D-4 vs GDI - RAV4

Two dominant players in the lifestyle market; two locally loathed engines. ERIC MWENI went bundu bashing and highway plunking with the Toyota Rav 4 (D-4) and Pajero iO (GDI) and tells you which is the lesser evil.

Sheila and Annette love motoring and have a taste for the mobile lifestyle money can buy. Sheila a Rav 4, Annette an iO. As they hand me over the keys of their trusted softroaders, not a tinge of concern on their faces, I keep it at the back of my mind that I’ve to baby the cars in the bigging. But then it strikes me that these ladies are not your everyday Nairobi motorists. One is accustomed to ground speeds of up to 750kph, as a captain for a local airline. The other is well-versed in emergency. In their daily going-ons, Sheila and Annette know what you can do with cars and what cars can do to you. “Break it, fix it,” they warn me. And off, I hit the open road.   

Toyota Rav 4
The hands behind the design of this car were sure of what they were doing. They had beauty and practicality at, forgive the pun, their fingertips and were making car with quite broad appeal… young families, yuppies, teenagers, octogenarians… its how versatile the Rav 4’s appeal can be.  This car is full of sensible touches that make it comfortable and beautiful, while its interior design, though elaborate, is mostly clutter-free. Get behind the wheel and though drivers of pricey German cars won’t tone down their road arrogance in your presence, at least you get the reassurance that your car is more rational for our roads. I nodded silently to this logic as I took a left turn off Mombasa Road towards Simba Colt Motors’ newly opened pre-delivery inspection centre. Long haul trucks that deliver goods to the go downs around the area have left hippo pools on the road. I hit the brakes and watch as a Toyota Prado, Rav 4’s bigger sibling wades through a pool of water, the front bumper almost submerged. I think about Sheila for a moment. But come on! The Rav 4 was made for such conditions too, not just hopping between shopping malls. Delicately, I dip into the pool. I’m expecting a violent spin of the front wheels as it struggles to climb out of the pool. Nothing. The Rav 4 has laudable road manners, steeling the affection it had created in me as I rolled down Mombasa Road at 110Kph. Take off is excellent, even with the air conditioning on, and you can feel the 200Nm of torque take effect as the bucket seats embrace your back.

 

A lot of details were taken into account when this car was designed. The interior has a generous array of cup-holders and compartments ergonomically positioned at various positions for all the car’s five passengers. Several on-board ports inside the car mean any of your passengers can always charge your phone or laptop while on the move. A leather finish on door handles, gear lever and the steering wheel make this car even more comfortable. The Rav 4 also scores high marks for interior space. Besides generous leg and headroom for front and rear seat passengers, it has an ample boot space. The rears seats can not only be folded but can be detached too, turning the car into a veritable ‘pick-up’ or a sleeping cabin.

 

Though this car scores high marks in styling, interior, handling and performance, it does not seem structured to take car of itself. What I’m I saying? An extreme negative rear camber means that you have to change your tyres every so often while you should be wary of getting rear ended by any vehicle that is tall enough to make contact with the spare tire (like other SUVs). With just a minor collision, the rear window is shattered, the hinges and jam are tweaked and expensive major repairs are needed.  This is according to everyday drivers of this 2002 RAV4 who post their reviews on the internet. To solve this problem, probably the rear wheel should be projected out of the rear door (a design you find in the Mercedes M-Class), to act as protection for the rear window in case you are hit from behind. The D-4 engine in this particular model is delicate and has an irritating clacking sound that’s loud enough to be heard not just when the bonnet is open but even as you are driving. The swing-out back door, can do with a door handle that will enable one open it from the inside. As I was detaching the back seats for the photography, it struck me that the back door doesn’t open wide enough, meaning that if you are putting something like a baby chair, you’ve to squeeze it in.