The Toyota RAV4 is celebrating three decades since it reshaped the automotive landscape, during which time it has become a global SUV icon.
In March 1994, the Geneva Motor Show hosted the launch of a new type of vehicle: a compact, all-wheel drive SUV based on a monocoque body.
The Toyota RAV4 was an original, being agile, versatile and designed to meet the demands of modern life. The term “SUV” was unfamiliar at the time, but RAV4 set the trend from the outset, receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from media and customers.
The designers were faithful to the original vision presented by Toyota’s first RAV-FOUR concept car, revealed at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show. The priorities were generous space within a compact, sporty and distinctive body design and a raised seating position, bringing more of the road into view and generating a more confident, secure driving experience.
Strong off-road capabilities should combine with performance and road comfort, while meeting the highest safety standards and environmental performance. Based on those principles, RAV4 has consistently reinvented itself and raised the bar in the recreational SUV segment through five generations so far.
Innovation has been at the heart of its development, witnessed by the early adoption of efficient new drivetrain technologies. As early as 1997, RAV4 expressed Toyota’s commitment to exploring new technologies to reduce environmental impact when a battery electric version was launched in selected markets.
Later came the introduction of Toyota’s class-leading hybrid (HEV) technology into the SUV segment with the third generation in 2016, complementing the established line-up of petrol and diesel engines.
A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) entered the range in 2020, building Toyota’s multi-path technology strategy towards achieving carbon neutrality. This commits to offering a range of powertrains appropriate for different customer needs, market conditions and local infrastructure.
These electrified options also enhanced the RAV4 driving experience, adding the quiet, smooth performance of hybrid together with higher performance from more powerful motors. Meanwhile, through the innovative use of new platforms and updated suspension technology, Toyota has produced a more confident, stable, and rewarding ride with each generation.
Progress during the last 30 years has gone beyond performance and efficiency to increase practicality as well. This includes generous luggage capacity – when the rear seats are in use or folded down for extra space – cabin comfort and the provision of increasingly sophisticated onboard multimedia systems.
In common with other Toyota models, RAV4 has continually benefited from the advanced safety and driver assistance systems provided as standard in successive generations of Toyota Safety Sense, helping drivers avoid an ever-wider range of common road accident risks.
By staying true to its original philosophy and anticipating to the changing needs of customers, RAV4 has remained an icon among SUVs and become a sales success story across the world.
In 2023, cumulative sales passed the 14 million mark, with more than 2.5 million of these being to European customers. The UK remains one of the model’s largest markets in Europe.
There have been five generations of the car and 14 million sold around the world since it went on show in Geneva in 1994.
