XT-R 2.0 VVT-i 5dr 4 X 4

Overated

After many years of Fords and Vauxhalls I thought I would try the supposedly excellent reliability of Toyota. I bought a low mileage Rav4 from a main dealer with the full used warranty.

Its a nice car inside, with big comfy seats and all of the things I need (bluetooth, rear parking sensors etc) and has plenty of rear legroom so ideal for families. The petrol engine is pretty weedy though and makes a lot of noise without going anywhere, combine that with a heavy/springy clutch pedal and its not the most pleasant driving experience. Economy has been pretty much bang on what the manufacturers figures quote (32mpg) which is rare these days.

Shame it developed a fault and the dealer wanted to charge me just to look at it, which makes a mockery of the 'full toyota warranty', which appears to be worthless. With several other faults cropping up at such a low mileage I'm pretty unimpressed with Toyota build quality, I've managed to put over 80,000 miles on a Vectra without clutch issues, but this one is juddering at less than 20k - top stuff Mr T!

So if you fancy a 4x4 SUV I wouldn't buy this if you're basing your choice on reliability and build quality. Save yourself the bother and get a Freelander, I wish I had.

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