1998 Toyota RAV4 Review | Drive Chicago

1998 Toyota RAV4

Small SUV king.

by: Dan Jedlicka

The spunky looking, $15,388-$18,708 RAV4 enters its third year as a popular model in the growing field of smaller, lighter sport/utility vehicles. It's rigidly built and very carlike because it has parts from various Toyota models.
The 1998 RAV4 looks sharper. It has a new grille and front fascia with quad multi-reflector headlights and bolder taillights. Two-door models now are offered with a swing-open window on the rear driver's side.

There's a new three-spoke steering wheel that looks and feels good. But the revised instrument cluster makes gauges harder to read under certain light conditions.

The two-door RAV4 looks sportier than the four-door model, but the latter is 16.2 inches longer and considerably roomier. Four 6-footers fit fairly well in the RAV4 four-door, although they have little room to spare and the driver's seat should move back farther for a tall person.

A four-wheel independent suspension delivers a pretty good ride unless the RAV4 is taken on undulating or patchy pavement, where short wheelbases of both models--especially the two-door--cause the ride to get choppy.

The RAV4's engine gains two horsepower and a little more torque for 1998. But the 2-liter, four-cylinder still is small and noisy. The 127-horsepower engine delivers decent acceleration in town, but many will want more power for merges into fast traffic and 65-plus m.p.h. passing maneuvers.

The standard five-speed manual transmission helps provide the best performance. A four-speed automatic is optional for all models except the two-door, all-wheel-drive RAV4. It shifts crisply, but causes acceleration to noticeably suffer.

A driver finds himself with his foot to the floor much of the time to keep up with traffic with either transmission, and that causes fuel economy to suffer.

Estimated fuel economy is in the low 20s in the city and high 20s on highways for both front-drive and all-wheel-drive RAV4 models. But I only got about 22 m.p.g. during an even mix of city/highway driving with an all-wheel-drive RAV4 automatic.

The RAV4 has nimble handling that makes it fun to drive. The power steering is light but almost too quick on highways; let your attention wander and you might find yourself halfway in the next lane. Braking is good, with an easily modulated pedal.

Front seats are very supportive, and the high controls are easily reached in the rather noisy interior. Control stalks for the turn signals and windshield wipers work smoothly, but climate controls are notchy. And you almost need a flashlight to unlock a RAV4 with power door locks at night because the unlock control on the driver's door isn't illuminated or conveniently located.

Narrow rear doorways hinder entry and exit to the backseat, but the four-door model's cargo area is large--and is impressively spacious with the rear seat folded all the way forward.

The RAV4 doesn't have serious off-road prowess, partly because its lack of power bogs it down. But it's mainly designed for on-road use in cities or suburbs.

Dan Jedlicka

Dan Jedlicka joined the Chicago Sun-Times in February 1968 as a business news reporter and was named auto editor later that year. He has reviewed more than 4,000 new vehicles for the Sun-Times--far more than any newspaper auto writer in the country. Jedlicka also reviewed vehicles for Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Autos Internet site from January, 1996, to June, 2008.

Jedlicka remained auto editor at the Sun-Times until October, 2008, and continued writing for the newspaper's AutoTimes section, which he started in 1992, until February, 2009. While continuing his auto writings at the Sun-Times, he served as assistant financial editor of that newspaper from 1970 to 1973, when he began his automotive column.

He has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including NBC's "Today," ABC's "20/20" and "The CBS Evening News." He was a host, consultant and writer for Fox-TV Channel 32's 1991 New Car Preview show and that Chicago-based station's 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 Chicago Auto Show Previews.

Jedlicka's auto articles have been printed in national magazines, including Esquire and Harper's. His auto columns have been reprinted in U.S. government publications and economic textbooks and he is profiled in the "World's Greatest Auto Show" history book about the Chicago Auto Show. In late 1975, Jedlicka was host and technical advisor for three one-hour television specials, "Auto Test 76," which aired nationally on PBS and were the first nationally televised auto road test shows.

In 1995, Jedlicka was the recipient of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois Inc.'s Consumer Education Award, given annually to a person who has gained distinction in the field of consumer education. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Media category and inducted into the Legends of Motorsports Guild at the Carquest World of wheels custom car show in Chicago in January, 2006.

Jedlicka was a member of the North American Car and Truck of the Year jury, composed of a select number of auto journalists from throughout the country, from 1995 until 2009. From 2010 to 2012, he was a member of Consumer Digest magazine's auto experts panel that gave Best Buy new vehicle recommendations.

He is a 1987 graduate of the Bob Bondurant Race Drivers School and later of the BMW "M" and Skip Barber Advanced Driving schools. He was a member of the U.S. team that participated in the 1987 1,000-mile Mille Miglia race/rally in Italy and has been a race winner at the Chicago area's Santa Fe Speedway.

Jedlicka has owned 25 classic cars, including 1950s and 1960s Ferraris and 1950s and 1960s Porsches, a 1965 Corvette, a 1967 Maserati and a 1957 Studebaker supercharged Golden Hawk. Jedlicka resides with his wife, Suzanne, in the Frank Lloyd Wright historic district of Oak Park. They have two children, James and Michele.

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