Rav 4 Buyers Guide

[redlemon18]

I will be looking for a 3 door Rav 4 soon, 04/05 onwards. Budget is around £3-£4k. Is there anything in particular I should look out for?

[Buzypea]

Avoid diesel and automatic and you should be fine. My missus ran an 03 plate 2.0GX 5 door for a couple of years and apart from an oxygen sensor failure it was completely reliable.

[redlemon18]

Is the diesel engine a bit of a lemon?

[Buzypea]

Toyota diesels in general aren’t the best for reliability. There were flywheel issues with the year you’re after and head gaskets are known to fail prematurely. If you’re going for a 3 door I think they are 2wd so a petrol version should be ok on fuel consumption. The 4wd petrols are very thirsty, ours averaged around 28mpg.