Altitude for RAV4

IT WAS first seen on the mid-size Kluger SUV last year and now Toyota has applied the ‘Altitude’ moniker to a new special-edition version of the RAV4 compact SUV, of which 800 examples will be produced in Japan between June and September.

While the first front-drive variant lowered RAV pricing in Australia to $28,990 from April, Toyota says the RAV4 Altitude offers more than $1700 worth of added value for $32,490 - $500 more than the entry-level RAV4 CV AWD manual upon which it is based.

Available in both (five-speed) manual and (four-speed) automatic guises, the RAV4 Altitude is distinguished by exterior extras such as 17-inch alloy (instead of steel) wheels, roof rails, rear parking sensors, rear privacy glass and an ‘Altitude’ exterior badge.

Inside, the special RAV4 – which is available in Glacier White, Silver Pearl, Graphite Ebony and Wildfire exterior paint colours - gains a six-CD sound system with LCD display, a premium steering wheel and gearshifter, USB connectivity and Bluetooth phone and audio streaming functionality.

All RAV4s continue to come with electronic stability control, ABS brakes, hill-start assist, electric power steering and, for automatic versions, hill descent control.

An automatic transmission remains priced at a further $2000, with metallic paint costing another $350 on all RAV4s.

Once Australia’s top-selling compact SUV, the RAV4 has been outsold by Subaru’s evergreen Forester since 2008. So far this year Toyota Australia has sold about 6900 RAVs – up 12.3 per cent on 2009 figures but 500 fewer than the Forester.

The RAV4’s share of the booming compact SUV segment has tumbled from more than 19 per cent in 2006 to just 12.5 per cent share to June this year.