On the road a lot? The RAV4 is the right vehicle for you. -

I don’t know why but there’s something fun about driving a car other than your own. Testing out all the features and functions is something I find quite enjoyable.

At the end of July, I had the opportunity to check out Toyota’s latest RAV4 Platinum edition and spend a week driving it. A road trip was on the docket, as well as tooling about town with the kids.

The RAV4 is a pretty vehicle. Part of it might have been the Blizzard Pearl color I received, but everything about it was sleek and attractive.

A few key facts about the RAV4 Platinum:

The RAV4 averages 25MPG (23 city, 29 highway)
It includes a Power Moonroof, which is a MUST HAVE for my kids.
Dynamic Radar Cruise Control — This was, by far, my favorite feature. As I approached slower cars, the car automatically slows down, and then speeds back up to your set speed once traffic allows.
Blind Spot Monitor — This is MY must have for our next car. I love having a light pop up on my side mirrors alerting me to a car in my blind spot, especially on the highway.

A simple pleasure for me were the two cup holders up front – plenty deep and one even has room for travel mug handle. I love this feature. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal but when you take coffee to school carpool every morning, being able to take your handled mug is a mom win!

The first thing my son said as he got in the car was “WHOA, this car has a lot of trunk space.” And that it does. Plenty of room for luggage and other road trip essentials. We’re gearing up for baseball season and there was more than enough room for our three chairs, a cooler and whatever else we need to throw in.

Comfort is key when driving and the RAV4 is absolutely comfortable. As a mom who spends a lot of time in the car, this is exactly the kind of car I would want to drive. The almost five hour road trip to Charleston was easy peasy. The only real drawback we found was not having AC vents in the back. Now that my daughter is used to them, she can never go back! It’s one of her number one priorities in a car. But despite not having her own vent, there was plenty of space for her and her booster seat.

So what was our overall opinion? I’m a fan of the RAV4 and the kids were too (for the most part). If we didn’t need the third row option, I could totally see myself cruising around Raleigh in it.

The base model RAV4 starts around $25,000. The Platinum edition starts at $34,750.

PIN ME!