The Toyota RAV4. It injected the "toy" element into the realm of posing and mucking around. No more did looking cool in a SUV equate noisy bone-rattling ride on-road. Think about the Escudo (Vitara), Daihatsu Rocky and the likes, which are not the last word for refinement / performance on-road. Although lacking "4x4-things" like a transfer case (it had full time 4wd), a separate chassis and instead designed with all-independent wishbone suspension system, owners of the RAV4 were a generally contented lot. Across the globe, the car was well received. The marketing boys were right, not many owners of such vehicles would ever take it off-road. The setup was thus heavily on an on-road bias and it worked well. It handles like a rabbit on tarmac and under insanely abnormal conditions that it is actually called to tackle the terrain, the manual version had a central differential-lock to help, as the continuously variable 4wd system adapt to the condition.

Even then, in 1994, the RAV4 had its share of critics. This was excluding the purists in the 4x4 fraternity crying about how, in the family of dedicated 4x4 (the Land Cruiser) could appear such a shameless wannabe. Typical criticisms of the RAV4 include crappy materials used and engine racket that earned it the nick "ROUGH-4".

Now, or more like late last year, in 2000, the new RAV4 was unveiled. 6 years and the RAV4 no longer scoop parts off the rest of the family, namely the Starlet and the Camry, like the initial one did. This was to be a thoroughly exciting product that will continue Toyota's foray into the youthful yuppie market - like the Celica and the Yaris (a.k.a. Echo). JeepNation managed to land an official copy of the new RAV4 in January (in Singapore) and we confirmed our darkest fear - if soft-roaders like this are the way of the future, it is going to be increasingly difficult to convert tarmac-only motorist to try out the wild-side of life. This baby, on-road, is addictive-ly rewarding and we really struggled to return the keys to the dealer...

he brief scorecard:

What ticks: -

* Refined engine with variable-intake wizardry delivers, almost seamlessly, the goods to keep the keen footed happy, all the way to the red line.
* Auto-box is game and smart enough to avoid "hunting" and willing to let drivers venture near the limiter.
* Steering response is sharp and strong on the center - a plus point for the windy roads.
* Space is great, especially with the easily removable individual back seats.
* Design is a cross of industrial and space age, a funky version of the Altezza / Lexus IS200 style.
* Dozen of cubby holes, addressing the lack of it in the first RAV4.

What pricks: -

* Materials used still seem grossly cheap, especially the dash-board.
* Lack of central differential-lock on both MT and AT version could mean even poorer off-road performance.
* The exhaust headers are vulnerably placed in front, making susceptible to damage against anything above 190mm.

The RAV4 is still king of the on-road softees, although the likes of the Audi All-Road, Subaru Forester, etc, will definitely pose a threat to the throne, the RAV4 will remain the choice for the funky, the hip and the ego-maniacs.