Any cross shopping with the 2019 RAV4?

CX-5 signature is hard to beat but the Rav4 Hybrid may be the contender. It's engine is supposedly peppier than the base engine and is rated at 38/41 mpg. It could tip the scale for those who want a more updated infotainment setup, more space, and panaromic moon roof alongside more rugged looking interior.

When Mazda refreshes the interior for 2020 that should again bring the Signature back up to an undisputed $40k compact.
 
We looked at the RAV4, wife did not like it. We looked at CR-V and liked it, but got scared by the gasoline in oil dilution, on the turbo engine. Would have been happy with CR-V base engine but there's no equipment on LX trim. As good as our '04 Honda is holding up, I had to pass on this one. Next up was the Forester. Did not care for the start/stop at all. Also concerned with the ~80% new engine and experience with our 2 year old Forester burning a quart of oil between oil changes. So we looked at CX-5 and that completed our short list. I should add that to make my list, a vehicle has to meet my top 3s: Safety, Reliability, MPG.
 
We looked at the RAV4, wife did not like it. We looked at CR-V and liked it, but got scared by the gasoline in oil dilution, on the turbo engine. Would have been happy with CR-V base engine but there's no equipment on LX trim. As good as our '04 Honda is holding up, I had to pass on this one. Next up was the Forester. Did not care for the start/stop at all. Also concerned with the ~80% new engine and experience with our 2 year old Forester burning a quart of oil between oil changes. So we looked at CX-5 and that completed our short list. I should add that to make my list, a vehicle has to meet my top 3s: Safety, Reliability, MPG.
If you didnt care about Subarus start-stop system, you should care about cylinder deactivation on your 2019 CX-5 GT. Theres already a big recall for falling rocker arms from CD, not to mention the bad reputation from the history of such system.

IMO, if a vehicle has to meet your top 3s: Safety, Reliability, MPG, then Toyota RAV4 seems to meet your 3 requirements perfectly. ;)
 
When I was cross shopping the alternative was the Nissan X-Trail. That has advantages, for example locked true 4wd as well as AWD drive train modes. It has more rear seat room and bigger cargo area than the CX-5. However it has (at least here) an underwhelming horsepower rating of around 170. Not a lot of power to move that larger vehicle around. I'm at the point where I want the extra power over true 4wd so am buying a CX-5 with turbo.
 
We looked at the RAV4, wife did not like it.... I should add that to make my list, a vehicle has to meet my top 3s: Safety, Reliability, MPG.

IMO, if a vehicle has to meet your top 3s: Safety, Reliability, MPG, then Toyota RAV4 seems to meet your 3 requirements perfectly. ;)

yrwei, the wife is the 4th requirement, and with absolute veto power, didn'tja know. Instant disqualification. (bang)
 
I was loyal to Lexus for 10 years. New to Mazda. The 2019 Rav4 has no appeal to me, it's ugly, extremely boring, interior is nothing special. Actually, the base Mazda CX-5 has the best interior in the segment. Look at the cheap plastic steering wheel and cheap looking exterior (and steel wheels with hubcaps) that comes on the 2019 RAV4 base AWD:

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https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=516295696

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The CX-5 comes with a leather wrapped steering wheel standard. Alloy wheels standard. The base manual seats are very comfortable. LED projector headlights standard. The Mazda looks better, drives better, and to me has much better value when comparing base AWD versions, which is why I bought it.
 
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Other thing about the RAV4 is headroom. I havent sat in one but Im pretty sure I wont fit based on my experience with a Camry. Id really like the hybrid version too.

Ive been cross-shopping a bit and its interesting to me that no crossover really stands out as just right. The CX-5 with better tech, probably comes the closest, but its just not quite there. Lot better today than my 2015 was, though. Well, that and the $40K for a signature or $34K for a GT configured the way Id want it.

RAV4: Headroom
CX-5: Infotainment
Santa Fe: Turbo Lag
CR-V: Noisy, dont like Honda Dealers
Subaru: Great for trails and leaving oil behind so you can find your way home.
And so on and so forth....

Cars are about sacrifices and which ones you can live with.
 
^I was about to say why the hell would the Camry's lack of headroom have anything to do w/that of the Rav4..holy crap 37.5 Camry/37.7 Rav4(with sunroof)/39.3 for CX-5 w/sunroof...wow. Didn't really cross shop it- went right back to gen1 CX-5 after pricing up a RAV online w/the crap I'd want..decided if I were to spend that kind of coin it would be(almost certainly) on the GTR- decided not to even tempt, rather hold on that a few years and scoop up an off lease cpo 19 or 20 much like I just did w/my 16.5 GT...hoping for better gen2 seats, looking forward to cooled seats(alot), not looking forward to: pwr tailgate, paying 40/50c more to get the full 250 out of it- but of course I will(2thumbs)
 
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I just sold my 2010 RAV4 V-6 Sport AWD and am currently shopping for a replacement. I have a spreadsheet with data from Equinox, Escape, CRV, CX5 and RAV4. I just did a back to back comparison between between a 2019 CX5 Sig and 2019 RAV4 Adventure. The interior is an immediate standout between the two. The RAV seemed cheap by comparison. Also, the fact that no power passenger seat is available regardless of trim level was an immediate veto by the wife. The RAV4 definitely has more cargo space behind the rear seats but the rear leg room in the CX5 is still excellent. I was really leaning toward the RAV4 Hybrid Limited because of the excellent MPG and could probably have lived with the less-than-stellar 0-60 time. However, I prefer a good driving vehicle over a mere transportation device so the Mazda is currently on my very short list. Something my old RAV4 had (and is going to be offered in the 2020 Escape) was a sliding rear seat. All compact SUVs should have those as they really add to the flexibility of that space!
 
However, I prefer a good driving vehicle over a mere transportation device so the Mazda is currently on my very short list.

Don't discount the driving dynamics of the Rav4 hybrid if you've not driven one. I drove one back to back with a CX-5 Sig and the hybrid powertrain of the Toyota really worked for me. Both cars had good pickup, but the quiet, electric-like initial thrust of the Rav4 won me over. And the CX-5 engine I drove seemed a bit unrefined, "thrashy", and there was some bootstrapping with the turbo which made the throttle harder to modulate - maybe I drove a bad one. All that being said, the passenger seat lack of headroom and difficulty getting in/out of the Rav4 are big disqualifying problems, at least for my wife.

- Mark
 
Don't discount the driving dynamics of the Rav4 hybrid if you've not driven one. I drove one back to back with a CX-5 Sig and the hybrid powertrain of the Toyota really worked for me. Both cars had good pickup, but the quiet, electric-like initial thrust of the Rav4 won me over. And the CX-5 engine I drove seemed a bit unrefined, "thrashy", and there was some bootstrapping with the turbo which made the throttle harder to modulate - maybe I drove a bad one. All that being said, the passenger seat lack of headroom and difficulty getting in/out of the Rav4 are big disqualifying problems, at least for my wife.

- Mark
Yeah RAV4 Hybrid has 219 combined hp which is more powerful than 203-hp 2.5L gas engine. RAV4 XSE Hybrid even comes with sport-tuned suspension.

At least RAV4 has the roof assist handle right for right rear seat passenger. I hate the coat hanger hook at the wrong position for right-rear passenger whenever I use the handle, just to save some cost to use the same one from left side on CX-5. Sometimes we can see bigger picture from small things. This makes me wonder what else Mazda has done just to save some pennies.

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It*s nice to include rear cargo cover except on base LE models:

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I also like RAV4 has one extra trim color available - the light gray!
 
I just sold my 2010 RAV4 V-6 Sport AWD and am currently shopping for a replacement. I have a spreadsheet with data from Equinox, Escape, CRV, CX5 and RAV4. I just did a back to back comparison between between a 2019 CX5 Sig and 2019 RAV4 Adventure. The interior is an immediate standout between the two. The RAV seemed cheap by comparison. Also, the fact that no power passenger seat is available regardless of trim level was an immediate veto by the wife. The RAV4 definitely has more cargo space behind the rear seats but the rear leg room in the CX5 is still excellent. I was really leaning toward the RAV4 Hybrid Limited because of the excellent MPG and could probably have lived with the less-than-stellar 0-60 time. However, I prefer a good driving vehicle over a mere transportation device so the Mazda is currently on my very short list. Something my old RAV4 had (and is going to be offered in the 2020 Escape) was a sliding rear seat. All compact SUV*s should have those as they really add to the flexibility of that space!

Hybrid awd system doesnt work at highway speeds, yo. Instant dealkill.
 
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