First Drive: 2013 Toyota RAV4

After two years of CarJunkie's Car Review, it is time that I reveal my everyday vehicle. I drive a 2007 Toyota RAV4 with the optional 3.5L V6 that produces 268 hp and 248 lb-ft of torque. It has been a workhorse. It help me get from Houston to San Antonio and back to Houston when I was in college. It help move my grand mother from her house of 55 years into her new place. It help me move into my new apartment. I have the sports edition which includes charcoal colored clothe seats and sports-tuned suspension. One feature I like on my RAV4 is the swing-out gate in the back with the spare tire on the exterior of the gate. I will get back to this fact later. But, today is the first day of the 2013 Houston Auto Show and as part of the auto show is Ride and Drive. Most participating manufacturers hold their test drives on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Two manufacturers started their test drives today. One being Toyota. Toyota has seven vehicles for test drives. I already test drove the Prius last year and did not want to be bored again. Toyota has the new RAV4 available for test driving. As someone who currently drives an older RAV4, I had to take this car out for the spin.

The first I notice about the RAV4 is the exterior design. One issue with my RAV4 is its boxy styling. The new RAV4 has a more sporty aggressive design. The front looks meaner than the previous RAV4s. I like how the grill and headlights are integrated into the design. The swing-out gate is replaced by a lift gate in the back. The spare tire that had previously been located on the rear gate is now located under the floor in the trunk.The interior is nothing special. You can get touchscreen navigation system as an option.

As far as drive quality, it is a Toyota and it is an SUV. The RAV4 handles bumps rather well. I hardly felt the bumps and I went over them. The car has responsive handling. I felt comfortable behind the wheel. The seat and suspension is softer in the new RAV4 than in my RAV4, but I have the sports-tuned suspension.

For the new RAV4, the only engine available is a 2.5L I4 engine that produces 176 hp and 172 lb-ft of torque. It goes from  0 to 60 mph in 8.9, which is on the slow side. Gone from the new RAV4 is the optional 3.5L V6 engine, yet the current Toyota Camry has the optional V6. The RAV4 I test drove did not feel as quick as my current RAV4. It also is not as much fun to drive as my RAV4. 

For as improved as the new RAV4 is on the outside, I still prefer my RAV4. Why Toyota decided not include an optional V6 for the RAV4, I have no idea. The RAV4 needs the optional V6. Car companies can get away with using I4 engines on compact cars and subcompacts because they are lightweight. As far as SUVs and mid-size car, they need to have either a V6 as the standard engine or an optional engine. My RAV4 has a 0-60 mph time of under 7.0 seconds. Not having that extra power really hurts the driving experience of the RAV4. Also, the swing-out gate and the spare tire on the outside of the gate give the RAV4 personality. It helps RAV4 stand out. What really hurts in the extra storage space under the floor in the back. Instead of having that extra storage space, you get the spare tire storage. I like the swing-out gate because if my two hands are carrying items, I can close the gate with my hip. I cannot do that with the lift gate. That ends my rant on the new RAV4.

Overall, the new RAV4 is not the same vehicle as older RAV4s. It is much easier on the eyes, but it does not have the features that make a RAV4 what it is. If you prefer the lift gate over the swing-out gate, then take the new RAV4 on a test drive. If you want a reliable vehicle that is good for road trips or a good car for college, the RAV4 is still a good option. The RAV4 still needs more power from 2.5L I4 engine, but it is comfortable to drive. Toyota kept the all-wheel drive system as an option of the new RAV4, which has front-wheel drive as standards. Prices for the new RAV4 start at $23,300. A fully loaded RAV4 Limited with all-wheel drive costs $28,410. The RAV4 is still good value for a compact SUV, it just can be so much better with the addition of a V6 engine.

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First Drive: 2013 Toyota Prius C

The Toyota Prius has been around since 1997. The Prius is a front engine, front-wheel drive, four door sedan that comes only with a gas-electric hybrid drivetrain. The thrid-generation Prius came out in 2010. In 2011, Toyota came out with an extended hatchback wagon version of the Prius, called the Prius V. In 2012, Toyota released the Prius C, a subcompact version of the Prius. In Japan, the Prius C is known as the Toyota Aqua. The Prius C is a front engine, front-wheel drive, five door subcompact hatchback. I first saw the Prius C as the 2012 Houston Auto Show. On day one of the 2013 Houston Auto Show, I was able to test drive one.

The Toyota Prius was never a pretty car. The original Prius was a four-door sedan featuring a bland exterior.  The Prius got a redesign in 2004 and a styling refinement in 2010. The best way to describe is unique. The Prius C is nothing special. I really do not like the front end of the Prius C. It looks like the face of a fish. The Prius C also lacks sleek side lines. It instead has a subpar side profile. The Prius C has one of the worst stylings I have seen on modern cars. In my book, the Prius C is an eye sore. The interior of the Prius C is not much better. I felt cramped in the Prius C. I did not have much leg room or head room behind the wheel. The seat was adequate in comfort. It did not try to kill my back. I have sat in more comfortable seats in other cars. The interior itself is nothing special. Upper trim levels feature Toyota's infotainment system, Entune, which is used with a compatible smart phone. I did not test this feature out on the test drive. Overall, the Prius C is not easy on the eye and the interior is bland and cramped.

The Toyota Prius C is powered by a 1.5L I4 engine that produces 73 hp and 82 lb-ft of torque as well as an electric motor that produces 60 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque. The combined output is 99 hp and mated to a CVT automatic transmission. The Prius C also has a 0.9 kWh nickel-metal hydride battery pack. The Prius C goes from 0 to 60 mph in 10.6 seconds and reaches a top speed of 105 mph. The Prius C has a smooth ride, but it was very noisy inside the Prius C. I drove the standard Prius in 2012 and it was quiet inside. Why Toyota decision not to add sound dampening material to the Prius C is a mistake. Also, the Prius C is just slow. I drove the standard Prius on the highway and I was worried that I was going to get hit by another car since I could not accelerate properly to change lanes or even get on the highway. Since the test drive was done at the Houston Auto Show, there was no highway driving, which is a good thing since the Prius C is even slower than the standard Prius. Prices for the Prius C start at $19,710. The Prius C is a cheap car with underwhelming performance.

Overall, the Prius C is one of the most disappointing cars I have driven. I named it my worst car to come out in 2012, and I stand by my decision. The Prius C has poor styling plus an interior that is nothing special. The Prius C has low engine output and poor performance. This was not a fun car to drive, especially since it was noisy inside. This is one of the worst cars I have driven. I did not drive anything this bad in 2012 and there were maybe few other cars that were just as bad or worse that I drove at the 2013 Houston Auto Show. Avoid test driving this car at all costs. The Prius C sucks. Yet, Toyota Prius fans might look into the Prius C if they want a smaller version of the standard Prius.

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First Drive: 2013 Toyota Prius V

The Toyota Prius came out in 1997 and is the face of hybrid vehicles. The Prius is so popular that Toyota has created a Prius Family. There is the standard Prius, a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius, the Prius C, and the Prius V. The Prius V is a front-engine, front-wheel drive, compact MPV with a hybrid drivetrain. I first saw a Prius V in a movie theater parking garage in early 2012 and at the 2012 Houston Auto Show. At the 2013 Houston Auto Show, I took one out for a test drive.

The Toyota Prius is not easy on the eye. The Prius V looks like a Prius with a larger rear end. There are no sleek body lines on the Prius V. The lights on the bottom corners of the front bumper hurt the styling of the Prius V. The Prius V is an eye sore. One advantage of the larger hatchback is more headroom for rear passengers. I hit my head on the roof when I sat in the back of the standard Prius. The Prius V has the same interior as the standard Prius. I still do not like that the gear changer is on the dashboard, and not between the driver and passenger seats. Behind the wheel, I had a good amount of headroom and legroom. Plus the seat was comfortable. But Toyota should have given the Prius V its own interior instead of putting the interior from the Prius in the Prius V.

The Prius V is powered by a 1.8L I4 engine that produces 98 hp and 105 lb-ft of torque and an electric motor that produces 80 hp and 153 lb-ft of torque. The combined output is 134 hp and includes a 1.3 kWh nickel-metal hydride battery pack. The Prius V goes from 0 to 60 mph in 10.3 seconds and reaches a top speed of 103 mph. I have driven the Prius and the Prius V and the Prius V felt quicker than the Prius. Both have the same drivetrain and the Prius V is heavier than the Prius, but the Prius V just seemed faster. The Prius V drove smoothly on Houston roads. If I did a second test drive, I would do highway driving to see if it can handle highway speeds, something that the standard Prius could not do. Also, it was quiet in the Prius V. It was quite noisy inside the baby Prius C. Still, this was not a fun car to drive. Prices for the Prius V start at $26,650.

Overall, the Prius V is subpar. I have driven its competitor, the Ford C-Max, and I had more fun in the C-Max. But, I had more fun in the Prius V than I did in the Prius. Toyota needs to greatly improve the styling of the Prius familly. The Prius family line of cars is hard on the eyes. I understand that Toyota designed the Prius family with a low air drag coefficient, 0.25, but the exterior styling suffers greatly for it. The interior is nothing special for the Prius V, especially since the interior is the same as the interior in the Prius. The Prius V has the same drivetrain as the Prius, but it is slightly heavier. Car companies need to realize that if you are going to add weight to a car, you have to up the power output of the engine or the performance suffers. The Prius V somehow felt quicker than the standard Prius. It might have been that I was driving the Prius in Eco mode and the Prius V in standard mode. I am not a fan of the Prius family. I think the Prius cars are boring to drive. If excitement and fun have to be sacrificed in order to get a car with an EPA estimated 45+ mpg, then it is not worth it. I cannot recommend the Prius V over the Ford C-Max. The Prius V is not as bad as the Prius C, but it is still a subpar car. Yet, fans of the Prius who want a slightly larger car would go for the Prius V. If you are looking for a fuel efficient car and want to have some fun while driving, look elsewhere. Plus, there are much better cars than the Prius V four around the same price. For its bland interior, horrendous exterior, and underwhelming power and performance, the Toyota Prius is a pass.

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