Over winter break, we were in Houston visiting family and the weather was very confusing. The first few days it was hot and humid, then it was rainy and cold the next. At one point, we even saw snow on the ground in the early mornings. The snow is very unusual but the rest they say is typical Houston weather. I used to live there about 16 years ago for about 3 years while I was attending the University of Houston. We still go back to visit, because we still have family there, and it’s also the best time to revisit with old college friends. If you’ve ever been there, every where you go takes about 30 to 45 minutes because everything is so spread out, and there are now a lot of toll roads. They just have so much land! Although the road conditions were a bit unpredictable (we were the most scared of black ice and flooding), we felt totally safe in the new 2018 Toyotal RAV-4 Hybrid AND the Toyota C-HR which we were test-driving. Both vehicles are very different, but they were both fun to drive. We were in each of them for one week running errands, exploring the city, visiting friends, and just enjoying the holidays. I’m going to try not to compare the two, because I liked them both, but I might compare them to my Toyota Prius. (Just an FYI – I am a currently a proud owner of a Toyota Prius. It’s low maintenance and great on gas. I just love that thing!)
Hybrid is the way to go!
Ever since I own a Hybrid, I prefer them whenever possible. They are just so good on gas, and although I miss the space in my SUV, expensive gas prices in Los Angeles and Orange County were just painful being a stay-at-home-mom. Sometimes I hesitated to go places in the past, because I had to carefully budget. Sometimes I had to ask myself if I really needed to go across town. After making the switch, I haven’t gone back, and I regret not doing it sooner. When you’re in Houston, you’re on the road a lot just like LA, but Houston is just so spread out, because they have a crazy amount of land. They sure do love their trucks out there too. The Toyota RAV-4 fit right in, and I felt special driving it, because it was a Limited Edition. Mine had a pretty blue/black color which they call Galactic Aqua. At certain angles it looks black which I thought was very cool.
Favorite Feature
One of my favorite features on this limited edition is the backup camera. Can you see it picked up an image of the garage and the driveway? Another cool feature are the lines in the reverse camera monitor. My brother’s drive-way has a weird shape and because it was raining, I was afraid to accidentally drive on his grass which becomes a muddy mess (I have done this and it’s embarrassing). I didn’t drive on the grass this time – Whew!
Highlights:
Some specifications that are important to me. For a full list of specifications, please visit their website at www.toyota.com/rav4/2018/
- Mileage estimates (city/highway/combined) – 34/30/32 est. miles per gallon
- Smart Key System with Push Button Start
- Backup Camera (optional)
- Tire Pressure Monitor
- Seats 5
- Fuel Tank Capacity – 14.8 gallons
- Starts at $27,235 but the limited edition that I drove has a suggested retail price of $34,000
Overall, we really enjoyed driving the RAV-4 around town. It is easy to drive, and it has a luxury feel to it. It was very comfortable, and I can imagine it would be nice for long distances as well. I have already been impressed with the trunk space in my Toyota Prius for my family of four so the RAV-4 would be a nice upgrade for us with more space. I think if we decide to go bigger in the future, the RAV-4 would definitely be a top contender. It’s not super big, and as mentioned, I need it to be a hybrid for gas efficiency.
COMING SOON! – MY 2018 Toyota C-HR Car Review (Part 2)
