RAV4 - Vroom

Feb 19, 2006 3 Replies

Dang, I love my Camry but had I seen the new RAV4 last month, I might have bought that. Last month, the only RAVs I saw at the dealerships were the old '05 models, which I think were way too small on the inside.



These new RAVs are very nice, and I bet I coulda bought one for only 1k more than the Camry--possibly could have negotiated



19k for one--dunno.

One thing that concerns me though is the Long-term Mechanical Dependability rating from J.D. Powers. How can the rating be only 3 out of 5 ovals for the 2001 model (only average--not what one expects from Toyota)? The rating for the following year's model was 5 out of 5. Did the '01's have some mechanical problem that was corrected in the '02's?



You can get the J.D. Powers info at Edmunds by clicking the "Ratings" link in the left margin for a particular car.


I call my Camry "Connie" because she's a sweet, sweet machine. Connie the Camry. That car is tight, baby--not a rattle or squeak to be heard. "Sweet, sweet Connie."

I usually don't put a whole lot of stock into JD Power's data. This is a publication that awards cars for "initial quality", which is an absolute joke since most cars these days will fare well in that. The RAV4 has not had any major mechanical problems, as far as I know. Perhaps these alleged problems are fit and finish issues.

Yeah, I don't much look at the Initial Quality scores either. But I do glance at the long-term ratings of 4-plus years, whatever their worth.

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