SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA The prelaunch buzz about the 2006 Toyota RAV4 was that the original cute-ute was growing into a bigger brute-ute. Sure enough, the all-new sport-utility vehicle is more than fourteen inches longer and 400 pounds heavier than the SUV it replaces, and it's available for the first time with a V-6. But it still drives small, which is a good thing. And while some of the spunk was dialed out when Toyota went mainstream to double annual sales, the RAV4 remains the sports car of the small sport-ute set.
Back in 1996, of course, the RAV4 was the only small, car-based SUV on the planet. But it didn't take long for rival automakers to jump on the cute-ute bandwagon, and the bubbly but undersized RAV4 couldn't measure up to the bigger Honda CR-V and the V-6-powered domestics. So you didn't have to be a product-planning genius to realize that some serious bulking up was in order.
The new RAV4 rides on a wheelbase that's 6.7 inches longer than the old one. This allows for ample second-row legroom, not to mention space for optional third-row seating. (To be honest, though, this is useful only for bragging rights and torturing badly behaved teenagers.) To broaden the RAV4's red-state appeal, the design team opted for more rugged exterior styling, and the interior-featuring high-grade materials and optional side- and roll-sensing side-curtain air bags-is more grown-up.
The 2.4-liter in-line four carries over from the previous generation, but the slow-selling five-speed manual is no longer offered. A higher compression ratio provides a 5-hp bump-the engine now makes 166 hp-but since the vehicle is heavier, performance is unchanged. And that's fine. The torquey four-banger goes about its business quietly and competently, and most drivers will find it perfectly adequate.
Still, if you can afford it, the optional V-6 is the way to go. The 3.5-liter engine cranks out 269 hp and 246 lb-ft of torque. The smooth power delivery and creamy five-speed automatic allow you to take full advantage of the taut chassis and fully independent suspension and make this a sport-ute that's actually fun to drive. What a concept, huh?
On the other hand, if off-roading's your thing, the RAV4 is a non-starter. Toyota expects to sell nearly half of them with front-wheel drive only. Those equipped with all-wheel drive feature an ingenious-but non-gnarly-on-demand system that incorporates an electromagnetic coupling at the rear differential rather than a center diff to apportion torque among the four wheels.
If there's a knock on the new RAV4, it's the loss of its old exuberance. Then again, bigger and brawnier than its predecessor, the 2006 RAV4 demonstrates that, sometimes, more is more.
SPECS
Price: $18,000-$25,000 (est.)
Engines: 2.4L I-4, 166 hp, 165 lb-ft; 3.5L V-6, 269 hp, 246 lb-ft
Drive: Front- or all-wheel