The Toyota RAV4 was redesigned for 2019 and is significantly improved. That it only placed fifth out of seven competitors in our recent comparison test of compact SUVs is less a reflection on its individual merits and more on the fact that the competition in that class is just so fierce. The RAV4 may not have ranked high in our compact SUV head-to-head, but when it comes to audience interest among the car shoppers and automotive-news consumers who visit Cars.com, it’s the RAV4’s top-five list, and everyone else is just ranking on it.
And at this point — after routinely landing in the No. 1 spot among our most popular reviews nearly every week since it published — it seems the RAV4 is just toying with us, like the shark in the classic film “The Meg.” (Due to an inside-baseball quirk in our analytics reporting, the RAV4 review technically ranked twice this week, at Nos. 1 and 2.)
Some of the 2019 RAV4’s aforementioned improvements came on the interior, which our Jennifer Geiger praised in her review.
“The old cabin’s bland look and budget materials have been replaced with a sharper design and more padding,” Geiger wrote. “The Limited model I tested had ample cush in knee and elbow touch points, as well as handsome, two-tone imitation-leather seats and surfaces. The hybrid model had less padding for elbows, but its interior still stood out, with pops of chrome trim and an interesting seat upholstery pattern. Toyota cranked the style dial to 11 on the Adventure model, jazzing up its gray and brown color palette with pops of orange on the seats, doors and dash.”
A link to Geiger’s full review is below, where the RAV4 sits in (cumulative) first place place … as it has since the discovery of fire.
The popularity of SUVs did not prevent a mid-size family sedan from taking the top spot in our video rankings, as our First Look at the redesigned 2020 Hyundai Sonata grabs first place. Last year’s look at the hardcore Mercedes-AMG GT R takes second place, and a peek at our time in the 2020 Jeep Gladiator comes in third. Our First Look at the updated 2020 Subaru Outback from the 2019 New York International Auto Show is fourth, and our First Drive of the 2019 BMW X7 rounds out the list.
Check out the top five reviews and videos of the week below.
Top 5 Reviews
1. 2019 Toyota RAV4 Review: Delivers More, Costs More
2. 2019 Honda Passport Review: Shorter Brother Improves on Pilot
3. 2019 Ram 1500 Review: Top Luxury or Work, But Not Both
4. 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Review: Practicality Over Performance
5. 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Review: A Mixed Bag of Big Improvements
Top 5 Videos
1. 2020 Hyundai Sonata: First Look
2. 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT R
3. 2020 Jeep Gladiator: A Ride on the Wild Side
4. 2020 Subaru Outback: First Look
5. 2019 BMW X7: First Drive
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