2013 Toyota RAV4 AWD Off-Road Drive and Review

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[kerrykiwi]

In Oct / Nov 2010 we toured around Central Australia in my 2009 RAV4 CV 2.4L for six weeks. Car fitted with Bridgestone Light Truck tyres on mags, tougher suspension, under engine alloy gravel guard. Carried full manual recovery kit (hand winch, cables, etc) 100L fuel, 120L water plus 3 people carrying limited personal equipment. Average daytime temp of 36C, with peaks of 45C some days. Car went like a dream. Mud, sand, gravel, creek crossings, around Lake Eyre all taken in stride. Hardest jaunt was Arkaroola in Northern Flinders range. Had to get the passengers to walk up hill on two occasions. Steeper and rockier than in the video. Be daring and try harder next time fellas.

[lisajackson]

I've just found this. I'm from Australia and I've taken this exact model RAV across some of our roughest roads we have here in the Kimberley region, eg: The Gibb River Road, and the road to the Keep River National Park, as well as Purnalulu National Park. All 3 roads are open to high clearance 4WDs and we made it. The road you've been travelling is a highway compared to ours. My Rav would have made it over those "big rocks" and more...BTW: take the running board off and it would have been even better...

[TFLcar]

The dog belonged to a girl shooting, but it was terrified of the gun shots so it kept following us hoping for a ride home.

[Newyorkgiants]

Take another rav4 that body style that doesn't have the ridiculous and unnecessary running boards.

[wtrdogg]

I have watched several Russian video reviews on the Rav4 (There is no Crossover or SUV that doesnt go under a extreme off road test on Russian videos), and it performs very well in most common moderate off road conditions that most drivers will take it into, especially somewhat deep snow roads, dirt or gravel roads and not so even terrains, including creeks and water streams. Actually it perfoms way better than the CR-V in off road conditions. 
BTW, those runnings boards reduces the ground clearance, the Rav4 is not that tall to need them... Running boards are good for taller SUV like a Land Cruiser. 

[TurfSurf]

I drove this car a few month ago, and I got over 40 miles a gallon on eco!!! It's amazing, I thought the gauge was wrong when I was at the gas station. I did some light off road too, it was good.

[hahsimalbeity]

The RAV4 AWD 2013 is very capable at off roads it's got enough power and great traction. It just doesn't have enough ground clearance but overall it's an amazing car.

[pablomoreno]

what is affecting the ground clearance arr that stirrups under the doors and they are not standard, just don't buy them for your car and you'll get better ground clearance, because as you can see car hits the ground only with them, so the problem is not the ground clearance

[EricPushman]

I have a 2014 Rav. I do t really take it down rocky roads, but in the hills of the desert it does just fine.

[TFLcar]

Thanks for the nice comments. We love Brazil. Someday perhaps we can test the VW Amarok in your country.

[loganbowen]

I put a 2.5 inch lift on my 2015 and some bigger tires and it does great. I’ve taken it to Moab many times, it cant do large rocky tails but it’s a smooth car that can handle a bit of dirt.

[PatTheRiot]

Making a long story short: the 4th gen Rav4 is by no means a 4x4 off roader. But its a very dependable awd system combined with ok ground clearance (the 6" is minimum, meaning you have an exhaust pipe sticking out at that height, you can still plow into snow all day) and a bulletproof engine+transmission. It also has a 50/50 rear diff. Lock that lets you make wheelies on a dime in a snowy parking lot. What else could you want unless you live in the wooded moutains of Alaska? Itll get you anywhere as long as there is a road. Thats all 99% of drivers need. The climbing height is also perfect for a daily driver. Its easier for my granny to enter/exit than her corolla. I actually enjoy taking seat and setting up for my ride in that car. Its solid and smooth. Its a camry 98" jacked up. Lol

P.s: I chose this over an old xterra pro4 for gas mileage and average need. If it can move big stuff once in a while im good. Im pretty sure a rav4 on bilsteins and alloy gravel plates becomes a rally car too. Ok maybe with super tuning and super brakes. But trust me Ive seen people abuse these things inside and out. Theres a reason toyotas hold value. Its just very very very well put together. Ive owned everything daily and the only match on assembly and durability was on late 90's era honda/acura base models. The high end luxury editions are just unmatched and probably never will be again. Golden era of Jap cars. Toyota kept a bit of that in the 2013/18 era and the Canadian built rav4's are very on par.

[hayksamvelyan]

The running boards create a "three wheeler" situation, where you can't avoid a boulder at any position. If you only had the exhaust to worry about, you could possibly position the car in a way where it wouldn't hit it.

[mikehawk]

One of the best winter vehicles out there

[DwaynePeterson]

Thanks for putting together this review.  As you guys said this really does not have the ground clearance for those kinds of road.  Personally unless you have money to blow why risk breaking a $30k car when you can purchase a cheap and cheap to fix used SUV for this kind of driving.  The RAV4 of this generation is designed to be comfortable and economical while allowing you better all weather handling.  We had the "misfortune" of driving home through the Cascade Mountains around Crater Lake during a spring snow storm.  While dealing with three or more inches at some points the RAV4 handled beautifully in variations of powder and hard packed ice to heavy slush and areas of standing water as we came down in elevation. 

[Thissandthat]

The awd system seems a lot like the awd system in my sister Lexus rx300, it really doesn't take a lot for the rear end to kick in! Good job Toyota, and kudos to yall for taking it off road! I'd like to see more crossover off road videos, love em!

[congausa]

I think this car looks much better in person. The interior is much better then the past generations. I hope Toyota keep it quality up and above. Not everyone buy Rav4 to take it offroad but it's good to know that the car's capabilites. Great video!!!

[Mamo]

Any vehicle with running boards is pretty much telling you, "don't take me off-road, take me to the mall!"

Btw, those loud gunshots are typically from a rifle, in this case it's probably some guy with an AR-15 shooting .223/5.56.

[AlnairLindalwe]

Well, guys, it was actually Lada Niva who invented the crossover.

[TFLcar]

Nick, just as an FYI for you. The Exhaust system runs at exactly the same height above the ground as the running boards. Even without running boards the RAV4 still only has 6.3 inches of ground clearance which means you'll bash the exhaust just as easily as the running boards.