The Toyota RAV4 is a compact crossover SUV that came to the United States back in 1994. After more than 2 decades of being in production, the fifth generation moniker, which was released in 2018, still retains all the charm of what made it a great little SUV. The compact size, impressive interior space, and a long list of safety and driver-assistance features are what make it the most preferred choice of the segment.
Available for a base MSRP of $27,740, the 2022 Toyota RAV4 doesn't see any major changes from the outgoing 2021 model. The only changes are the updated headlight of all the trims except the base LE trim. LED foglights and a new color palette are on board too. With the competition from the likes of the Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue, here are 10 things you need to know before getting the 2022 Toyota RAV4.
10 Ride Quality Is Still The Best Of The Segment
The fifth generation of the Toyota RAV4 has been supremely comfortable, and being part of the same generation, the 2022 Toyota RAV4 is no different. This is a compact SUV that would spend most of its time on the open highways and cities, and Toyota has made sure that the ride doesn't bother any of the passengers.
Coming with an independent front and rear suspension setup, similar to the outgoing 2021 RAV4, the ride quality is better than the Mazda CX-5 and the Honda CR-V. The suspension is not too stiff nor too light, and that helps in absorbing all the bumps and potholes thrown by the city and highway roads in the United States. There is very little vertical movement on the highways, and the suspension works silently as well.
9 Exterior Styling Stands Out
The design is surely one of the main factors that people consider while buying a car, and for a family SUV, it is surely going to make or break a deal. However, the 2022 Toyota RAV4 is an attractive proposition, with sharp body lines and multiple elements making it stand out from the competitors of the segment.
The front end now comes with sharper-looking LED headlights with LED DRLs for all the trims except the base LE trim. The masculine hood design and the blacked-out grille and air dam add to the handsomeness. The 19" alloy wheels, silver skid plates, and well-integrated roof rails make it sharper too. The best-in-class height and ground clearance make it look more butch when viewed from the sides.
8 Comes Loaded With All The Driver-Assistance Features
The 2022 Toyota RAV4 comes with an array of safety and driver-assistance features as standard, helping it to secure an impressive 5-star rating in the overall crash safety section of the NHTSA crash test. It did well in the IIHS crash test too, with a good rating in many of the subsections. All the basic safety features like ABS with EBD, side-impact beams, a hose of airbags, traction control, stability control, etc. are offered.
However, it is the driver-assistance tech that is on board that makes all the differences. In comparison to the competitors, the 2022 RAV4 features all the tech for the price, that too as standard. This includes automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and many more.
7 Refinement Could Have Been Better
Though the 2022 Toyota RAV4 is considered as an all-rounder of the compact SUV segment, the one area that it lacks is in terms of refinement. Even with a base price of $27,740, which is on par with the Toyota Camry's pricing, the refinement level is a notch below the latter. The tire noise and wind noise are on the higher side, making the overall traveling experience, not the best.
The 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-4 motor does sound very coarse as the revs climb, especially in comparison to the sweet-sounding motor of the 2022 Honda CR-V. The sound deadening is not up there with the rest, and quite a lot of external sounds do filter into the cabin too.
6 It's Not Fun To Drive
The 2022 Toyota RAV4 is not the perfect choice if you want the most fun-to-drive SUV, In comparison to the Mazda CX-5, which is considered the best SUV of the segment in terms of driving pleasure, the RAV4 feels a bit underwhelming. This is mainly due to a motor that offers just about adequate grunt and a suspension system that is more focused on comfort.
When driving on a road with tight corners, these imperfections could be easily spotted. Both the FWD and the AWD versions of the RAV4 have quite a lot of understeer when pushed, and the excessive body roll is not going to excite the driver and passengers. The electronic power steering doesn't offer a great feel and feedback either.
5 Offers Reasonably Peppy Performance
The 2.5-liter naturally aspirated DOHC inline-4 motor with dual VVT-i comes as standard with the 2022 Toyota RAV4 and is capable of producing close to 203 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. This comes mated to both FWD and AWD drivetrains, depending on the trim you choose. An 8-speed torque converter automatic with multiple drive modes and sequential shift control is offered too.
This powertrain is not going to blow away anyone with its performance, however, it feels more than adequate for those freeway runs. The motor has a decent mid-range, and hence overtaking the fast-moving traffic isn't hard. The low-end is impressive as well. However, the motor is not as good as the ones offered in the Honda CR-V and the Mazda CX-5. It could only do 0-60 mph in 8.4 seconds and has a top speed of 119 mph.
4 Superb Gas Mileage
Gas mileage is surely going to attract a lot of customers to this SUV and has been a selling point of it ever since this generation came to the United States market in 2019. The RAV4s equipped with the 2.5-liter inline-4 motor offers 27 mpg of city consumption and 34 mpg of highway consumption. With combined consumption of 30 mpg, this SUV could do 435 miles of combined miles with a tank full of fuel.
If you opt for the AWD version, the gas mileage is going to see a minor drop. Apart from that, the RAV4 also comes with a plug-in hybrid version known as PRIME, and that is even more frugal. It offers 40 MPGe in the city, 36 MPGe on the highway, and 94 MPGe of combined gas mileage. A combined range of 551 miles is impressive too.
3 Cabin Can Easily Accommodate 5-Passengers
The 2022 Toyota RAV4 is a comfortable 5-seater and that is going to make it an ideal choice for family buyers. The front seats are well padded and offer superb under-thigh support and side bolstering. Even though it is not as good as the rivals like the Mazda CX-5 and the Honda CR-V in terms of headroom and legroom, it is more than enough.
The rear seat is also quite spacious and can accommodate three passengers with adequate comfort. The higher trims come with leather upholstery and the headroom of 39.5" and the shoulder room of 56.4" is the best in class too. All of these make the RAV4 a superb car for traveling with comfort.
2 Infotainment System Is Very Polished
The base LE trim of the 2022 Toyota RAV4 comes with the 7" touchscreen infotainment system and offers all the bells and whistles like Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM radio, Toyota Connected Services, Amazon Alexa integration, and many more connectivity and entertainment features.
The interface is pretty decent too. However, for all the other trims, it comes with a bigger 8" touchscreen infotainment system, and all the features offered with the smaller unit are offered here as well. The biggest difference to this system is the more polished interface and minimal lags. The touch sensitivity and display quality are excellent too.
1 Braking Performance Is More Than Adequate
The braking performance of the 2022 Toyota RAV4 is superb and that can be attributed to the excellent braking hardware along with a low curb weight of 3,490 lbs. With no hardware changes from the 2021 model, the 2022 RAV4 comes with 12" front rotors and 11.1" rear rotors, with the front rotors being ventilated. Along with that, all the other braking features that are offered at this price point are on board too.
This helps the car to achieve a 60-0 mph braking distance of 124 feet. This turned out to be better than Mazda CX-5 with 125 feet and Honda CR-V with 128 feet. The brakes offered an excellent feel and the initial bite and progression were spot on too. The ABS is not very intrusive, and the front end dive under hard braking is well under control.