The RAV4 has been hailed as a welcome visual departure from a crowded highway of SUV lookalikes. Its wide body has tucked-in sheetmetal at the windows, a sloping hood with large air intakes, kicked-up rear quarter panels sculpted
around big 16-inch tires. The rear is dominated by a side-opening door, which swings from the left.
All models receive notable changes for '98 with a more aggressively styled grille and front fascia and bolder wheel
treatments. Headlamps and taillamps are redesigned for added prominence. Two-door versions now come with a swing-open
window on the rear driver's side. All versions offer privacy glass. The hood on our all-wheel-drive model wrapped around
built-in tow hooks, ready for a tug off the tundra.
New front seatbelt pretensioners and force-limiters are designed to enhance safety in the event of an impact. With the
split-folding rear seat folded flush, it can handle 57.9 cubic feet of goods. However, rear seat leg space is the same as
the two-door.
Powered by a 2.0-liter twin-cam (dohc) four-cylinder engine, the RAV4 comes with either a five-speed manual transmission