Went looking for a RAV4 and ended up with Equinox

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ProStreetCamaro

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My sister in law was in an accident last week and totaled her 2003 jetta. She had her mind set on a new rav4 but we talked her into driving a few small suv's. Went to the yota dealer and I was shocked how ugly and blah looking the rav4 interior was. The sales guy said the limited was much nicer and brought one around. Only real difference in the way it looked was the rock hard leather. What was even more odd was the limited had way less leg room in the front. My wifes knees were touching the dash even with the passengers seat all the way back.

My wife agreed about the horrible interior and her sister finally agreed it was very blah. She had her heart set on a rav4. We went and drove a few more and she fell in love with the equinox. Way more interior room, more power, more features for the money, super tight turning radius, beautiful interior, road noise was non existent, the quietest ride I have ever been in. We took her back the next day and she is now the proud owner of a new equinox.

This got me to thinking. Why do I see so many RAV4's on the road? IMO it had absolutely no appeal what so ever. The exterior is average at best but the interior was the most dull, bland blah interior I have ever seen in any automobile. I mean no disrespect for anybody here that owns one I just really wonder what the appeal is? I feel like I am missing something?


Her new equinox

20120331_154617.jpg
 
Yes, the interior is poor to average. I like the 269 HP, towing 3500 lbs with ease, and high 20's MPG (not everything at the same time). And the mid 20's price.
 
I like it too over the rav and the spare donut door. The rav is blah because its a proven setup with nothing new. Only thing that held me back buying a GM is its ongoing problems with carbon fouling on its DI motors. Assume they resolved that by now.
 
RAV4 I believe is a 2006 design. My sister has one and its been flawless in her 120k ownership thus far.

I think its cheap also inside really cheap.
 
I love my Terrain, I am sure your sister will enjoy her Nox. I drove everything at the time, and the Nox/Terrain are by far the nicest for the money.
 
Its called brand loyalty, ill admit Toyota has been slipping lately in reliability and performance. Toyota has been riding its legendary reliability record so long that they are convinced that thier loyal customers will just come in and buy whatever is on the showroom.

Now that the rest have caught up or are at least come close, they need to try and design something original. The FJ cruiser is the best design they have come up with in the last 10 years IMHO.

She will love the equinox, my sis in law has the gmc terrain clone and loves it.
 
We have a 2010. Got it after the redesign had been out less than a month. During Cash4Clunkers. A few first year issues, but way better than the competition then or now. New Sorento is nice, too.

Few things:

- don't trust the OLM. Change it every 6500 miles or so with a good synthetic. It likes Synpower (better than M1 or PP). Synpower handles the fuel dilution well, too, according to Amsoil's tests.

- you will need this (link below) to change the oil filter. A swivel adapter and extension for your ratchet as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-14700-Filter...3418&sr=8-1

- tires are great on the 4 cyl.

- cabin air filter is tricky to change. There is a little gear you need to be careful with on the left side of the glove box when taking the glove box out to change the cabin filter.

- wipers are hard to find. getting easier, but still not a lot of choices. Used to be just Anco Profile. I get from Rockauto, hard to find in parts stores still (and you overpay).

- a year or so ago they had a TSB about changing the spark timing because a lot of people were getting pinging and knocking, especially under load. With this change you lose about 1 mpg. Without the change you need to use higher octane fuel (at least 89 - I use premium because I get better mpg than with 89, I also get better performance, and it runs smoother). This was on the 2010s. Find out if your 2012 has this new timing or not. If it does, use regular fuel. If not, use at least 89.

- when washing make sure to clear out the exterior portion by the sunroof if you have one. Gets clogged about once a year for me and we get leaking.

- get some conditioner on the leather steering wheel (looks like you have the 1LT which has the leather wheel) ASAP or it will dry out quick

- don't expect advertised mpg. It is possible with 100% gasoline fuel (no ethanol). Unfortunately we only get that when we visit WI, and only with one gas station chain (Kwik Trip).
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Yes, the interior is poor to average. I like the 269 HP, towing 3500 lbs with ease, and high 20's MPG (not everything at the same time). And the mid 20's price.


I forgot to mention it seats 7. I prefer driving this to a minivan.
 
Originally Posted By: cchase
Not sure. A friend has one and apparently 23 mpg highway is a good day for it. I was shocked.


Depends on speed, load, and tires. I get 24mpg loaded @ 80mph and more if slower.
 
Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro

This got me to thinking. Why do I see so many RAV4's on the road? IMO it had absolutely no appeal what so ever. The exterior is average at best but the interior was the most dull, bland blah interior I have ever seen in any automobile. I mean no disrespect for anybody here that owns one I just really wonder what the appeal is? I feel like I am missing something?

Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Lots of folk think the Equinox is ugly and boring and prefer the Rav. Could explain why you see so many on the road. As long as your sister in law enjoys her Equinox it shouldn't matter though. Be happy for her.
 
Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro

This got me to thinking. Why do I see so many RAV4's on the road? IMO it had absolutely no appeal what so ever. The exterior is average at best but the interior was the most dull, bland blah interior I have ever seen in any automobile. I mean no disrespect for anybody here that owns one I just really wonder what the appeal is? I feel like I am missing something?


Why RAV4?

1) Ease of resale. I can resell a RAV4 quite easily, but not an Equinox.
2) Dealership network. The Toyota dealers, from my experience, are far ahead of the curve in terms of the customer experience, parts availability, and convenience of servicing.
3) Diagnostic support. I can get Toyota Techstream Lite for $500 which will give me full dealer-level diagnostic capabilities for the vehicle, can't have that with GM Tech II. Plus shop manuals, online help, etc are more easily obtained online than GM.

This is not say the Equinox is a bad car, but for some of us Toyota does have some advantages. Personally, I prefer the recently released CRV over the RAV4 and Equinox.

Congrats to your sister though.
 
If I were a florist, I'd consider a RAV.

But I'm not, and can't conceive of any other use for the vehicle personally.
 
Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro
This got me to thinking. Why do I see so many RAV4's on the road? IMO it had absolutely no appeal what so ever. The exterior is average at best but the interior was the most dull, bland blah interior I have ever seen in any automobile. I mean no disrespect for anybody here that owns one I just really wonder what the appeal is? I feel like I am missing something?


You're not missing anything; every car isn't for every body. There are some things about the RAV4 that I like and some things that I don't like. Same with the Equinox; there are some things that I like and some things that I don't like. "Different strokes for different folks" as they say.

Why are there so many on the road? They're good vehicles. They're reliable vehicles. They have a proven drivetrain, ride and handle well for a small SUV, and with V-6 power are little rocketships. They've also been out since 2006. Understand that the prior generation Equinox was not nearly as competitive as the current generation, so you don't see as many on the road. But I'm sure that'll change as word about the new Equinox gets out.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic


Why RAV4?

1) Ease of resale. I can resell a RAV4 quite easily, but not an Equinox.

Bingo!
 
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