Honda CRV or Toyota Rav4?

[Shin Pad]

I'm looking at getting new vehicle - something like a Honda CRV or a Toyota Rav4. I've never owned either of these vehicles before. At present I'm driving a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon - nice vehicle, but it's hard on gas, and it isn't the greatest vehicle for highway driving. So, I'm looking to get something that is still 4 wheel drive (I don't do any heavy off roading), but is better on gas. Does anyone here have ane experience with either of these vehicles, or similar vehicles by other manufacturers?

[GreenTeaFrapp]

I haven't driven one but the new Tucson looks a hell of a lot nicer than either of the two you're looking at.

[Old Yeller]

I'm not sure about the new ones, but I own a 2006 Honda CRV and while it's absolutely no fun to drive, it's functional, has a lot of cargo space, carts around my 130 pound dog with ease, is really good on gas, safe, and reliable (only oil changes for me).

I looked at the Rav4 but I found the space inside just didn't compare to the layout of the CRV. Again I don't know about the newest Rav4 or CRV, but in 2006 the CRV didn't have 4WD, it had real time AWD. Meaning it was front wheel drive 99.9% of the time but if you get in trouble, the AWD kicks in. Works quite well for me in the winter.

I'd recommend if you can drive stick, get a manual.. the auto's are absolutely gutless. I've driven both and the auto's are even less fun to drive.

[Ice]

I test drove both of those six years ago and ended up buying a Ford Escape. I don't know if the Escape comes with four wheel drive, but I really liked the increased cargo space without having to get a larger SUV. My Escape has over 100,000 miles on it with never a problem. I don't drive it every day because I bought a car that was a little more sporty and fun, but I can't get rid of the Escape because its so reliable and spacious for a small SUV. My son will be getting his drivers license within the next year, I'll probably give it to him and not worry about it breaking down on him.

[MikeN]

Go with the CRV, not only is it a honda it will also stop.

but no really, the 2010 CRV has more HP then the 09 little more pep, the hatch opens up not from the side.

If you want go talk to Jon Paddason at Calgary Honda, tell him Mike Neiland sent you, he can give you a great deal.

[Shin Pad]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

I'm not sure about the new ones, but I own a 2006 Honda CRV and while it's absolutely no fun to drive, it's functional, has a lot of cargo space, carts around my 130 pound dog with ease, is really good on gas, safe, and reliable (only oil changes for me).

I looked at the Rav4 but I found the space inside just didn't compare to the layout of the CRV. Again I don't know about the newest Rav4 or CRV, but in 2006 the CRV didn't have 4WD, it had real time AWD. Meaning it was front wheel drive 99.9% of the time but if you get in trouble, the AWD kicks in. Works quite well for me in the winter.

I'd recommend if you can drive stick, get a manual.. the auto's are absolutely gutless. I've driven both and the auto's are even less fun to drive.

Did the 2006 CRV have a 6 cylnder engine in it? I would imagine that it is a lot more powerful than the 4 cylinder.

My jeep and my 350Z are both manual, and I would love to get another manual, however, my wife wants to drive it too, so it'll have to be an automatic. Oh well, if I want go have some fun driving, I can always take the 350Z out. The new vehicle would just be for every day use - so I'm not too concerned about it being a "fun" vehicle. I'm going to try both of them, and see what I like better. If the CRV has a lot more room, like you mentioned, then that is probably the way we will go. thanks for your imput.

[Shazam]

CRV:

Bad:
No cargo room.
Incredibly weak engine.

Good:
Really nice dashboard.
Rear door flips up.

RAV4:

Bad:
Hideous interior.
Rear door swings to the side.

Good:
...

[Shin Pad]

Originally Posted by Ice

I test drove both of those six years ago and ended up buying a Ford Escape. I don't know if the Escape comes with four wheel drive, but I really liked the increased cargo space without having to get a larger SUV. My Escape has over 100,000 miles on it with never a problem. I don't drive it every day because I bought a car that was a little more sporty and fun, but I can't get rid of the Escape because its so reliable and spacious for a small SUV. My son will be getting his drivers license within the next year, I'll probably give it to him and not worry about it breaking down on him.

I'll have a look at a Ford Escape. I'm not locked into any manufacturer, I'm just looking for something that is reliable, good on gas and an ample amount of cargo space. Hopefully it comes in 4WD.

[Shin Pad]

Originally Posted by Shazam

CRV:

Bad:
No cargo room.
Incredibly weak engine.

Good:
Really nice dashboard.
Rear door flips up.

RAV4:

Bad:
Hideous interior.
Rear door swings to the side.

Good:
...

Are you talking about the 4 cyl. or the 6 cyl.?

[Finny61]

Honestly I would go with the Escape if you are buying new, Escapes a few years ago had some issues but now from what I have heard they are excellent, you should have a 4WD/AWD option. I really do not like the styling of the new CRV body, it looks more 'dome-like'. With Rav 4 I hate that rear door opening to the side, terrible.

[DownhillGoat]

Also might want to check out the Chevy Equinox/GMC Terrain. We bought the redesigned 2010 AWD Equinox for my wife in fall. Great unit. Gets about 30 mpg, the V6 is pretty peppy, and they used a 5 speed auto instead of the horrendous 4 speed that was in the old models. Lots of space, half decent interior, and GM has some good pricing.

Test drove the Subaru Forrester turbo and was that ever fantastic. Power like you wouldn't believe, and handles extremely well (not just for an SUV, either. Handles better than a lot of cars I've driven). Unfortunately the monthly payments were higher, and we had some GM points and the loyalty rebate, so it was kind of a no-brainer for us.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Shin Pad

Are you talking about the 4 cyl. or the 6 cyl.?

There is no V6 anymore. There was a paper launched V6 model with the last redesign, but I talked to the fleet manager at Calgary Honda and she told me it didn't actually exist.

[MRCboicgy]

My buddy has an Escape, which I've driven (Hybrid even) and it's really nice. I've never been in a RAV, but I have been in a CRV, after which my 10 minute ride i was like, "Done!" As a passenger...ew.

[FlameCity]

I've never driven either but I saw this one on the road the other day and it looked pretty nice, it's in that same size range. The VWs I've had have been really good on gas and fun to drive

Tiguan

[Regulator75]

2010 GMC Terrain.



Looks great, the 4 cylinder is good on gas and the options never end.

[redforever]

I had a Honda CRV, reliable, but underpowered.

I got a new vehicle half a year ago. Looked at the RAV4, it is peppy, but ugly and still has the rear mount spare tire.

I then looked at the Ford Escape and the Hyundai Sante Fe. I ended up getting the Sante Fe, price came in a lot better. But I think I would have been happy with either.

Sante Fe is unbelievably quiet, huge amount of cargo room, not quite as peppy as the RAV4, but almost. Gas mileage is pretty well the same as CRV, RAV4 or Escape.

All in all, I have been very happy with my choice.

By the way, in regards to price, the RAV4 would have been the most expensive. Toyota simply does not deal. They will give you $500 discount if you are a previous Toyota owner, but not much else.

[Canada 02]

we just bought a Subaru Forester after looking at the Rav-4, CR-V, Santa Fe and the VW Tiguan

there were aspects of each that we liked and didn't like

the best imo, and most expensive (when similarly equiped), was the VW Tiguan. Price put it out of contention, as it was 3-4K more than the others. We were also concerned about VW reliability and maintenance costs

I liked the exterior styling of the Rav-4, but didn't like the cheap looking interior; also didn't like the side-swing rear door

I liked the interior of the CR-V, but not the exterior - my wife like it more. It was rather noisy, and adding the 4WD added $1000 to the model we were interested in

The Santa Fe seemed a little under powered compared to the others, and the biggest issue we had was fitting a car seat in the rear was a bit tight to manuever in and out

We choose the Subaru Forester because the price was a bit lower than the others for the same equipment, plus had heated seats, standard 4WD, was spacious, and we really liked the interior and exterior look. The rear seats lie completely flat when folded down; one or more of the others (do not recall which) either did not lie flat and level with the rear cargo, or was slightly sloped. We also liked the reclining rear seats, the arm-rests in the front (which slides forward and back, which is nice because my wife and I would have it in different positions depending on who is driving) and back, and the flip up cup holder in the back. The moonroof is absolutely massive! As someone else mentioned, it handles beautifully, has nice power for a 4 cylinder, but not great (our other car is a V-6 with 320bhp, so most anything else seems weak in comparison). We took it out on the interstate for 4 hour road trip and marvelled at how quiet it was - seats were reasonably comfortable for that trip as well

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

we just bought a Subaru Forester after looking at the Rav-4, CR-V, Santa Fe and the VW Tiguan

Add another vote to the Subaru. They handle really well, are among the safest to drive, and (imo) are a lot more fun to drive. I do believe they will be a bit harder on the gas bill though.

[CRXguy]

Here's a comparison between the 2 cars. It's a few years old though.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2007/0...4-v6-sport.htm

My in-laws have the CR-V and my cousin just bought a Rav4 V6 from his in-laws. Both are 2007's like in the article. The CR-V is ugly and underpowered, and I find the ride clunky. I haven't driven the Rav4 yet, but my cousin's been raving about it. Probably since he upgraded from his crappy Mazda3.

I like a vehicle with power, so out of the two, I would pick the Rav4 V6. I know that the CR-V is full time AWD, with more front wheel bias. Not sure how the Rav4's system works.

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by psicodude

Add another vote to the Subaru. They handle really well, are among the safest to drive, and (imo) are a lot more fun to drive. I do believe they will be a bit harder on the gas bill though.

I also went with the Subaru Forester after test driving most of those vehicles. My wife and I both liked the feel of it more, and the safety features/ratings also factored into the decision. The Forester is a bit different than the RAV4 or CRV in that it's really more of a tall station wagon than an SUV. It's actually not bad on gas - similar to a lot of other station wagons when we were looking (about 3 years ago).