From its beginnings as a three-door AWD short-wheelbase category disruptor of the early 1990s to the full-on five door on sale today, the RAV4 has a proud history of urban-rural usefulness, matching the evolution of Kiwi lifestylers.

Thirty years later the 2022 RAV4 10-model range starts with a front wheel drive GX at $38,990; though the seven-model AWD line up starts with a RAV4 GXL AWD at $45,990. That one has the 2.5-litre engine and Dynamic Torque Control all-wheel-drive for enhanced traction off-road. And a waiting list stretching out into 2023.

Hybrid versions slot in further up the price ladder. Together with a ‘Limited’ spec hybrid, the RAV4 Adventure Hybrid tops the range at $57,990 and attracts a clean car rebate of $2335. The Limited and Adventure being priced shoulder-to-shoulder give buyers a clear choice between street-luxe and the sportier aspirations of the Adventure.

Both top old-school petrol and hybrid models are powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine backed by an electronic continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).

In the case of the Adventure model tested here, the engine is assisted by two electric motors for a combined output of 163kW (219bhp) in the confusing maths used to sort out actual output of the various types of hybrid vehicles.

All-wheel drive is standard. One of the electric motors powers the rear wheels and the second motor and petrol engine drive the fronts. This driveline is Toyota’s fourth generation of systems which blend electric and petrol power.

Many, if not most, hybrids use CVTs, which caters to the expected ‘soft’ road or mainly urban use of the RAV4 Hybrid. For day-to-day use a CVT works well, though it’s probably not a good idea to take one into extreme offroad environments.

The hybrid is more efficient than its contemporaries, able to post a 7.4-second 0-100 km/h time, 0.6 seconds quicker than the regular petrol model.

The added torque is the key, and it is apparent in around-town use, where the electric motor gives gratifyingly immediate power delivery away from a stop.

The Adventure’s handling is competent and comfortable, though not sporty-harsh, ride.

From the Toyota Safety Sense ‘suite’ of active and passive safety features to a fully connected cabin, from a keyless smart entry to an eight-inch audio display, the RAV4 is more advanced than any of its predecessors.

The driver feels no sense of compromise around town. The turning circle is entirely ‘streetable’, the transmission quietly efficient and the vehicle’s ‘corners’ are always visible to the driver.

Into the country in an amble through the enormous developments carving up the lifestyle blocks of Drury and then south to Port Waikato, the RAV shows its smarts over rough narrow winding seal, gravel roads and the estuary sand tracks at Port Waikato.

On that soggy sand base at the estuary, the transmission has ample grip, though perhaps the CVT itself masks some of the feel the driver might prefer.

Once up into dry sand, it is possible to feel drive being apportioned between front and rear and respond to those messages.
Its best life, however, is probably as a means of arriving at a location where the owner can indulge other outdoorsy passions – mountainbiking, surfing, parasailing, surfcasting and maybe some beach driving – so long as our beaches remain legally open to us.

The RAV4 in summary: a great all-rounder as it always has been.