Promoted by Charles Maund Toyota
Anyone who visits or lives in Austin knows there’s tons of activities of all kinds across the city. The only question is: how are you going to get there? To take advantage of it all, you have to drive a vehicle that can hold up to any task or punishment you might throw at it.
Indoors or out, the 2017 Toyota RAV4 is Austin’s new favorite SUV, with sales over the past year for Toyota’s compact SUV rising to 80.8% in the Austin area, besting the Honda CR-V which saw local sales fall 10.9% since 20151.
The RAV4 is perfect for any Austin activity: capable of hauling your bikes, stand-up paddle boards, picnic fixings – plus your dog – for a day at Town Lake and Zilker Park! Heading downtown to a concert, the RAV4 is nimble enough to cart you and your friends downtown to Stubb’s in style and comfort without worrying about whether it will fit into a parking spot.
Both the Toyota and Honda receive comparable gas mileage (24 mpg overall2) and can easily handle parking in tight spaces or dealing with the traffic on the Mopac. The Honda CR-V runs on a continuously variable transmission which greatly increases engine noise inside the cabin – making it that much more difficult to hear the bike bell Austin’s burgeoning cyclist traffic.
The Toyota RAV4 just underwent a mid-cycle refresh that helped improve the ride quality of the Toyota which any driver who is trying to tackle Austin’s constant road construction will appreciate.
And for those of you who want the best access to your mobile devices, the RAV4 can sync with any device and provides easy operation. Aside from entertainment, most consumers value vehicle safety and the RAV4 leaves the competition by the side of the road when it comes to standard safety packages.
The RAV4 is an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s ‘Top Safety Pick.’ It’s got standard safety packages such as forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking. If you wanted that on the Honda, you’d have to go for the top of the line trim level. For Toyota, it’s standard for every driver.
The Toyota RAV4, at base price, starts at just $25,850 with more options than you can shake a stick at for a base package. The RAV4 with front-wheel drive costs $25,850 and the all-wheel drive model costing just $26,690. The RAV4 is also available as a hybrid, which comes in top-of-line XLE trim and all-wheel drive, making it the highest-mileage SUV in the market.
In a town like Austin, you need to be able to haul your farmer’s market purchase, take your kayak to the river, and navigate a near constant barrage of traffic. Needless to say you’ll put a lot of wear and tear on your RAV4. But that’s where Toyota continues to separate from Honda. If you buy a new RAV4, Toyota will throw in a 2-year, 25,000 mile, no-cost maintenance plan.
To test drive a RAV4 for yourself, visit Charles Maund Toyota!