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Toyota'sRAV 4 wantsto be your sidekick inthe burgeoning miniI port / ute marketBy Peter NunnG ven the size and scope of America'sburgeoning 4 x4 sport/utility market,it's a wonder why Toyota is takingits time on bringing the RAV 4, itshot new Sidekick competitor, acrossthe Pacific to play ball.Eventually, RAV 4 must make its way tothe United States, for anything the Sidekick(or Geo Tracker) can do, the RAV 4 can doas well, if not better. Which is no coinci-dence, because the RAV 4 was purposelyconceived from day one to outgun the cultSuzuki and all other pretenders to the sub-compact 4x4 sport/ute throne.Suffice to say, RAV 4 (RecreationalActive Vehicle 4-wheel-drive) is no ordi-nary vehicle. Part car, part off-roader, it'smore Rodeo Drive than Camel Trophy. Yes,it has full-time 4x4 (from the JapaneseCamry) and locking differentials, but there'sno low-range transfer case and its peaky 2.0-liter engine is also lifted straight from thefamily Carnry sedan.

Off-road purists have already deemedRAV 4 too soft, too much of a posemobile.There again, Toyota is well aware the RAV4 will rarely, if ever, be used for the seriousrough stuff. Coping with snow or sand willusually be about it, assuming this high-fash-ion sport/ute ever gets to dirty its wheels off-road in the first place, that is.Where RAV 4 does score is in refinement,in ease-of-driving and, yes, affordability (atleast in Japan). The jury's out on whetherthe RAV 4 looks better or worse than theSidekick (or the '89 RAV 4 Tokyo Showprototype), but at least you can say it's dif-ferent. Inside RAV 4, you will definitely getnoticed which, Toyota reckons, is onereason why many people buy these smallsport/utes in the first place.

Some might also go for the RAV 4because it offers a lot that is new. Under thehood, its 1998 cc twin-cam 16-valve engine(the Suzuki makes do with a weedier 1590 ccsingle-cam four) is the biggest in the class.RAV 4 gets a sturdy monocoque body

I instead of the Sidekick's antiquated body-on-frame chassis. It has all-independent sus-pension (no rigid axles), permanent center-differential all-wheel-drive (the Suzuki's ispart-time) and can offer a four-speed auto-matic as an option. The Sidekick's automat-ic is only a three-speed.The Sidekick does fire back with a largermodel range, offering both short- and long-wheelbase lengths plus open-top versions. A2.0-liter V6 is also being hurried through, adirect response to the RAV 4.

Ah yes, but Toyota already has a LWBfive-door RAV 4 in the works for 1995. Aragtop is also on its way, as is a diesel option.For now, all we have is this one three-door RAV 4 powered by Toyota's familiar3s-FE inline four. As in the Camry, Toy-ota's twin-cam is smooth and efficient butdeadly dull. It does the job, but withoutsparkle. Outputs of 133 hp at 6000 rpm plus134 lb ft of torque at 4400 rprn are handy,but for real off-road driving-where low-range lugging counts above all-both curvespeak too high on the rev band.

The twin-cam's top-endy nature also meansthat, on-road, pickup can be relatively lethar-gic below 4000 rpm. The trouble is, it's at thatpoint the engine starts to sound strained,although it will rev considerably more.Despite its "big" 2.0-liter engine, RAV 4

is not exactly a fireball. Toyota quotes 17.2seconds for the quarter-mile manual version

and 18.2 seconds for the auto. But Toyota'stest car felt slower than that.On the other hand, top-gear cruising is

superb. RAV 4 runs straight and true andneither wind noise nor mechanical din marsits sophisticated feel. It's an effortless, well-honed ground coverer.Equally brilliant is the quick and precisefive-speed manual shifter. The clutch isanother gem. That slickness carries over tothe automatic which combines a sensiblefloor-mounted shift with crisp kickdown.

Over rough dirt roads, it's remarkablehow taut the body feels and how adept thesuspension (front MacPherson struts; reartrailing arms, coils, parallel links) is incoping with the many potholes and dips.

Such testing terrain leaves the RAV 4 vir-tually unshaken. Those CADICAM comput-ers have come up with a truly rigid 145.5inch monocoque which, thanks to short

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RAV4 resembles itstarget: SuzukiSidekicWGeoTracker.Camry-basedengine issmooth but lackslow-end torque.Colorful interior isroomy for four adults.The trunk is not thatbig but the fold-downseats provide lots ofstorage--for a small 8s~ortlutilitv,

overhangs and high ground clearance, is In fast, sweeping bends on smoothactually a better setup for off-road than RAV tarmac, the RAV 4 is poised and unruffled.4's critics might have you believe. Power steering action (2.5 turns lock-to-The Toyota's accurate handling and stiff lock) is quick and precise.(but composed) ride are also outstanding for Unlike bigger off-roaders which purose-this level of 4x4. Roadholding is such that ly have some mid-range steering slop engi-RAV 4 chief engineer Masakatsu Nonaka neered in, the RAV 4 has none. So responsesays it's physically impossible for his little is faithful and with little body roll, the RAVoff-road wonder to be rolled. 4 feels remarkably nimble. Understeer isthe prevailing trait but under-German off-road accessories specialist Delta 4x4 stated by normal 4x4 stan-already offers aftermarket parts for RAV4. U.S. dards, and backing off on thecompanies will quickly join in when it lands here throttle sees the line tightenin conventional fashion.Perhaps as a consequenceof that short 86.6-inch wheel-base and tall ride height, theToyota can feel twitchy if, ina fast corner, you're carelesswith the throttle or brakesand the rear end start to drift.On the other hand, this traitis perhaps to be expected in avehicle like theRAV 4, which

colorful "fun" trim for seats and doorpanels. You sit high on fairly comfortableseats. thounh after some time thev feel thinand not overly supportive.. The RAV 4 cabin offers genuine room forfour average-sized adults. Cabin width (66.7inches) is on a par with a Corolla sedan butthe RAV 4's towering roofline (65.2 inches)is nearly a foot taller.Despite the space-efficient new rear sus-pension which makes for a conveniently flatfloor, trunk space is small. There's room forjust one large case and some squashy bags,unless you fold down the reclining rear seats.Practical touches abound, such as thefold-flat seats and (optional) lift-out roofpanels, which can be attached to the insideof the rear door and stored away. The RAV 4dash is functional, though hardly a thing ofgreat beauty. Japanese buyers get a driver-side airbag and ABS, but only as part of along (and dealer-lucrative) options list.Some say it is Toyota's re-engineering ofRAV 4 to take dual front airbags that is hold-ing up U.S. shipments. Others judge that thecurrent three-door RAV 4 is too small and tooexpensive for the States, and that the comingfive-door will be better-suited for U.S. needs.Too expensive? The base RAV 4 costs$16,474 in Japan, which is a very aggressiveprice (by Japanese standards) for a brand-newToyota 4x4 with 2.0-liter engine and full-time4wd. The top Japanese RAV 4 is $19,567.Toyota has been able to keep the pricedown by ruthless cost-cutting; by offeringjust one engine and trim level; by using partsfrom other Toyotas; and by persuadinghas to be a compromise domestic dealers to take a lower markup. -between on- and off-road dri- But the way the yen's going, Toyota couldving. Until that limit, the soonbe backtracked on those strategies andRAV 4 feels safe and secure. forced to up the ante. All the more reason for

The picture inside is quite Japan's most powerful carmaker to get its newbright, literally, since there's 4x4 into America's sportlute market, pronto.AUTOWEEK AUGUST 15, 1994