John Fox are your rav4s awd?

Do you still own the car? Any issues?

" this drive-train is bullet proof and what it designed to do is get you home in most driving conditions within reason" EXACTLY !!!

The people are sad because most of the folks like the RAV4 - it's just a liittle bit more offroad capabilities would make this a dream car. I would be pretty happy if there was an offroad button which enhances its capabilities - e.g. apply brake on the spinning wheel so that it simulates the missing locking of the front or rear differential. In my honest opinion toyota is missing a small suv with bigger offroad capabilities like the suzuki jimny or the vitara, lada niva etc. I understand that they are not meant to be offroad vehicles, but at least they could improve their 4x4 performance.

I just bought a 2015 RAV4 AWD. My gravel driveway is steeper than the hill shown giving this RAV4 such a difficult time...yet I drive it daily with no issues. Go figure.

The back wheels do not get traction. This is not about tires

yeah it does

The interior on this new rav-4 is the best in its class. They gave it a substantial update

It looks good but the interior has a lot of cheap plastic. I own one

Agree, I have drove my 2014 through mountain passes, knee deep snow and icy roads. Up and down fire roads with steeper inclines, you will catch some spinning at times, but when I replaced my tires with better M&S tires, that dramatically made a difference. Crossovers aren't made for off roading, I know a lot of Subaru owners like to pretend they go off roading in their forester, but I use an older Chevy 4WD pick up for mud, rocks and actual off road work, for camping and hiking trips. I have yet to see any Subaru's in these areas ever, from the lower desert of Ca. to up here in the PNW. I generally see most of them parked next to my daily driver, the Rav 4 at Trader Joes and Whole Paycheck or up in the parking lot at the ski resorts. To each and their own, I like the Rav, it runs like a clock, low maintenance and has yet to not get through snowy passes.

do you still own it? Any flaws?

+Rommel Beckford An estate is much more practical than an SUV,

it's a crossover

+RickTrajan it is a jacked up station wagon

For when you wanna climb over sidewalks and curbs to get to the other parking lot.

+nano3711 It's what I call a "not even lifted wagon"

They have a simple 2.5 lift kit for these along with a thousand other things to make them great offroad for what they are.

@@Tsalinger Any suggestions on website for this?

+Den Moumoiazei Naah the 2009 that i has nicer exterior imo, but the interior is awesome.

They never seem to on videos.

true that

SilverJig I bet your Subaru burns oil lol

Armando Gonzalez Nope.

SilverJig remember he was at slow speed and the vehicle is a city SUV not an off-road SUV

Hrm. For getting around in the snow on public roads, the RAV does just fine. Choose between a Toyota or a Subaru ? OMG, the Toyota any day ! I will take world renowned reliability over a car that is known for it's engine rumble.

Многое от прокладки между рулём и сиденьем зависит 😉

New explanation every Wednesday!

+Engineering Explained Could you do a review on the Toyota Rav 4 2016 hybrid as well, please? That would be awesome.

But that 2020 adventure model tho

+carbonunit Poor hill :(

+Justin Hickey I owned a 2003 AWD Rav 4 sport . very dependable SUV. great in the snow.

no way 2016 rav4 better faster . you drive fj with off road tire .. kia sportag with off tire will distroy fj loooool

+Peter Schmidt Well, consider this. The I gen RAV4 pretty much was the very first SUV: small unibody 4x4, using engine from regular car with pretty surprising offroad capabilities. I don't really like what these cars have become either, but there we go, that's the kind of cars people are willing to buy nowadays.

The rav-4 started life like a SUV actually

***** Agreed, but back then it was a legit SUV. It really was capable of being sporty. Today, it's just a big car that self-identifies as a SUV.

this is why I just sold my rav4; too small to do anything worthwhile and too big to be nimble and get reasonable gas mileage

People take SUV's off-road? Wranglers and older Cherokees and maybe an FJ cruiser/4runner, sure....every other SUV driver doesn't do anything more hard core than an unpaved road. When you actually go offroad, you see almost entirely pickup trucks.

I have the RAV4. I'd honestly get a Subaru instead

honestly, loose gravel and stock touring tires that come on this are not good for anything but road driving. I have a 2014 XLE, my drive way in CA. was hard packed dirt and slick, 3 times the length of this hill and a bit steeper. I never once had an issue driving up or backing up it and out into the street. Even our Golf TSI went up and down it with sport tires and though it would spin , you just gave a bit of gas and up you went. The Rav system triggers the opposite corner wheel when one spins, not as strong imo as Subaru's system but I can say I have drove this Rav up these types of fire roads, open BLM territory , on the beach and in snow and ice in the mountains. Recently here in the PNW in recent snow/sleet storms and it works just fine. I have yet to get it stuck but I am also not out rock crawling or trying to go off roading in a crossover.

+Steven Kitchin Does your mom go mudding?

+FrederickGFX no but she won't drive anything without 4 wheel drive, just how she is. I wanted her to drive something smaller since she's starting to not drive well and she's in a larger 4runner

Every wheel gets 25% torque when the center locks, I'd call that AWD, regardless if it can ascend a steep l, slippery grade or not.

+Mikey C Mikey, you're addressing a commercial naming convention that has been bad for nearly TWENTY YEARS now. Unfortunately, it is commonly accept that AWD implicitly identifies any vehicle that *can* supply power to all [four] wheels. The convention you mean is rather referred to as 4WD, to distinguish it. It sucks. But AWD, as it is used, means exactly what this video shows and the vehicles that claim it. Locking AWD is another subject, and we really should have made some sort of legislation *years ago* to enforce identifying the difference, for consumers.

+Engineering Explained Question for ya! There is no denying this is AWD but it does seem a rather poor execution of one. Any idea why we just saw the front wheels spinning and the rears do nothing when you tried to go up that hill despite it being center locked?

+Kamil Bernatowicz I'll answer for EE - for starters "locked 50:50" configuration means is that 50% is sent front and 50% is sent rear. What you need to understand is that even though front and rear are seeing the same amount of torque, they are not experiencing the same terrain, and more importantly external forces and traction scenario. This means that when accelerating or ascending the front wheels will have less grip than the rears, under deceleration and descending the rears will have less grip. Further issues affecting this vehicle is that the Rav4 has open differentials front and rear, which means that even though there is a 50:50 front:rear the further limiting factor is the open differentials; meaning between one and three wheels can spin without the vehicle making any progress due to a lack of ability to put power down. The only way for that Rav4 to crawl up that hill on stock tires would be for a 50:50 locked center diff AND locked front & rear diffs - with that configuration if one wheel has traction (and the axle holds out) the vehicle will crawl. If my explanation did not satify, or was not clear enough, I believe EE has previously done an AWD system explanation video which admittedly does a better job than I have. Anecdotal, I have a 2006 WRX which is full time locked 50:50 F:R with a LSD in the rear and open diff in the front - under dry conditions with heavy acceleration I routinely experience front wheel spin, in wet/snow I can force the car to rotate where the rear tires will spin and the fronts will not. bonus fact, my WRX came from the factory with 6.3" of ground clearance; way to use the "crossover" designation to help your CAFE rating Toyota.

haha just like the jeeps in ww2

+Bobby0345 just better in general. I'm very disappointed by its performance in EE's demonstration.

+MavHunter20XX Well my mom uses her Rav4 for physical therapy home visits. So she drives about 40,000 miles a year all over the rural area we live in. So far it has been excellent in the snow and on gravel/dirt roads. Some of the gravel roads are washed out so the slightly higher clearance it has compared to a car is a plus. As long as decent tires are on it, the Rav4 should have excellent performance for a cross over.

the thing is rav4 gets better fuel economy because it's not full-time awd.

My wife and I have 2010 rav4 with the v6 awd. I really like it. The v6 puts out 270 hp. But we use it as it was intended. My wife doesn't offroad, it sees very snow and icey roads. It drives like a car, comfortable and quiet.

+Tracey Allen I wish they still made them with the V6. Toyotas V6 can fly lol.

Rear left is spinning as well.

+Christoffer Lundgren Probably doesn't direct as much power to the rear wheels as it should in those conditions. Also, the front and rear differentials don't have any limited slip, so if the wheel on one side starts slipping it will just spin that wheel.

+Engineering Explained Thanks, now I noticed. If there would have been a locking differential, both wheels would have turned, right? Would that have made it possible to pass in low speed as well?

+Christoffer Lundgren It would benefit from a VTM system. So being able to shift torque from side to side. This is a kind of basic AWD system.

+Christoffer Lundgren This is why locking differentials are often better then "All-wheel-drive" with 2 or 3 open diffs for this type of scenario

a. ggrex - and how many times do you plan to pull up on a steep hill, stop, then try pulling out? I have a traction video with a twisted suspension test in a 2013 RAV4 that has good tires suited for the conditions that does well with what I do in the 2 videos. how many times will you stop in a snow drift just to see if you get stuck or not? ability, "common sense," and the right tires are the 3 main keys. I have never been pulled out of any situation, but I have pulled other vehicles out of the snow. ✌

Getting stuck in traffic on a snowy soft bank or hill or having a pedestrian busy texting walk across are a few ways way anyone could be forced to stop midway up a snowy hill. The RAV4 AWD capability s clearly limited as demonstrated on your video. Again good video and technique but no RAV4me.

a. ggrex limited and demonstrated? please explain. all it did was spin until the ECU learned what to do. my video also clearly proved that the right tires makes a huge difference as well. if the AWD system was that bad, I would never have made it across that "twist" ditch. I stopped, then I proceeded to pull out. when the ECU took over, as demonstrated in my video, the spinning stopped and I was able to pull out. my aunt's 2012 Legacy never made it up a small embankment in my driveway, but both of my RAV4's made it.

a. ggrex all the scenarios you mentioned, I've been there. what are you wanting to do, run summer tires in the snow? I live in the mountains, I know hills and steep streets. I also know snow drifts. I've never been stuck in any situation in either of my 2 RAV4'S. If you don't buy a RAV4, I respect that, that's totally your opinion and your right, but unless you own one and buy good tires suited for the conditions, don't knock it based off of this video. the ECU has to learn, and staying steady on the gas as I demonstrated in my video, is exactly what you have to do. A Subaru is the same way..they spin for a bit before realizing what's needed..

Next time change it with Mitsubishi Outlander for great traction doing forward & reverse on steep road or hills

+Joe Zhang The Hybrid has less power to the rear wheels (67hp max), vs 87hp for the gas model. Mind you the Hybrid does have more HP overall, so that might make a difference in situations where the front wheels have grip. The Hybrid is also heavier, due to the batteries, which may or may not be helpful depending on the situation.

You are right. It will be interesting to see how much different a Hybrid AWD than a normal Rav4 2WD

the lock is only a center diff lock to send 50/50 power to the rear. if the rear axle slips on one wheel that 50/50 power is useless

+tonytypes right, and with 2 open diff front and back and seemingly very crappy traction management... It sucks. I'm not saying it should have torsens front and back but at least brake ediff....

it's the tires. if the spinning tires have no tread for the conditions, then how can they hook up? I own a 2010 and 2013, both AWD, and I have not been stuck yet. we have had several snows well over 16" to 24" and believe me, they went.

2010V6RAV4 No. It's the AWD system. If all 4 wheels are spinning, and the car is still not moving, then it's the tires, but if the front wheels slip and the rear wheels fail to engage appropriately, then it's obviously a poor AWD system at fault.

no. it's the tires. they have no grip. if the tires that were spinning were fit for the conditions, which they are not, and this guy had a bit more momentum to go along with it, the car would go. it's like wearing dance shoes on a slippery slope..the best dancer couldn't perform to their potential without the right shoes.. even a basic 4wd wouldn't go any better than this if the tires were no good. the tires are touching the ground, not the AWD system. I have 2 RAV4's and haven't been stuck yet.

2010V6RAV4 There are many conditions where no tire will gain traction, such as ice, oil, sand, etc, especially in an incline. During those times, a competent AWD system will then begin to engage all wheels in order to hunt for traction. An AWD system that just allows the front wheels to spin without soon sending at least 50% of power to the rear wheels is a crappy "slip and grip" system. Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, Chrysler, and many others have such crappy systems. Others such as Subaru, Audi, Acura (SH-AWD) have far superior systems.

I just uploaded 2 videos of proof what better tires can do. I rest my case with you because I proved my point ;-) Toyota has an excellent traction management system and they also have 20% controlling interest in Subaru, so why wouldn't Toyota use some of their technology? and my videos are proof. my car starts spinning, the TRAC control kicks in, the ECU took over, and I was able to get out due to aggressive tires...these tires on this car in this video will barely pull out on wet grass, let alone a slick loose wet gravel hill where the tires are simply spinning. I know what I'm talking about and again have videos to prove it.