It can be said that the previous decade was the glory era of the Toyota RAV4. When the Fortuner arrived at the same price point 10 years ago, buyers flocked to the diesel SUV for its seven seats and macho countenance.
Today, the latest RAV4 soldiers on in a fun compact SUV package with bold looks to match its spirited drive. Well, it’s about to get bolder. We recently saw photos of a face-lifted RAV4 online, and we’re strangely drawn to it.
The updated RAV4 looks similar to the hybrid version we reported about in April. It has a more prominent lower grille, new LED headlights, and a restyled rear bumper-and-taillight combo.
Beyond the aesthetics, Toyota’s compact SUV has more safety features thanks to its forward-facing camera and millimeter-wave radar. Its new electronic nannies are a pre-collision safety system, automated braking, active cruise control, automatic high beam, lane departure alert, blind spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert.
Of course, features may vary per market, including ours. And this is the part where we can confirm from a source at Toyota Motor Philippines that this face-lifted RAV4 will arrive in our market before 2015 ends. TMP usually holds an annual Christmas lunch with the media, and this might be the event where the carmaker reveals this stylish RAV4 update.
Other things we look forward to with the refreshed RAV4 are a quieter and more insulated cabin, and revised shock absorbers and coil springs. But what we really want to see is if it looks as good in the metal as it does in the photos. We’re counting the days.
