Best Year for a Used Toyota RAV4

For most buyers it is 2021 through 2025. Those are the settled years of the fifth generation, with the more powerful engine and eight-speed automatic that arrived in 2019, Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 as standard equipment, and both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built in. If you want to spend less, 2017 and 2018 are the value entry point, because the driver assistance package became standard equipment on the RAV4 for 2017 and those cars are now genuinely cheap. The 2019 and 2020 cars sit in between and are a good buy if the price is right.

It is, if you actually cover the miles. The fifth-generation RAV4 Hybrid returns somewhere around 40 mpg combined against roughly 28 to 30 for the gas cars, which is a real difference on a daily Sanford-to-Raleigh run up US-1 and a much smaller one on short errands around town. The hybrid also comes with all-wheel drive as standard, so you are buying two things at once. On low annual mileage the fuel savings take a long time to repay the price difference, so do the arithmetic on your own commute rather than on the sticker.

A great deal. The fifth generation moved to a new platform, gained a more powerful 2.5-liter engine paired to an eight-speed automatic in place of the old six-speed, and adopted a boxier, more upright body with better outward visibility. Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 became standard across the lineup. The cabin is a clear step up in materials and layout. It is the single biggest jump in the RAV4's recent history, which is why the 2019 model year is the line most shoppers should be deciding around.

No, and this is the easiest thing to assume wrongly. On the gas cars, front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is an option, so plenty of used RAV4s on the market are front-drive. On the 2016 through 2025 hybrids, all-wheel drive is standard, because the system uses a separate electric motor to turn the rear wheels. The redesigned 2026 hybrid changed that, with front-wheel drive standard on the base LE. If all-wheel drive matters to you, confirm it on the specific car rather than on the model, and check the badging and the window sticker rather than taking a listing at its word.

Toyota's factory warranties transfer with the vehicle at no cost, which is not true of every brand. The basic coverage runs three years or 36,000 miles and the powertrain coverage runs five years or 60,000 miles, both measured from the original in-service date rather than from the day you buy it. On a hybrid, the hybrid-specific components and the battery are tracked separately and run considerably longer than the powertrain term. Ask for the in-service date so you can work out exactly what is left rather than guessing from the model year.

Confirm the service history is documented rather than assumed, particularly oil changes. Check whether the car is front-drive or all-wheel drive and that it matches what you were told. Fold the rear seats down and back up, and load something into the cargo area so you know it fits your life. Run every climate control and confirm Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connects with your own phone, since the earlier cars have neither. On a hybrid, ask whether the hybrid system has been serviced on schedule and ask specifically about the battery coverage. Then have an independent pre-purchase inspection done.