2008 Toyota RAV4 Limited I4 4X4

Dreaming of Driving your Rav4, check out the specs before you buy. Read and be informed.

Transmission

* Adaptive Automatic Transmission
* 4-Speed Adaptive Automatic Transmission With Overdrive and Floor Mounted Shifter

Steering

* Power Rack and Pinion Steering
* Telescopic Steering Column
* Tilt Steering Column

Suspension

* Independent MacPherson Strut Front Suspension With Coil Springs and Gas Charged Shock Absorbers
* Independent Double Wishbone Rear Suspension With Coil Springs and Gas Charged Shock Absorbers
* Rear Stabilizer Bar

Electrical

* 2 Front Power Outlets
* Cargo Area Power Outlet
* 12-Volt Battery
* 100-Amp Alternator
* Audio and Security Pre-Wiring

Safety

* Seat Mounted Front Side Airbags
* Passenger Airbag Cutoff Sensor
* Front and Rear Side Head Curtain Airbags
* Front and Rear Automatic Locking Retractors
* Front Seatbelt Height Adjusters
* Rear 3-Point Center Seatbelt
* Emergency Fuel Shut-Off Device
* Driver Airbag With Dual Stage Deployment
* Front Passenger Airbag With Dual Stage Deployment
* Star Safety System(TM)
* Front and Rear 3-Point Seatbelts
* Side Guard Door Beams
* Front Pretensioners With Force Limiters

Anti-Theft & Locks

* Child Safety Door Locks Located On Rear Doors
* Power Door Locks Operated Via Remote
* Vehicle Anti-Theft Via Alarm and Engine Immobilizer

Remote Controls & Remote Releases

* Keyless Entry Operated Via Key Fob
* Multi-Function Remote Operates Anti-Theft, Door Lock/Unlock and Illuminated Entry
* Remote Fuel Door Release

Entertainment, Communication & Navigation

* AM/FM Radio With 6 Speakers Total; 6-Disc CD Changer; MP3/WMA Player
* Auxiliary Audio Input Jack
* Radio Antenna

Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning

* Automatic Climate Control
* Interior Dust Pollen Air Filter
* Separate Driver/Front Passenger Climate Controls

Interior, Design, Decor & Floor Covering

* Carpet Located In Passenger Cabin and Cargo Area
* Leather Steering Wheel
* Leather Located On Shift Knob

If you are convinced now, head to your nearest Toyota dealer.

The LandRover Features

If the Land Rover LR2 doesn't knock the socks off of shoppers for an SUV of this size and price, nothing will. It offers more content than they have reason to expect, compared to what's out there. Think of it as a baby Range Rover Sport, for at least 20 grand less. It costs about $8,000 less than the next Land Rover up the scale, the LR3, and has a more powerful and smoother engine: an all-new, high-tech, inline six-cylinder built by Volvo, mated to a sophisticated six-speed automatic transmission.

The styling is clean and handsome, and the interior roomy, with leather seating surfaces, wood trim, a panoramic sunroof, fold-flat rear seats, quality sound system and all the power stuff as standard equipment. The body structure is second to none in its rigidity and safety, with liberal use of ultra-high-strength steel in the door beams and other places. The list of electronic safeguards goes on and on. ABS, EBD, EBA, DSC, ARM, CBC, HDC, GRC (they're all explained below; each could save your life, or at the least keep the vehicle under control far better than any human). Also Terrain Response, with four settings for different driving conditions: pavement; gravel, grass and snow; mud and ruts; or sand.

The long-travel suspension uses all the acquired knowledge of Land Rover engineers, and delivers a firm and stable ride in all conditions, while providing superlative cornering for an SUV that's 68.5 inches high. The vented disc brakes are big and bomb-proof. The traction system is made by Haldex, the leader in all-wheel-drive design, and it's state of the art: electronic rather than hydraulic, making it faster and more sensitive than anything that's ever found its way into an SUV.

The Land Rover LR2 has it all, for a five-seat SUV. Safety equipment includes electronic stability control with anti-roll technology, and anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist. There are seven airbags: two-stage frontal bags, side-impact bags for the front seats, airbag curtains for both rows, and a final small airbag for the driver's knees. There's also Hill Descent Control, which keeps the vehicle at six mph going down steep hills (even, or especially, on ice), and Gradient Release Control, which holds the vehicle on a steep hill for a moment before letting it creep up to that speed. All that's lacking in the safety equipment is a tire pressure monitor

The New Hummer HX

Over at the Detroit Car Show held last January, Hummer has unleashed its new baby.

Looking to challenge Jeep Wrangler head-on, Hummer has come up with an entry-level offering called the HX. Riding on a 103.0-in. wheelbase, the open-top HX measures 171.0 in. overall and is powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 producing 304 bhp and 272 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The suspension features an independent front with coil-over shocks and a semi-trailing link rear. Brembo 6-piston caliper front and 4-piston rear disc brakes are found beneath 20-in. alloy wheels.

This rugged, go-anywhere, do-anything SUV has the angular, bare bones look of the original H1, but on a much smaller scale. The face of the vehicle has round headlamps in square housing, the seven-slot grille opening and an upright front windshield, all classic Hummer cues. In addition, the slant-back design of the HX and the matte olive paint scheme are intended to echo the military origins of the Hummer brand.

The top can be reconfigured from a closed cabin for all four passengers, an open rear cargo area like an SUT, or a completely open roadster. The exposed hinges allow the two doors to be removed, and the composite fender flares can also be detached for additional clearance on tight off-road trails. -->

Are you Sporty enough for a KIA Sportage

Close your eyes and try for a moment to picture the Kia Sportage. Tough isnt it? I write about cars for a living and my recall is patchy. Its like trying to remember how an old song goes with a different track playing in the background. Try as I might, I keep coming up with either a previous generation Toyota RAV-4 or a Suzuki Grand Vitara.

The Sportage itself slips from the memory as if it were coated with so much Teflon. In a bid to make the Sportage more memorable, Kia went back to the drawing board and returned with the current facelifted version.The underpinnings of the Sportage are the same as those of Hyundais Tucson 4x4 which is no great handicap. In fact, the Kia inherited a decent tarmac biased chassis with either two-wheel-drive or part time four-wheel-drive and some modest off road ability - a perfect set-up, in other words, for the target market. Kias credibility when it comes to building 4x4s has been boosted enormously by the excellent Sorento family 4x4 and the smaller Sportage augments this reputation. Its a vehicle with a very different focus to its predecessor. That car was surprisingly capable off-road but felt unsophisticated on it. The current car is at its best on the tarmac with a modicum of ruggedness thrown in for light off-road jaunts, which is just how like their compact 4x4s. With tweaks to the styling introduced on the latest car, it looks well capable of making an impact. Power is supplied by one of three engines. The overwhelming majority of buyers will pick either the 2.0-litre petrol engine or the 2.0-litre CRDi diesel but there is also a 2.7-litre V6 petrol alternative for those with deeper pockets and a hunger for extra power. Of the two 2.0-litre units, the petrol has fractionally more horsepower with 140bhp to the CRDis 138bhp but its the oil-burner that feels more forceful with 305Nm of torque between 1,800rpm and 2,500rpm. This slug of pulling power arrives all at once so smoothness and flexibility arent particular strong points of the CRDi engine but it feels significantly more muscular than the petrol which delivers 184Nm at 4,500rpm. The V6 has 173bhp and is the only engine that makes the Sportage anything approaching quick.

Show the Sportage a straight, well-surfaced road and it serves up a good standard of ride comfort and refinement. In the past, the problems tended to start when the going got twisty or the surface deteriorated. The recent facelift aimed to address this however and the current models feature revised dampers as well as a tweaked power steering system. The ride has grown firmer and that helps the Sportage resist body roll when cornered vigorously its also less liable to become unsettled over bumps in the road.

The Sportage adopts a few MPV-style practicality features. The rear seat cushion and the backrest are a case in point, adopting Kia’s Fold and Dive system. Whilst it may sound like a tactic taught by Argentinean football coaches, it is in fact a method of creating a spacious, square-sided and completely flat cargo area. The front passenger seat backrest can also be folded flat to house extra long loads and at the back there’s even a flip-up rear window which means that items can be dropped into the luggage area without having to open the tailgate.

The compact 4x4 sector has exploded of late with virtually every mainstream manufacturer having cobbled together an entrant of some description. Despite the improvements made, the Sportage still campaigns at the lower end of this market offering value for money and lots of equipment in a competently engineered package. With most of the entrants into this sector aiming quite a bit higher than the Sportage, it could easily carve out a profitable niche for itself by undercutting the major players and appealing to family buyers on a budget. Sportage diesel buyers expecting to recoup the extra outlay they’ve made to upgrade from the 2.

With other mainstream compact 4x4s growing progressively bigger and more expensive, the Kia Sportage has remained close to its roots at the lower end of the market sector. Even the latest facelift has done little to enliven its appearance but the Kia appeals on a different level to the fashionable offerings at the opposite end of the compact 4x4 spectrum and there’s something to be said for keeping things low key in the current anti-4x4 climate. With its industry-leading warranty and strong value proposition, the Sportage is an uncomplicated sort. It should prove that there’s a ready market out there for an average compact 4x4 at an eye-catching price.