A new Toyota RAV4 debuted last week, and in the 30 years since the original hit ToMoCo showrooms a lot has changed. Today the RAV4 has superseded the Camry as the default car for sensible but unimaginative shoppers. However, the RAV4’s original concept was much more unconventional than the crossover it became.
The RAV4 is the best-selling non-pickup vehicle in America, dethroning the former champion from the same family tree, the Camry, in 2017. Ironically, the Camry is now considered a somewhat sporty car just by existing as a sedan instead of an unnecessarily tall crossover — a category often attributed to the RAV4.
We touched upon the concept last week when Toyota launched the sixth-generation RAV4 alongside a lineup of predecessors from its heritage collection, but the car is interesting enough to warrant a deeper dive.
It all began with the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show concept, whose name was spelled out RAV-Four. To give you a sense of how long ago that was, it was displayed alongside a Toyota Previa concept. Japan was undergoing an RV (the Japanese term for recreational vehicle, as in outdoorsy lifestyle ones, not Winnebagos) boom, but at the time SUVs were ladder-framed, rear-wheel-drive affairs. Driving a Land Cruiser or Patrol had real downsides in not only ride quality, but Japanese registration and fuel costs.
In the Japanese market only the Subaru Leone wagon offered a car-like utility vehicle. So why not something that owners could take to campgrounds and light trails but that steered, handled, and was sized like a regular car? The RAV-Four sported a friendly, rounded friendly design with no sharp edges, a stark contrast to boxy 4x4s like the Montero and Trooper. Toyota described the concept as “a neo-urban 4WD car designed to cater to the active lifestyles of young city dwellers.”
The name was a play on words. Ostensibly it was an acronym for Recreational Active Vehicle 4-Wheel-Drive. But “RAV” sounded out in Japanese is ラブ (pronounced ra bu because there is no L or V sound) is exactly how you would say the English word “love”.
Unique as it was, the RAV-Four concept didn’t make much of a splash. That’s because 1989 was probably the single most influential car show in Japanese history, a real high water mark year for the country’s auto industry.
The RAV-Four shared floorspace with the Honda NSX, R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R, Mazda Eunos Cosmo and NA Roadster, Subaru SVX, Mitsubishi HSX (prototype for the 3000GT) and Eclipse, Nissan Figaro, Autozam AZ-1, and Suzuki Cappuccino, just to name a few. And that’s not including the Toyota booth, which displayed the Celsior, SW20 MR2, Celica GT-Four, Sera, and a long-wheelbase Century limousine. The RAV-Four wasn’t even the most notable Toyota SUV at the show; nearby was the first-ever Land Cruiser Prado, based off of the J70 Land Cruiser.
Despite its monocoque and transverse-engine architecture, the RAV-Four still boasted features attractive to off-roaders. It had a skid plate and contained a winch hidden behind a cover beside the offset grille. It had an integrated roll hoop and removable panels on the roof and rear. One version rode on white wheels reminiscent of those found on rally cars. And with some tweaking of the seats, you could park an entire dirtbike in it.
Toyota built two RAV-Four concepts to display at the Tokyo Motor Show. One wore red paint and black cladding with white wheels, the other had blue paint and silver cladding with gray wheels. Toyota has displayed the blue one more frequently, and it’s unclear whether the red one has survived.
No one could have imagined the duo’s impact in the moment. If someone had predicted that it would eventually outsell the Corolla and Camry Toyota itself would have laughed right in their face. Their central display was the Toyota 4500GT concept, a V8-powered shooting brake.
However, it wouldn’t be fair to blame the RAV4 for the current state of the automotive kingdom. The first generation that debuted five years later, in 1994, was still a unique proposition. Ultimately, it’s fault of the consumer. The RAV-Four was meant to give buyers the option of not buying a big honkin’ rig they didn’t need. But instead of poaching SUV buyers, the RAV4 ended up becoming irresistible to those who would be perfectly fine in a sedan, and the rest is history.
Images courtesy of Toyota.
I want to live in a world with more Cosmos, SVXes, and R32s and fewer BZ4Xes and BMW X6es.
This article made me hungry for one about the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show, with all the legends premiered there, and how did it compare to 1988 and 1990?
Unfortunately it’s held once every 2 years for passenger cars. But 1987 and 1991 were almost as good!
It could mean an even greater difference, 1987 would be presenting stuff from the upswing in the economy but before the bubble, and 1991 would be while the bubble was bursting?
My parents used to take me to the show when it was still in Harumi in the 60’s. I wasn’t much of a car enthusiast but I distinctly remember seeing the Mazda booths with the Cosmo & Luce designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. That was a great location. It’s a bit out a ways now.