Monday Motoring Classic: Toyota RAV4

Originally billed as an SUV, the 1994 Toyota RAV4 was one of the first cars to use the modern crossover recipe: SUV design cues dropped onto ordinary car mechanicals.

Yes, you could have it with four-wheel-drive, but the fact that it was also sold with two-wheel-drive shows that it was targeted at buyers who had no intention of getting their boots dirty.

The RAV4 (which stood for Recreational Activity Vehicle, 4WD) was actually shorter than a five-door Corolla, yet had raised ride height and chunky plastic body protection.

It drove like a car too, initially powered by a keen 1.8-litre petrol engine, and took bits from the Carina and Corolla.

It probably doesn't get the recognition it deserves, which makes it a potential future classic. The good news is that this means you won't have to empty your wallet in order to find one.

Annoyingly, we found a two-owner three-door with just 46,000 miles for less than £3000 which had already sold, but it shows that they are out there.

A bit more searching turned up another three door, this time a repaired Cat C with 150,000 miles. But with six months MoT and a clean interior it looked good value for under £2000.

There are a good number of UK cars still around, although you will find imports lurking in the classified ads too.

You get typical Toyota reliability and something that still looks fresh and distinctive today, even though half the other cars on the road are probably crossovers too. Find a Toyota RAV4 for sale here

Ask HJ

Is the 1990 Ford Escort Bonus a classic car?

My late father had a 1990 Ford Escort Bonus in immaculate condition and I was wondering if this was now classed as a classic car. My mother is now looking to sell it and I was wondering what the best place to sell such a car and what sort of price range we would be looking at.

It'd certainly appeal to a certain type of buyer. We'd recommend selling it via auction and allowing the market to decide its value - that could be an online auction like eBay, Collecting Cars or a specialist physical auction like Anglia Car Auctions. Alternatively, you could try contacting a classic car specialist like KGF Classic Cars.

Answered by Andrew Brady

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