  2013 Honda CR-V LX AWD & 2013 Toyota RAV4 XLE FWD. Click image to enlarge |
Design
Interior design is perhaps more subjective than feature counting, but despite Toyota’s efforts to liven up their interiors, they may have missed the mark. While I do like the essence of the layered dash and leather-stitched panel, it actually hides a row of buttons under its lip that made it hard for me to locate and reach the seat-heater switch. Everything in the CR-V is easy to reach and clearly marked, although its basic features meant there was little to control relative to the RAV4’s navigation-equipped and touchscreen-controlled infotainment system.
And then there is the quality of materials.
The RAV4 interior is by no means Lexus quality, but it is clearly better than the CR-V, which is very much an economy car in its simplicity and basic materials.
The CR-V is awash in hard plastics, while the RAV4 is updated with quality materials, although they may have added one material too many in the tacky carbon-fibre-patterned shifter gate. Oh, and having a molded plastic imitation leather stitching on the steering heel hub right next to the genuinely stitched leather dash is just wrong.
My co-tester on evaluation day, Jeff Wilson, was turned off: “CR-V’s interior design is much cleaner and simpler – I greatly prefer it. By comparison, I counted at least ten different materials, colours or textures inside the wildly over-styled RAV4.”
Sometimes, simple is best.
But exterior design is not one of those times. How does the saying go? Fortune favours the bold. The RAV4’s creased and sculpted surfaces are eye-catching and it won Jeff over: “To my eye, the RAV4 is a much more attractive rig than the bulbous, awkward-looking CRV.” While I appreciate some details on the RAV4, particularly the crisp line that wraps around the front fenders, the nose seems too pointy, and the flat ‘shelf’ of the tailgate below the rear window is ungainly (though perhaps aerodynamically functional) and I see nothing to recommend it over the CR-V’s anonymous yet less fussy design. Despite my objections, I’ll concede to the majority as I have heard many others positive comments about the RAV4’s interior and exterior design.
    2013 Honda CR-V LX AWD & 2013 Toyota RAV4 XLE FWD. Click image to enlarge |
However, one other oddity or oversight of the RAV4’s design is the placement of the tailgate handle right below the rear window – it’s just too high, which makes it harder for anyone, but especially shorter people, to lift the tailgate. Perhaps this is a product of Toyota’s recent switch to the vertical tailgate instead of the side-hinged door, but the CR-V’s handle is conveniently located at the very bottom of the tailgate just above the bumper.
A quick note about safety: The 2013 RAV4 has yet to be rated by the IIHS or NHTSA, but we expect that it will match the CR-V’s Top Safety Pick and Five Star Overall ratings.
So, the RAV4’s design seems to make a better first impression, as does interior quality, but the CR-V is quietly a very smart package without any real marks against except dullness.
