The RAV4 is one of Toyota's best-selling models and competes in one of the country's hottest segments—compact SUVs. At this point in its lifecycle, the RAV4 is due for an overhaul, which industry observers expect it to get in 2024. Despite improvements to its tech and safety features and changes in its exterior styling, the SUV feels a bit stale compared to brand-new rivals like the 2023 Honda CR-V and even the newest Nissan Rogue.
Toyota offers the RAV4 in an extensive array of trim levels, starting with the base LE. Continuing up the trim ladder, there's the XLE, Adventure, TRD Off-Road, and Limited.
A single 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine is available for the gas model. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid RAV4 models are also available. Front-wheel drive (FWD) comes standard, but all-wheel drive (AWD) is available (standard on Adventure and TRD Off-Road). Toyota equips a conventional 8-speed automatic transmission instead of a continuously variable automatic transmission, which gives the RAV4 better driving dynamics.
JD Power last reviewed the RAV4 in 2020. This review covers the changes and updates for the 2021 through 2023 model years. Since our last review, the only notable changes have been new available headlights in 2022 and a new infotainment system for 2023. Though it sounds minor, the RAV4 desperately needed the infotainment update. Not only will audiophiles appreciate the new technology, but it also helps transform the RAV4's interior experience from frustrating to agreeable.
Previously, JD Power reviewed the 2020 Toyota RAV4. This review focuses on the RAV4's updates for the 2021 through 2023 model years and how they potentially impact its overall appeal to consumers.
Photo: Chris Teague
The Toyota RAV4 competes in the Compact SUV market segment. According to data collected from verified new-vehicle buyers for the JD Power 2022 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, 54 percent of new RAV4 buyers are male (vs. 51 percent for the segment), and the median age of a new RAV4 buyer is 54 years (vs. 57).
As part of the APEAL Study, owners rated the RAV4 in 10 primary categories. Listed below in descending order, you'll find their preferences, from their most favorite thing about the vehicle to their least favorite:
In the 2022 APEAL Study, the RAV4 ranks 10th out of 17 Compact SUV models.
In the following sections, our independent expert analyzes a RAV4 Adventure equipped with the following options:
The test vehicle's price was $39,495, including the $1,335 destination charge.
Photo: Chris Teague
Toyota has long been behind the times with its infotainment systems, despite excelling in other categories, such as reliability and value. The RAV4's new Toyota Audio Multimedia interface is easier on the eyes and to navigate, bringing a host of updated features that significantly improve the SUV's ability to compete. It adds over-the-air updates and expands the voice control functionality. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard, along with Bluetooth connectivity, SiriusXM satellite radio, HD Radio, and more.
The new interface runs flawlessly on the standard 8-inch or available 10.5-inch display. Both screens offer crisp graphics and great brightness, making them viewable from almost any interior angle. The system is responsive and quick, making interacting with the vehicle much less distracting while driving.
Toyota also offers a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster accompanying the new infotainment system with full-color data displays. Though much improved, the system lacks a "Home" screen function, so users are either in an app (radio, Apple CarPlay, etc.) or a vehicle settings screen. It becomes less annoying after a while, but a well-organized main menu screen could make Toyota's new infotainment system even better.
It's easy to heap praise on Toyota for the infotainment system in a vacuum, but considered against the competition, it's not as impressive. It took Toyota years to add features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and another few years before it updated its infotainment system to the level we see today. The number of intuitive, feature-rich infotainment interfaces is only growing, so Toyota's move feels more like playing catch-up than moving the needle in a meaningful way.
In addition to a new infotainment system, the RAV4 has recently received some new safety tech. The RAV4 still comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), but for the 2023 model year, the automaker updates it from TSS 2.0 to TSS 2.5. The change brings an enhanced pre-collision system with automatic emergency braking, forward-collision warning, and pedestrian detection. It now offers intersection turn assistance, which detects other vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. The adaptive cruise control system features audible alerts if the vehicle begins to leave its lane, and the RAV4 has lane-centering assistance that can help nudge the steering wheel to center the vehicle in its travel lane.
Safety equipment in the RAV4 is generous, with standard blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic warning, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, traffic-sign recognition, automatic high-beam headlights, and more.
The 2023 Toyota RAV4 earned a Top Safety Pick rating for the 2023 calendar year from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Toyota SUV earned Good ratings in most IIHS assessment categories, with Acceptable scores in the newer, more stringent moderate overlap front and side-impact crash tests.
Remember the older RAV4 models? Their friendly lines and rounded shape lured millions of buyers, but Toyota has progressively sharpened its appearance in recent years, starting with the fourth generation in 2013. That model brought much more aggressive lines and a face that implied much more sportiness than the SUV could deliver. An update for the 2016 model year brought LED daytime running lights and a new headlight design that continued the trend. Interestingly, Toyota debuted a beefier Adventure concept in 2013, but the model wouldn't make its way into the lineup until 2017.
The fifth and current-generation RAV4 is boxier and more upright than previous generations. However, it still features more than its fair share of pointy shapes and sculpted surfaces. The difference now is that Toyota has given the RAV4 some power to match the looks—at least in the plug-in hybrid Prime model.
My RAV4 Adventure test vehicle featured black 19-inch wheels and an available two-tone paint scheme that gave it a retro off-roader look. It had black RAV4 and Adventure badging that gave it a more serious look, but it's not the beefiest RAV4 in the lineup. The RAV4 TRD Off-Road adds all-terrain tires, red shock absorbers, and underbody skid plates to soak up bumps on the trail.
Photo: Chris Teague
The latest RAV4's cabin blends utility and style with ease, and Toyota was thoughtful enough to include large physical controls for climate, drive modes, and other important settings. There's a physical gearshift and clearly labeled buttons on the steering wheel that are easy to read and use while driving.
The ample storage space under the center stack is large enough for today's oversized smartphones and makes an easy landing spot for wallets and other small items. The door pockets are large enough for some water bottles, and the center console is surprisingly deep. Leaning into its core market, Toyota included Yeti-sized cupholders and a large open space to accommodate today's supersized water bottles.
The quality of materials is nice enough, and there's a good mix of hard- and soft-touch pieces throughout the cabin. The Adventure trim gets synthetic leather upholstery that adds to its ruggedness without feeling cheap or sticky in warmer weather. It has a unique two-tone look with orange stitching and lumbar support. Heated seats are available, along with a heated steering wheel.
A big miss with the Adventure trim is that all-weather floor mats and cargo liners are not standard. It's disappointing to step inside an SUV destined for life on the trails only to find cloth floor mats and a stain-prone rear cargo mat.
The interior space is good, and the front seats offer solid head- and legroom. The second-row seat can accommodate car seats and taller adults without issue, and the RAV4 offers an above-average cargo hold with 37.6 cubic feet of space. Folding the rear seats down opens the space to 69.8 cubic feet—an impressive number for the class.
Toyota equips the conventionally powered 2023 RAV4 with a 203-hp, 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine with 184 pound-feet of torque. The engine works with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The pairing is adequate in everyday driving situations. Still, the powertrain would make a much better companion for the SUV with a few more horsepower and pound-feet of torque. Acceleration is leisurely, and reaching highway speeds takes some time. Once up to speed, it takes more throttle to pass than it should, and the engine tends to make plenty of noise while doing anything other than idling.
Impressively, Toyota offers a handful of different AWD systems for the RAV4, depending on the configuration. The Adventure and TRD Off-Road trims get torque-vectoring AWD systems that can shift torque between wheels that need traction and a rear driveline disconnect to enhance fuel economy. Other trims get a more traditional AWD system, while the RAV4 Hybrid gets an electronic system.
Photo: Chris Teague
Now deep into its fifth generation, the Toyota RAV4 is getting new tech to help it stay fresh in an increasingly competitive segment. It has all the elements people want and need in a compact SUV, and there are plenty of niceties in higher trims for people willing to spend the money. The RAV can easily serve as the only vehicle for a family of four, and the generous cargo space makes it possible to haul dogs and larger items without much hassle.
At the same time, the RAV4 doesn't feel as unique or as nice as some rivals. The Mazda CX-5, for example, has an interior that feels ripped from a premium SUV, and its powertrains offer a more engaging driving experience the Toyota can't match. The Subaru Forester is a similar rival, but it's available in a Wilderness trim that bumps ground clearance and makes it into a surprisingly serious off-roader.
Chris Teague is an experienced writer in the automotive and technology fields. In addition to JDPower.com, his work appears at Forbes, The Drive, Your Test Driver, and others.
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