Yes it's almost that time; like when your faithful old phone or television becomes out of date - your attention is then drawn to finding something newer, trendier, self-fulfilling enough to make the neighbors envious.
Insert Toyota and its popular crossover here; the current RAV4 is fast growing a few grey hairs and has lost some of its youthfulness of yesteryear. Not wanting its direct competitors to seize on this, the boffins at Toyota have been working hard on its next generation of their popular compact SUV.
This hard work has become more apparent in recent months with numerous camouflaged spy photos hitting the cyberspace. Based on those photos, I have created an illustration that previews the new design direction for the 2013 Toyota RAV4.
Gone is the upright stance of old; replaced by a steeply raked cabin that looks to have been shaped by a wind tunnel stuck on hurricane setting. This sleekness has also transferred onto the sheet metal; there are now more contemporary creases and stylized lines - the outgoing model in comparison looks like it had too many deep-fried pies.
What you can't see here is the banishment of the tailgate mounted full-size spare; with it now being out of sight the tail-lights now span horizontally like the Camry's.
At the business end, the grill and headlights take on the corporate look that will adorn the upcoming Corolla/Auris series.
It may not be the most attractive nose, but does have an interesting chrome bar running from the headlights into the grill. There's even a hint of the Lexus 'spindle' grill in the front bumper, although some could argue that the designers had a fondness for pinched cheeks.
Overall the design is a much more contemporary effort; but one has to ask - is it enough to make the neighbors envious? It certainly has some strong opponents; with the latest generations of the Ford Escape / Kuga, Mazda CX-5, and Honda CRV being no duds in the beauty stakes.
Regardless of where it sits in the style rankings, Toyota has always had a popular recipe with the RAV4, and one can bet they are not going to sabotage it by using dog meat.
By Josh Byrnes
Design Copyright: Josh Byrnes for CarScoop
57 Comments:
The profile looks a lot like a Mazda3 hatchback.
This is the first Toyota I'ver liked. It looks good.
I like it.
This is such an improvement over the current RAV4. From what I could tell from the spy photos, this design is pretty on the mark. Almost purchased a CX-5 recently but decided not to as it really lacked power and lost its 'zoom zoom'. May have to wait til the new RAV4 goes on sale.
"...sabotage it by using dog meat" what's kind of journalism is this? 4th grade writing?
It looks fantastic. Exactly what the segment needs, I love the strong defined shoulder over the rear fender, the line that runs from the emblems through the headlight is a trendy feature that is growing, I found it interesting on the Flex, and it was nice to see Mazda and Maserati jump in on it too, and the front end is well arranged merging angular, squared-off, and organic themes common in the auto industry. I wasn't as much a fan of the Mustang rendering, but this one is just excellent, following many of the growing trends in the auto industry right now.
I'm in the market for a CUV and a CX-5 was hammering it on an onramp ahead of me this morning and I managed to pull ahead before the merge with my '05 Uplander with 3.5L v6. which I consider to be underpowered. "Just doing some real world testing officer ...." Yup - that CX-5 needs a turbo or more squirrels under the hood. My van weighs in at 4,620 lbs with 200hp and 240 lb torque while the CX-5 weighs in at about 3,400 with driver - looked to be a base model 150 hp and 150 ft lb.
Looks good now, but would disappear when real looker like Santa Fe park next to it.
Anyway, hope they up the safety features like standard rear camera & lane charge warning, like their competitors.
"Honda CR-V being no dud in the beauty stakes" - please tell me you're kidding.
Tu diseño conceptual es fabuloso pero dudo mucho que el modelo real sea tan bueno como el que has realizado. Peor aun si hablamos del interior del habitaculo del otro enlace, es fatal, feo, feo, feo, tiene un diseño anticuado, arcaico, ochentero. A Toyota le urge buscarse diseñadores porque tiene los vehÃculos con los diseños más feos del planeta.
Could it be?! Toyota has finally made a good looking car?
That's a huge change from my 2010 Rav4. Much more car like than SUV.
Only a dipsh*t with a name like "Danno" would care about horsepower and passing people in a minivan. Think more about economy and safety, you and your country will be a better place because of it..... hillbilly.
p.s. Next time you try to pass me at 90 Mph with your kids in the van, I'm jumpin in front of you and hittin the brakes!
Which, itself, took its greenhouse from the Pontiac Vibe.
The Honda CRV is one of the oddest looking compact cuv's on the road right now.
I never can figure out what Honda is trying to do with the "C" pillar on the CRV including the newest version. It always feels like Honda couldn't decide from two designs so included both of them.
This guy (Josh Byrnes) should be immediately hired by Toyota - this is the best crossover design ever.
Exactly. The concept sketch looked bloody brilliant, especially the c-pillar, Volvo would/could/should have pulled off the c-pillar and back design had they thought of it first for their upcoming XC90, but 0% of the enthusiasm of the design carried over unto the production vehicle. They should have reserved this design for the Honda Pilot, they cannot make it look good on such a small footprint to work without major sacrifice to utility, which is why we got what we got.
D-pillar, not C-pillar.
qashqai 2013 is better
Yes, if you're into antiques...
Dan"no" pulls in front of Danno
Dash cam captures Dan"no"'s stunned expression as the pit manouver is performed to perfection as Dan"no" eats some roadside weeds.
Priceless.
hey - we can dream - right?
No, we're not into Toyota's
you're right, thank you for that correction!
it is better then most Nissans, puzzels me why we didn't get any hint of qashqai in the recently updated Pathfinder.
We all know that this will NOT look this good in production! Every rendering makes a car look great, with great proportions, and angles. Then you give it to the engineers, marketing personel, etc, and they ruin it. In particularly Toyota! Thinking back, Toyota really did make some good looking cars, but it has been quite awhile since those days! Early model Celicas, 1980's Corolla SR-5's, Supra's, the MR2, first generation Highlanders, and 4runners. Been quite awhile since a Toyota made me do a double take!
Did you kidnap another German?
Very nice render. Just wish Toyota would release it already. My wife keeps begging for a Highlander and my cheap-ass wants to save some money.
Just beautiful, one of the most amazing and reliable compact SUV in the market right now.
The new RAV4 will probably look like the larger version of the new Auris. I think the front will look less sporty than the render. But given the Auris' design, it's a marked improvement.
Everybody here bangs on about how beautiful the car is. You have only seen half. Wait till you see the interior.. You will be surrounded with cheap plastics !
Buy German. Period.
You mean BMW or Mercedes? You realize you are paying a premium, right? Of course you're going to get better interior quality. Volkswagen's are bland and generally just as plastic heavy as the rest.
The front fascia looks like this baby!
Well do not waste time making stupid comments.
What about the engine? I hear there will be no v6 option.
The dimentions of the CRV are about the same as my Equinox and the Sorrento and Sante Fe. So why are they not mentioned in this comparison??
Buy German and spend lots of time in the shop.
http://www.caradvice.com.au/185481/toyota-rav4-suv-2013-model-spied-interior-revealed/c.. check out thes reall spy photos of the car. The front fascia of the car is the same as the rendering. it going to be a grea lookin car.
It looks great im on my 2nd Rav4 and am waiting to see what is coming next I am due a change next year
what's wrong with a RAV4?
YEAH!!
aww come on
Pathfinder is a pricey for a SUV
The Honda Odessey costed around the same
what the...
Save money. Save money. Save money.
Highlanders take too much gas.
Should get a RAV4. Definately not the CR-V. Buy a RAV4.
True
huh!
eco and safety...music to my ears
V6 is UNDERPOWERED???!!!
seriously??
if u think so, just test drive a Sienna with a 3.0 V6
thats right, man
i think u should buy a RAV4
yes.
what's wrong with everything else?
at least they are all better than the others.
RAV4 looks better
really?
u think so or u know so?
More like both
how do you do that?
Awesome design, bring it on!
Very nice car.
I owned a Mercedes-Benz for 2 years and it was a complete wasting of money on repair and maintenances, never again.
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