Roger,

I had a 2 door 99 RAV 4 and there where a few issues with it. It was
large enough for my wife and myself, our diving gear and luggage for an
extended weekend. There is a great deal of storage for a car so small
(with the rear seats folded up and using a roof rack.

It is an ok car, but not all was good.

The fuel economy was not as good as I expected. The fuel tank is shaped
strange as the first 1/2 tank (via the fuel guage) lasts a long time
while the 2nd half goes very quickly.

I also did not like the seats. I found them hard, yet not supportive.
Any trip longer the a few hours was really a pain in the back.

I would not really class the RAV 4 as a real 4x4. It has 4 wheel drive,
but I would be very reluctant to take it on anything other then wet
grass (please do not flame me for expressing my experances).

I understand the newer Ravs have improved the fuel tank issue and the
seats. The car was reliable, but I could not recomind the pre 2000 RAVs
as a long distant traveler.

Good luck

Kevin

I've owned a few subaru's while living in Fiji and the old 4wd wagon was by
far my favorite for making the 100 or so miles of gravel road trip between
suva and nadi. i'd imagine they have only gotten better. my friend has a rav
and i wouldn't classify it as an off-road machine, just too flimsy all
around.