Car Seats & Travel / 3 November, 2022 / Ellie Thompson

Family Friendly Car Review: A Look At Toyota’s Global Best-Selling SUV

Originally released in 1994, the global best-selling Toyota RAV4 is now in its fifth generation. The RAV4 is Toyota’s large family SUV, offering an all-hybrid electric line-up with a new 2.5 litre self-charging hybrid powertrain. But exactly how family-friendly is it? We took it out on the road to find out.

Toyota RAV4 car review

The Toyota RAV4 is powered by a self-charging, full hybrid electric powertrain, and it felt super strong, responsive and powerful to drive. The RAV4 offers best-in-class fuel economy and emissions levels, but the all-wheel drive system offers a ‘drive on any road’ capability that’s really quite impressive. If you’re looking for a ‘go anywhere’ family vehicle suited to both country roads and city streets, this could be it.

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Toyota offers four spec levels – with the cheapest, Icon, only available with front-wheel drive. The SUV packs a punch when it comes to intelligence. Every RAV4 in the range benefits from a comprehensive bank of driver assist and safety kit, with radar cruise control, steering assist, and radar and camera-based warnings and breaking for cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles. As you’d expect with even your most standard SUV nowadays, you’ll get LED lights, parking sensors and a rearview camera as , so you can navigate those trickier manouevres with ease.

Family-friendly SUV

Toyota have simplified family life with a practical, sensible motor that won’t cost the world to run. In terms of styling, the RAV4 is a stand-out-looking SUV, with sharp edges and a square wheel arch that sets it aside from similar vehicles.

Inside, it operates on a fairly no-frills basis, with minimal gadgets and gizmos – who knows what all those buttons are for anyway? The infotainment system and SAT NAV are perfectly adequate for your average family, adopting Toyota’s latest multimedia system, Toyota Smart Connect, which features a 10.5-inch screen with a high-definition colour display.

The boxy RAV4 offers a spacious ride for all passengers, so the good news is, you’re not going to struggle with your car seat installations. And what can I say about the boot? It’s huge. Buggies, shopping, potties, kitchen sinks? You name it, there’s space for it… Well, almost.

Find out more

Build your RAV4 today at https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/rav4.

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