While the wheelbase remains the same, the RAV4 has been stretched by some 25mm. At the same time, the width was widened by 30mm, and the distance between the front seats and rear bench was increased by 120mm. All these improvements lead to a cabin that’s significantly more spacious now – passengers will no longer complain of leg space scarcity and you don’t have to “rub shoulders” with the person next to you over long distance hauls. Headroom won’t pose much of a problem either, as long as, like me, you’re below 1.75 metres tall. Its front two seats provide adequate support, but the ones seen at the back, well, they just feel a tad too hard for my liking. Thankfully, you can choose the degree of incline for the backrest, which somehow makes up for it.

The RAV4 still remain as utilitarian as before. A fair bit of effort was obviously put into the design aspect – it gets a well-designed instrument cluster, modern dashboard layout and also designer door grips. The well-sized steering wheel also has a nice feel. But surprisingly, common goodies seen in even cheaper sedans are missing – namely digital climate control and steering-mounted controls. Also, the wiper and signal stalks look familiar – wait, I think I’ve seen those on the Wish and Picnic. On the bright side, the RAV4 comes with a locally-fitted 2-DIN audio head unit that doubles up as the reverse camera screen.

Boot space is cavernous by SUV standard, and Toyota was even kind enough to make the removable cargo net and boot tray a standard fitment for the RAV4. I’m also glad to report that in an event of a need for more space, you can simply fold down the rear seat’s backrest to get van-like loading capability. Heck, you can probably put a fridge in there too…