Five-Point Inspection: 2013 Toyota RAV4 XLE FWD

Does Bold Equal Beautiful?

Toyota has gone to great lengths to give the new RAV4 a more distinctive exterior style. A new front fascia features chrome accents on the grill that protrude into the projection headlight clusters. Out back the most obvious change is the removal of the door mounted spare tire; it is now located inside the RAV4 underneath the cargo floor.

This allows for the RAV4 to finally have a conventional lift-back tailgate instead of the swing out design synonymous with this crossover. The rear window is recessed from the lower tailgate to add another distinctive styling touch.