifestyle - very active outdoors type of a person. Trunk holds all my sports and outdoors gear as well as my music upgrade

Comfort - 2 hours of driving and I used to be tired. I upgraded to Katzkin leather, more comfy ;-).
Leg room - I am 6 feet tall, guess that goes with comfort ;-).
Built-in audio system - I replaced it completely with something that's true hi-fi.
Hard to take apart - I needed lots of tools to take it apart. Especially the cargo area to get to rear speakers, but I am not an average consumer, as you can see.

I wanted something stylish, unique, practical, modifiable. The Rav4 that I drive is it. This car gets high MPG, and is very easy to drive. I don't like parking it too much though, especially in San Francisco. In terms of parts, you will find it to be part Camry (chassis), part expanded Corolla (interior). It has high headroom, but could use more legroom. Keep in mind that Rav4 '01 is a major redesign and most of this review is likely to be out of date.

This car is underpowered for sporty drivers, but has a fairly decent performance. It does take a while to speed up on the on-ramp to 65mph at 5000RPM, so do account for that. Underpowered, but economic!

In this year I've owned the car, I have not had any reason to check in for maintenance. I do need to do some wheel alignment and possibly brakes maintenance, but that's about it with 18,000+ miles on the odometer.

My Rav came with no sunroof, generic stereo (OEM Panasonic). I added an ASC moonroof while at the dealer, replaced my sound system, and upgraded to Katzkin leather interior. Those guys did a terrific job (they can upgrade Lexus and Mercedes...), and I don't intend to sell my lovely comfy Rav4 any time soon (until I get my Mercedes CLK 430 V8 Quartz-blue convertible :-)

Who would I recommend it for? Not for an aggressive driver or a truck driver. It's a Camry/Corolla hybrid, so the types who like those cars would be good target market. Also, to the people who are looking at Wranger by Chrysler corp. (that owns Jeep): Rav4 is a much softer ride and just as fun! It is a mini-SUV, so if that's what you are looking for, head to your nearest dealer and take it for a spin. Once again, the 2001 model is vastly different, so this review is explicitly limited to 1996-2000 models.

I hope this helps, have a lot of fun with your Rav. I'll give it max rating, but keep in my mind that I had to customize it to my taste first.

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I've tried just about every import car/SUV up to $30,000MSRP range. This is what I bought in September '99.

Great fun to drive , higher up feeling, best mini-sport utility in its class, good enough for some off road fun,TOYOTA world class reliablity! This thing takes the beats and then some , and it still goes hard every time. Excellent road grip in the winter, SUV space and access advantages.

The interior could use a few more creature comforts. no middle armrest bothers me, the seat headrests are plastic and not very comfortable. Could use a bit more pep, 127hp not quite enough. There is a decent ammount of road noise at 100km/h , but that is expected.

Paid $28,000 CDN new, got mostly what is called the value package, It has the aluminum wheels and has all the mudguards , fender flairs , A/C , tilt , CD etc...., almost everything except for power locks and power windows. I think that the Rav offers excellent value for the price. A lot of people look down on the rav because they see it as a SUV when it acutally is mini-SUV with a 2.0 4cyl!!. The fact is everyone must understand its limitations of its design because the Rav does exactly what it was set out to do. I don't think that this is a bad purchase at all , for anyone who is looking for reliabity with some off road or winter driving capabilities , this vehicle is for you!

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Ford Explorer - Only driven this SUV never owned it , but from what ive seen and heard the rav is much better in terms of quality. The ford is more comfortable, though and costs more money and really isnt in the same class.

Fun to drive.
Easy to park.
Cute looks.
Very reliable...think it will go a long time without much trouble.

Replaced noisy brakes and are still noisy
Could use a little more pep.
Weak stereo (may upgrade it).
No arm rest on door(use a small pillow for cushion), no cup holder accept inside of compartment and that's a joke.
Gas mileage could be better (low 20's)

I bought this used in late 96 and it had 21,000 miles on it. 4 years later, it's at 70,000 miles and it's been a joy to own and drive, except for the brakes. I'll ask around on how to quiet them up. I paid $15,600 for my 96 Ravvy and have spent very little on it. I wish I got it more loaded with p/l and p/w.

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88 Camry. Both feel and ride the same. Very reliable car als, but got 7 or 8 mpg more than the Ravvy

*Handles like a Camry or Celica GT
*smooth ride
*very refined feeling
*EXELLENT BUILD QUALITY!!!
*worth the price

*127 hp isn't enough for the hills so it does downshift the automatic often to keep up pace.
*back seat could be a little larger.
*legroom for anyone over 5'9" is tight in the drivers seat.

This is the best car i have ever owned and almost have ever driven, all of the cars listed above are not nearly as comfortable as this. i bought a 1999 Toyota Rav4 "L" model back in June '99 and for $25,860 it was the best purchase i have ever made. Its got leather seats, moonroof, cd player, ABS, Automatic, A/C, and cruise... it is Absolutly Wonderful!
If you have the means i highly recommend that you go and pick one up... my parents are jealous that i have a decent car, and they dont, so they will soon be buying new Toyota's, once you own one you are Hooked!

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1997 Pontiac Sunfire SE
1994 GMC Jimmy SLE
2000 Chevrolet Cavalier base
1994 Geo Tracker LSi
1995 Nissan Pathfinder SE
1989 Ford Tempo GL

Outstanding reliability (75k+ miles and no problems). Superb agility for an SUV; great handling. Good mileage. Manual transmission much better than the auto.

Could use a more powerful engine. Back seat a bit on the small size

Great SUV, provided you're not planning to take it any place worse than dirt roads.

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Toyota 4Runner (84 and 90)

stylish, easy and fun to drive, great gas mileage, height of a truck, but doesn't drive like one.

more power, more room in back seat

i love my rav-4. power is not all that important to me, at least not as important as gas mileage. i would recommend this truck to almost anyone, except those who haul around a bunch of people or stuff.

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this is my first suv, but some of my friends have other suvs and i wouldn't have them.

Not too big (land cruzier), not to small (kia). Versatile, nice ride, back seats recline, roomer than you can imagine, great on gas, turns on a dime, fun to drive

lacks a little on acceleration, sometimes I have to use the Extra power feature to accelerate faster, it has a small engine (great on gas), dont plan on pulling a huge beast with this rig, needs more room in between cup holder and gear shifter ... a little annoying

20,000 recommended, excellent MINI suv, remember its a MINI suv not a regular size SUV so you can understand its limitations

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The best mini SUV, next would be the honda cr-v