2009 Toyota RAV4 V6

Features, Functions, and Safety

For those who don’t read owner’s manuals, the RAV4 has a confusing characteristic. While stopped, if you push the brake pedal past a certain point, the vehicle beeps and displays the stability control warning light. This seems like a malfunction until you discover the vehicle is trying to tell you the hill control function is engaged. This function prevents the vehicle from rolling backwards while the driver moves his foot from gas to brake. It also saves an ever so tiny bit of gas as the engine does not have to overcome the urge to roll backwards.


As with all Toyota and Lexus vehicles, the RAV4 comes standard with electronic stability control, a computer system that helps prevent the vehicle from spinning out or sliding straight off the road. It features six airbags, including a full-length side curtain bag. In government testing, the RAV4 received five stars (the highest rating) for driver frontal and side impacts and for rear passenger side impacts, but only four for front passenger impacts and rollover. The RAV4 earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) coveted Top Safety Pick Award.

Space and Cargo

The 2009 RAV4 is offered in three trim levels: base, the performance-oriented Sport and top-of-the-line Limited. Standard engine is a new-for-the-RAV4 2.5-liter, 179-horsepower four-cylinder. The four gets 22 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway. The powertrain de resistance is the 3.5-liter, 269-hp V6. Front-wheel drive is standard and four-wheel-drive (what many would call all-wheel-drive) is optional. The RAV4 boasts very precise and confidence-inspiring steering feel. However, the combination of the RAV4’s chassis and Yokohama tires produced an excessive amount of tire and road noise. Also, there was quite a bit of wind noise around the edges of the windshield.


Changes for 2009 are limited but include a new front grille, front bumper and new taillights. Pricing for the 2009 Toyota RAV4 starts around $22,000. MSRP for the top-of-the-line Limited V6 4x4 is $27,810. Optioned out it from there, a fully loaded RAV4 can easily top $31,000. If “Power to the People” still strikes a chord in your heart, you’d better hurry: 269-horsepower compact SUVs probably aren’t long for this world. (www.toyota.com)

About the Author
Mac Demere is a veteran automotive journalist, test driver and racecar driver who competed in the NASCAR Southwest Tour and 24 Hours of Daytona.