Off Topic New RAV4

i was never a fan of the rav4 and while I love my cx5 I wouldn't consider myself a mazda fanboy since I've only been driving a mazda for 2 years. What I will say about the new rav4 is that it looks amazing both on the interior and exterior. I have to give toyota a lot of credit because they're typically very conservative with their cars, they do this on a lot of their models for realibility reasons. Look at the highlander for example. It's basically the same it's been for a while with some minor tweaks here and there. I don't even think the new highlander has an LED headlight option--that's how conservative they are. So to see them do this to the rav4 is either a very good thing or a very bad thing. You'll notice with reliability in cars, whenever something new gets put in, there's a ton of issues with it. One reason I'm happy with my cx5 is they use very traditional and conservative methods just like Toyota has done, yet they made the 2nd gen cx5 look like one of the best CUVs on the market. For the price point, it's easily the best looking and I still think it looks better than the rav4 but I will acknowledge that looks are always going to be 100% subjective. So the 2019 rav4 can either be a high contender for the best CUV or because of all the changes it could be a flop. I'd still be willing to bet on this car though if I had 40k to blow on the high end model. That's another thing--the rav4 is way more expensive. For that kind of money I'd rather dip into the luxury market honestly.
 
MAY need to?
I've made the decision to keep mine until it's payed off, and then get something fun to drive, or just enjoy not having a note, but in today's market, the CX5 is pulling an S2000. It used to be awesome when it was introduced, but Mazda has only done one sensible refresh, and they only tweaked a couple of things that mostly amounted to trade-offs (you lost ground clearance and handling is worse as is braking and fuel economy isn't any better...but you got a quieter interior...but your nav is still crap and you don't have Carplay, etc.) Kindof like the AP1 to AP2 S2K thing.

Buying a new CX5 gets harder and harder to advise anyone to do as other vehicles surpass it greatly in the price/performance/accouterments triangle of features.
 
We just traded in our red 2013 for magnetic gray 2018 SE. We looked at the CX5 but wife still hooked on the RAV4. I like it too, just nice SUV for us. Right size, right height all that. This new one actually has a very nice bonus......VIN THAT STARTS WITH A "J"......woohoo! The P5 has a J VIN and an actual cable connecting the gas pedal to the throttle body. The Tacoma is the only one with a non J VIN now but that's OK.
 
The Toyota RAV4 has a lot of fans * more than 400,000 people in the U.S. bought one last year alone * but I*ve never been one of them; I*ve always been underwhelmed by its slow, loud road manners, clunky multimedia system and chintzy interior. A redesign for 2019, however, has brought me closer to understanding what all the fuss is about.

On the outside, the fifth generation of the compact SUV trades its previous crossover-like curves for the beefed-up face and aggressive shoulders of Toyota*s larger, trucky SUVs, like the 4Runner. Inside, there*s an updated multimedia system, upgraded materials, and added tech and safety features. Compare it with the 2018 model. swift price in bangalore
 
Our 2018 SE has great handling with Bilstein upgraded suspension. It is slower than the 2007 we had with v6 for sure but it goes plenty good IMO for what it is. It isn't any kind of race thing and never was intended to be. The 25+ mpg for what it is is acceptable for us. The leather wasn't my first choice but is very comfy. Infotainment doesn't seem any better or worse than anything else out there. As far as road noise, same opinion, doesn't seem any worse than any of similar vehicles. I'll call "eye of beholder" of the clunky squarish face on the 2019s. Don't care for the weird 4runner look either but everyone has their own fancy. The front interior seemed more closed in to me with higher console. Seemed like less room in the 2019 I checked out. Chintzy interiors would be a Nissan/Hyundai thing more more than Toyota/Mazda. Underwhelmed based on pricepoint in 1 or many ways is a characteristic found in most vehicles out there until you get into the 75k range so get used to that. That is nothing exclusive to a RAV4.
 
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Saw one of the 2019's this week and thought it looked like an oversized kid toy.
 
I actually do want a RAV4, but since it's so new it's a bit too expensive for me at the moment. My only hope of getting one would be a few years down the road, when I can buy one used. However, I don't think I'd want the 2019 model, it needs some refinement and fixes/updates honestly.

I hear it's loud, a lot of engine noise, not insulted well, I want to see improvement on quietness, sound deadening.

I also think that many of its features needs to be standard features at the high-end trim level. Things like the heated/cooled seats you can't even get unless you get a certain package upgrade. Heated seats should be a standard feature at the top-end these days for crying out loud. There's too many features currently wrapped up in packages and not part of the standard trim features. They need to bundle more of the packaged items into the top-end trim and Adventure trim as standard. Right now you have to purchase like 4-5 extra packages on top of the top-end trim to get everything, and that's just ridiculous.

It needs some fixing/editing of the AWD system in regards to sending more power to the back wheels more often. I've seen a lot of people do a lot of tests, and it is very FWD biased, even though it can send 50% of power to the rear wheels, it usually opts not to, it needs some tweaking there.

I'd like to see further refinement of the interior materials.

Fix those main issues for me, and maybe in several years I'll get one. Maybe a 2021 or 2022 model, when the kinks are worked out.
 
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