Item: Used Toyota RAV4 2000 - 2006
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/land-rover">Land Rover</a> Freelander is the most obvious rival to the RAV4, and the closest conceptually, with its three-door and five-door versions. Stylish and good to drive, it’s undone by disappointing reliability.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/honda/cr-v/estate/review/n44">Honda CR-V </a> was into its second-generation model at this time, and while it lacks a sporty three-door version, it’s a sensible, spacious and hugely reliable choice. You could even get <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/honda">Honda</a>’s excellent 2.2-litre diesel engine towards the end of the car’s life life.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/suzuki/vitara/4x4/review/n76">Suzuki Grand Vitara</a> is also worth considering, especially given that it can be had as either a three-door or five-door, and it’s quite similar to the RAV4 in terms of overall reliability and interior layout. It never felt as sophisticated as the RAV4, though, and is not as precise to drive.

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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

In spite of the age of the design, the Toyota RAV4 really doesn’t seem to have too much of a problem in the reliability stakes.

There is a recurrent issue with the speedometer not working, which is usually caused by water getting into the electrics and shorting out connections. However, this is relatively easy to fix.

The engine management light can also be come on and not go out. But again, the problem is usually quite minor – it’s generally down to a faulty air mass sensor or catalytic convertor sensor – but many owners seem to ignore it and wait for the bulb to burn out. It should come on and go off when you start the ignition, but if it doesn’t come on at all, be suspicious because there’s a chance other problems may have gone undetected.

This generation of RAV4 seems to be one of the most reliable of all Toyotas, which is really saying something.

You need to make sure that the D-4D diesel engine has had its cambelt changed every 60,000 miles, or the belt could snap. It seems that quite a few owners ignore this, assuming that, being a Toyota, the car will go on working fine, but if it breaks then expensive engine damage is quite likely.

You’ll also need to check the suspension at all corners to ensure that the dampers aren’t leaking – a tell-tale trickle of grease or oil on the springs or the bottom of the suspension arm is the giveaway. They're not too costly to replace, however.

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Toyota is a company undergoing a quiet revolution, as it works hard to replace its sensible but somewhat bland reputation with one for being a bit more daring, in areas such as the styling of its cars and its enthusiastic leadership of cutting-edge technology, such as hybrid systems.

That process seems to be working for buyers, with the hugely popular and striking-looking C-HR SUV in particular attracting a great deal of interest. The latest version of the hybrid Prius is also rated highly by What Car?; it’s the first Prius to go on sale that our testers have felt can truly compete all round with existing petrol or diesel rivals.

However, it’s worth noting that this period of transition is also a work in progress, and that many of the firm’s cars are still rated as being no more than average among class rivals by our testers.

TOYOTA

RAV4

The second Toyota RAV4 kept the fun-loving nature of the first, but brought greater comfort and practicality.

Used Toyota RAV4 2000 - 2006

The diesel engine, with its 39mpg official fuel economy, should by rights be the cheapest RAV4 to run, but it’s not that simple. The 2.0 D-4D has high CO2 emissions (190g/km), so you’re going to pay £270 a year for road tax.

The 1.8-litre petrol can manage only 32mpg at best, but it has CO2 emissions of 175g/km – hardly exceptional, but low enough to save you £60 a year in tax. For those doing mostly short, urban journeys it’s certainly worth considering, expecially given that you’re likely to pay more for a diesel in the first place.

Servicing at Toyota main dealers shouldn’t be too expensive, but it’s worth remembering that the brakes need replacing or re-surfacing every second major service and that some parts (notably for the exhaust) have never been sent out to pattern makers, so you can only buy original Toyota-branded replacements – and these can be pricey.

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The second Toyota RAV4 kept the fun-loving nature of the first, but brought greater comfort and practicality.

While the RAV4 generally depreciates quite slowly, the earliest examples of this generation are still old enough to be in 'banger' territory, so £1,000, or even slightly less, can buy you a three-door example from 2000. You’ll pay slightly more for a five-door: £1200-£1500 for a good one from 2000 or early 2001.

You won’t pay much more than that for a 2003 five-door – £1900-£2100 for a really nice one with history – but the strength of the RAV4’s residuals is really reflected in the later, 2005 models. You’ll still need to pay as much as £6000, or even £6500, for a really good, low-mileage diesel RAV4 of this age with a full service history.

First off, the three-door is best avoided unless you are a singleton looking for a cheap runabout. As a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/family">family car</a> it’s close to useless, as it only has space for two very small people in the back (and not in much comfort come to that), and a pointlessly tiny boot.

The five-door RAV4, with its extra legroom and a boot that can swallow large suitcases is a much more sensible proposition, and hence was always the more popular model when this RAV4 was on sale.

Even basic NV models came with air-conditioning, anti-lock brakes and electric front windows, but you’ll have to upgrade to a high-spec VX or XT5 model if you want leather seats, a sunroof and a CD autochanger.

Our favourite used Toyota RAV4: 2.0 D-4D XT5 5dr

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Running costs that won’t break the bank </li> <li>Generous kit</li> <li>Pokey engine and tidy handling</li> <li>Spacious interior</li> <li>Boot big enough to cope with family life</li></ul>

The car-buying public has fallen in love with small SUVs, or crossovers as they’re often called, with thousands turning away from conventional hatchbacks in favour of something that rides that little bit higher.

The original baby SUV is the Nissan Juke, which remains a popular choice, but there are plenty of better rivals to consider instead. We’d recommend you look at either the Ford Puma or Skoda Kamiq, because they offer&nbsp;a great blend of practicality and value that keeps them&nbsp;clear of the opposition. Equally, if you’ve got more money to spend, the Audi Q2 and Volkswagen T-Roc&nbsp;are both fine choices.&nbsp;

Small SUV

As with any small 4x4, check carefully underneath the car for any signs of over-enthusiastic off-roading or drivers pushing the car beyond its relatively limited mud-plugging capabilities.

You need to check the floor pan and around the wheelarches for rust, too; even though they were well sealed at the time of manufacture, the youngest of this generation of RAV4 is now more than a decade old, so look carefully.

The radios can be troublesome, and many RAV4s have had theirs replaced under warranty, so check and make sure that it picks up the stations you want and that the sound quality is acceptable.

The first Toyota RAV4 was a groundbreaker in the SUV market, and one of the first <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/small-suv">compact 4x4s</a> the public really switched on to.

This second-generation version kept much of the funky styling and enjoyable dynamics of the first-generation car, but it was also a more practical proposition. The focus was on the five-door version with its sensible boot and frugal diesel engine. Unsurprisingly, fewer buyers bought the cramped three-door car.

To drive, the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/rav4/4x4/review/n130">RAV4</a> is a typical <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/toyota">Toyota</a> – light steering keeps it from being engaging, but it corners well and has good ride comfort over bumps and bad surfaces.

The engines, both petrol and diesel, will seem a little slow and noisy to those used to more modern cars, but they have the benefit of reliability and are no worse than their contemporaries.

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Used Toyota RAV4 2000 - 2006 review

Every 2021 Electric and Hybrid Car Awards winner

What's the used Toyota RAV4 4x4 like?