2008 Toyota RAV4 consumer reviews

not too bad for the money,so far,very well behaing onall city & highways roads. But very poor airconditioner.has to be on Max to get little cooling effect

This is a wonderful machine! It always starts and has lots of power for a little car too. I have owned only Toyotas since a new Toyota Tercel in 1980 and have never had a major repair on any of the eight vehicles! The great thing about these cars is the quality keeps getting better all of the time. What can I say-for a small SUV this little car runs great on and off the road. No car retains it's value like a Toyota-they are amazing. Since 1980 I have put over a half million miles (500,000-I had to show all those zeros!) on my Toyotas and only two of them were purchased new.

We were looking to get rid of our gas guzzling GMC Envoy, and looked at many smaller SUV's. The RAV4 won out over the others due to its great V6 engine, good MPG, realiability rating, and other outstanding features. The CRV just looked funny, and the 4 cyc. engine just didn't have the pep I wanted. The interior and exterior are solid, nicely done, and has all the items we wanted. Frankly, I wish I had made this purchase earlier, I could have saved myself some gas money. If you are in the market for a smaller SUV, this one deserves a look. Oh, the reviews with the bad backs, I suspect they had a bad back before they even set foot in the RAV4.

We just got this RAV4 Limited with the 6 cyl. After having it a month both my husband and I love it. For us it is VERY comfortable, MUCH more than the CRV we test drove. The car has a lot of pep, much more than I thought. The engine is quiet and has great acceleration. It has a lot more room than the old body style. I love the blue tooth feature. It is great to just hit a button on the steering wheel and make a call safely. That is a great feature. I do agree with others that this SUV should have a navigation option. I also would have liked power seats for the both the driver AND passenger. Still it is a GREAT little SUV and we are very pleased!

I bought a 2008 RAV4 Limited w/4cyl. a couple of weeks ago. The seats in this thing KILLED my back by the end of a 2 hour drive (bringing it home from the dealership). The ride was horribly rough. My 3/4 ton 4x4 diesel truck rides better than the RAV4! On the plus side, it's peppy, gets great gas mileage, and handles really well. The rear seat and cargo area are more spacious than one would expect from looking at the outside. The comfort thing, or lack thereof, did me in, though. I couldn't drive it because of the back pain, so I traded it after 10 days of ownership and took my loss with a smile.

I love my RAV4. It is a V6 Limited 2WD model. It has an amazing pickup. It would put a lot of sports car/coupes to shame. Very smooth and comfortable ride quality. Very spacious. I can turn the steering with 1 finger without any effort. Good mileage City:21 mpg Highway:28 mpg

I bought a 2008 Toyota RAV4 Limited in spite of not "falling in love with it" because we got a great deal, the fuel mileage was better than the other suv/cuvs we were looking at, and the size met my needs. That will be the last time I talk myself into buying a certain car. By the time I drove it 2 hours home, I was ready to give it back. The seats KILLED my back and I could barely walk when I first got out of it (I was still sore the next day...and I do not have back problems). We tried to take it back to the dealership the next day, but couldn't come to a satisfactory agreement, and so I traded it after 10 days of ownership and took my $$ loss smiling. Yep, I hated it that bad. I don't care for that ugly spare tire hanging on the back. Why can't they hide it, like most of the others? It would have been much cuter with a plain back. Other than that, I liked the looks. It felt a little bit like a "tin can" to me, but I'm used to 3/4 ton diesel trucks and full sized domestic SUVs. On the plus side, the 4 cyl. was surprisingly peppy, I had no complaints about acceleration. The brakes were great, and the handling was very very responsive. It would have been fun to drive if the seats had been better. I have come to the conclusion that asian cars are not for me. This was my first non-domestic vehicle and I seriously doubt I ever try one again.

I recently purchased the 2008 RAV4 V6 Limited. I had a 2 year old 4Runner but with the prices of gas we decided to go smaller. I am pleased with the RAV. It is much larger than the old style and really has some power with the V6 engine. Our family loves Toyota and this is another great vehicle by them. I did test drive the Honda CRV and there was NO comparision. The RAV4 has a MUCH smoother ride and seems of better quality. The only thing I would suggest is that they add NAVIGATION as an option especially when you purchase a Limited. Highly recommended vehicle!

I got my 2008 RAV-4 (4 cyl. FWD) a month ago. So far I've got 21.3 mpg for city driving and 24.5 mpg for highway driving over mountains. I look forward to calculating mileage when we go to the beach this summer. My RAV has better & quieter acceleration on hills than some V6's I've driven. The hatch is great. My trade-in was a 15-year-old minivan with lift-up hatch. The last 4 years I owned it, I had to prop the hatch open with a broom handle! The only negatives so far: 1) The rear seat belts stick and are sometimes hard to adjust for comfort. 2) The attached carpet is rather thin and resembles felt. I purchased the all-weather mats and cargo mat to protect the interior better than the dealer-installed carpet mats. I wasn't sure the original carpets would survive my two active and often-messy children ;-)

Everyone keeps on saying that "if the hatch opened the other way, this car would be perfect". The engineers got the hatch right-it is easier to access, open with your hands full and closing it is a breeze! Practical, every day use "in the real world" of throwing stuff back there, Toyota had the right idea...plus, as we found with our 2005 Honda Pilot, the lift gates don't get easier to open the older the car gets, the resistance gets harder and harder - and no smacking your head on the lift gate if it's not open all the way. So, don't listen to the so-called-experts, the right side hinged hatch is great. Love the ride, love the handling and with $3-$4 gallon gas prices, it's a nice addition to the garage next to our Prius!