After the fifth-generation Toyota RAV4 miserably failed the moose test of Swedish publication Teknikens Värld, the Japanese car manufacturer has updated the vehicle’s software to improve its performance.
To put the updated SUV to the test, Teknikens Värld headed to Spain with Toyota and a tweaked RAV4 equipped with out-riggers in the place of the rear doors.
During initial testing of the RAV4, the fastest it could navigate its way through the moose test was 68 km/h (42 mph), failing to meet the publication’s 70 km/h (43.4 mph) minimum. Now, the RAV4 can pass through the difficult change of direction at 72 km/h (45 mph) – it may slide a little bit but gets the job done.
Also Watch: 2020 RAV4 Fails Swedish Moose Test, Toyota Begs To Differ
The fifth-generation Toyota RAV4 failed Teknikens Värld’s moose test in 2019
According to technical senior manager of vehicle dynamics at Toyota, Takashi Saito, the company tuned the RAV4’s Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system to provide more braking.
While the updated Toyota RAV4 has received Teknikens Värld’s stamp of approval, it does not perform as well as some other SUVs. For example, the Nissan Qashqai can pass the moose test at 84 km/h (52.1 mph), while the larger Kia Sorento did it at 78 km/h (48.4 mph).
Interestingly, Toyota doesn’t intend on updating the RAV4’s production process to include the VSC changes nor will it recall already-delivered vehicles. Instead, customers must ask their local dealerships for the changes and to have them applied. The updated software should become available in the second quarter of 2020, although it remains unclear in which markets the updates will be made available.