sillysi

Does any one have any of the above and if so what do you think of them?

Devil's Refugee

New Rav4 get's a very good write-up.
Not so sure about the old shape.
Expensive tho.

NumptyScrub

Pajero (Shogun) Evolution

Thirsty but fun...

Derek

RESSE

iTrader: (1)

sillysi,

Mum has got a 12 month old 1.8 NV 3 door in silver - great fun to drive - she has a 4.6 Vogue Range Rover but prefers the Rav!

Air con + trip computer + central locking + electric windows etc etc etc all for around £10,000.

I am getting my wife one of the earlier models (probably a R or S reg).

Personal experience is that the Rav is excellent and good to drive in comparison with other "soft" roaders.

PS NV 1.8 is front wheel drive only.

PPS Hope this helps.

Richard

sillysi

Richard,

New NVs are £13000, we have been looking at a new NRG which is very smart but at nearly £17K she could have an imported WRX for that price! The dealers are offering some good deals on 1 year old Rav4s which may be what we opt for.

Si.

MooseRacer

Mrs Mooseracer has got a R plate RAV4. They are sooooo much better than Vitara's and much more comfortable than Pinin's too.
Her's has got the optional centre diff lock and it actually isnt too bad offroad - providing you've got decent tyres on it.

Needless to sy it's been 100% reliable and with the 2litre motor is surprisingly 'nippy' upto around 80.

Only downside is they are a fairly expensive 2nd hand buy. Plenty arond with low miles, so no need to bother with any that have a higer mileage.

AnDy_PaNdY

I have a new top of the range 3 door Rav 4 NRG, leather, sat nav etc. Streets ahead of my old Honda CRV.
Cracking little car comfy, reliable, nippy and looks good.
Depends on your budget but I highly recommend one.

jonny32

The pinin looks a bit to "boxy" and small , Vitara cant get out of its late 80,s image , new shape Rav 4 is "lush" bristolian for ace, 2door looks better than 4 doors, not many used around keeps price high. buy buy

bogie

SillySi,

Which ever one you pick, don't touch the Pinin, they are one of the crapiest of crappy crap motors.

My wife has had one for just over a year, bought it new in Oct 01, it has only done 7500miles and needed to get the cylinder head stripped down and decoked!! It was running like a bag of shi*e, in fact it still is. It is going back in again next week.
She hates it now and we will punt it ASAP.

Anyway if I was buying one from your list I would definately go for the RAV4, much better build quality and future residuals are much higher compared to the other 2, worth the extra dosh me thinks.

Bogie

BOB.T

I've never been in a Pinin so can't comment on them but, Vitara'a are pure evil, they're pants! The wheels feel planted on the road, the body however seems to levitate somewhere above with no direct connection Possibly the single most worst car I've ever driven

Rav4's on the other hand, fantastic, really as good as mentioned above Also being Toyota, it's well screwed together and should drive to the moon and back without worry

Best of luck

Bob

The Zohan

Driven the RAV4 and liked it, toyotas are well built and reliable, dealers sem to be spot on as well.

Brendan Hughes

I'm almost guaranteed to get a LWB RAV4 as a family car (paired with a Caterham). I'm not sure how you mentioned it in the same breath as the other two, I believe it's way pricier and way better. Nissan X-Trail or new (NOT old) Honda CRV would be more appropriate comparisons - but I guess from the Pinin and Vitara you're looking at the short version, so RAV it is.

One review of the Pinin said it was as capable off road as it was crap on road. What are you using it for?

sillysi

Brendan,

My friend has a 1 year old Celica with full sports pack lowered to the bloody ground. Anyway the new house has a long country lane which the Celica just crys at when asked to go up it. She fancies one of the vehicles I mentioned but does not plan for any real off road adventures so I think a 1 year old new shape Rav 4 is looking likely.

Si.

kungfu

Mitsibushi every time mate.....vitara is a bumpy bollox of a jeep, rav4's are awfull plasticy, never been in one of the mitsibushi one's, but we have a v6 shogun for aroun the farm and they a far superior jeep to any other!

Brendan Hughes

Dumb question, but if she likes sports cars (lowered Celica) but wants 4wd, why not get an Impreza? Agreed there may be a problem with ground clearance, but certainly it is known for having a lot of wheel travel. Forester turbo a wild card, also, with higher ground clearance. Either should do the country lane task, and a lot more fun the rest of the time than the jeeps.

Flat 4x4

The RAV is by far the better road car than any of the others

That counts for the current shape and the previous one

stanmo

iTrader: (1)

In perspective, my wife's old 5dr RAV4 sucked compared to the H6 3.0 she has now, the RAV4 didn't feel secure, possibly due to the ride height, round corners; she always complained about understeer.

The H6 takes corners only a few mph less than my Impreza in the dry or the wet, though it obviously changes direction slower due to it's barge-like dimensions and weight. The RAV4 tended to feel that it was heading for a big off round the same corners and I couldn't keep up with a 5 series round a couple of miles worth of local twisties; whereas the H6 pulled away from a primera 2.0GT during the running in period on the same (wet) roads, after I had dropped the caravan off for a service.

Try a forester S as well. Shame to go for a 'lifestyle' solution when there are technically better cars out there.

sillysi

She want's to downsize so the Impreza/Forester is no go.

stanmo

iTrader: (1)

The RAV4 is about the same size as a forester; and probably bigger
on the inside than an impreza. That was all my wife cared about
with respect to reaching the kids from the front seats.

Is 6" to 12" that important wrt exterior dimensions ?

On the plus side, the RAV4 will drink less petrol than almost any Subaru at roughly 30mpg driven normally. The old shape one was very asthmatic, and would only reluctantly rev over 3000, and once it was there, it did very little anyway; which is silly, considering it has a 16V engine.

Make sure your wife drives them all.