FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2019 NEW Toyota RAV4

How big is the boot of the New Toyota Rav4?

From empty, I could fit 14 shopping bags in the boot, which is one less than the previous model Rav4 and new Subaru Forester but two more than the Kia Sportage that held twelve. The boot has definitely been made deeper in the new Rav4 and you can flip the boot floor over for a choice between easy-clean plastic or traditional carpet. This means you can use the plastic side when carrying wet or muddy things, plants, muddy dogs or strollers! It's a genius solution!

The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fits with five shopping bags.

The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fits with six shopping bags underneath the retractable roller blind height.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with seven shopping bags beside it.

The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with 10 shopping bags beside it.

Or you could fit a medium sized dog in there!

The boot floor is flat so it's good for an emergency nappy change. Toyota has done away with the dodgily designed retractable roller blind in the previous model and this one is simple and easy to maneuver.

How good is storage inside the new Toyota RAV4?

Storage in the cabin is practical and functional. The central console storage box is a good size and has two USB ports inside. The two cup holders in front of it are practically sized to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fitted too.

In front of the gear lever is a cordless phone charging well with USB and 12V socket.

There is a glasses case in the ceiling which is lined to protect your lenses and there are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.

There is a small shelf next to your right knee which I found really useful for putting the key fob while driving.

The glove box would hold my wallet but not my iPad.

The Rav4 still has a great shelf in the dashboard that I know my family would quickly fill with sultana boxes, banana skins and all the other stuff my daughter passes me while we're driving along!!

The door bins in the front are a good size and will hold a large refillable water bottle.

In the back, the door bins are smaller but will still hold a large refillable water bottle.

There are map pockets in the back of both front seats that will hold but not fully conceal an iPad.

In a fold-down armrest in the central seatback are two cup holders. They would hold a disposable or reusable coffee cup.

How noisy is the new Toyota Rav4?

The media system in the Rav4 still has quite a small screen and the system is quite basic but it is easy to navigate. The buttons are now integrated into the sides of the screen rather than separately. It doesn't have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, although they will be available later this year and the RAV4 will be the first Toyota that's able have them retrofitted.

The touch screen is easy to use and I love the hybrid screen. I like to be able to see when I'm using the battery or engine.

When reversing, the camera image isn't too bad, just a little bit grainy.

I found I could mute the parking sensors relatively easily by pressing the OK button on the steering wheel.

The Rav4 does have lane departure and the button to turn that on and off is on the right on the steering wheel.

The indicators are nice and quiet in the Rav4 and wouldn’t disturb my sleeping baby.

The Sat-Nav was nice and easy to use, which I find with most Toyotas, however, I could not find a way to easily mute the sat-nav voice guidance.

I found when I drove the top-spec model that it kept making announcements for me to stick to the road regulations such as the speed limit for the street I was driving along. However, I found it was usually telling me off the most when I was using the cruise contro, which didn't stick to my chosen speed very well, so that was a little frustrating.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The doors and windows can both be locked from the driver's door control panel. I found you can come to a stop with the engine still running and get out of the car without sounding any alarms.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!

So this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

The Rav4 feels quite ‘revvy’ and loud when accelerating and the transition from battery to the engine is quite vocal even at low speeds around town.

There is a seatbelt removal alarm and light on the screen in front of the steering wheel.

How many child seats fit in the New Toyota Rav4?

There are three top tether anchorages across the rear seat backrests of the Rav4. They are not within plastic guides but are clearly marked and I found them easy to connect to and access through the boot.

The rear seats have ISOFix points in the two outer seats. They are not within plastic guides but I found them nice and easy to connect to when installing the child seats.

I managed to fit three child seats into the New Toyota Rav4 really nicely! One rear-facing and two forward-facing, or three forward-facing fitted.

Posting bub into their child seat from outside the car is really nice and easy in the Rav4. From inside the ceiling is high enough that posting Bub into their seats from inside is good too.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

There is room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed. In the top spec model I tested, the seats were two-tone leather, cream and grey with orange trim. In the lower spec hybrid model, they are upholstered with woven fabric which would be harder to wipe clean than leather.

How comfortable is the New Toyota Rav4? And How good is the New Toyota Rav4 to drive?

In the front of the New Rav4, the seats are comfortable, they have manual adjustment and are upholstered with woven fabric. I the top spec model they are perforated, two-tone leather with electric adjustment.

The top spec model comes with heated and cooled seats, whereas the other models come with heated only.

The headrests are not adjustable but I found I could have a ponytail in the front seat.

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable at the sides. There is a low hump in the central seat base and in the footwell, although it is not too bad to rest your feet on or straddle. The seats are comfortable but you can feel the hard central backrest because of the fold-down armrest with cup holders. I did find there was plenty of room in the back and it felt spacious for an SUV of this size.

For the first year of Tulsi’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones and a round one at either end.

There are two air vents in the back of the central console box for rear passengers too.

The controls for the aircon have been updated and are now a digital display panel with two large dials all centrally located on the dashboard, which I found nice and easy to reach and use while driving.

The rear interior lights are located centrally in the ceiling but too far back to reach them from the driver's seat while driving!

I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

There are handles above both back doors that are well positioned to hang a child's toy.

Visibility in the Rav4 is tricky as the rear windows slope up at the back making it harder to see out of especially when you have two child seats installed. The central seatbelt has been moved from the ceiling to the shoulder which is a much better position.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Rav4 was relatively easy to park.

Aesthetically the New Rav4 looks and feels like a new and modern SUV and the silent start of the hybrid is fantastic.

How safe is the New Toyota Rav4?

The New Toyota Rav4 scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in May 2019.

Scoring a total of 93% or 35.7/38 for adult occupancy. Broken down into 7.54/8 for the full-width frontal crash test, 7.44/8 for the frontal offset test. 7.5/8 for the side impact test, 7.5/8 for the pole test.

For Child Occupancy protection the New Rav4 scored 89%. Broken down into 15.85/16 for the dynamic front, 8/8 for dynamic slide. Child restraint instillation scored 12/12 and onboard features score 8/13.

In the frontal offset test, dummy readings indicated GOOD protection for all critical body areas of both child dummies, apart from the neck of the 10 year dummy where protection was rated as ADEQUATE. In the side impact test, protection of both dummies was GOOD and the vehicle scored maximum points.

Seven airbags come as standard; there is a driver’s knee airbag as well as dual frontal airbags and front side airbags and side head curtain airbags for the front and the rear side passengers.

As standard, all models of the New Toyota Rav4 come with adaptive cruise control (ACC), anti-lock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for the city, Interurban and VRU, automatic headlights, automatic high beam, blind spot monitoring (BSM), daytime running lights (DRL), hill launch assist and reversing collision avoidance, electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic data recorder (EDR), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder and fatigue detection, forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), pre-crash systems, rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), reversing collision avoidance camera, secondary / multi-collision brake, speed assistance auto/intelligent/manual speed limiter, speed sign recognition and warning and trailer stability control all come as standard.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!