Toyota RAV4 versus Toyota Highlander

— VERSUS —


So we went vehicle shopping on Saturday after I played tennis. The wife was initially very interested in the Toyota RAV4 (pictured on the left is the Limited RAV4 that includes the third-row seating which is what she wanted the most). We went to Freeman Toyota in Hurst as it was pretty much right down the street from where I play tennis. The pictures don't show the size difference but trust me there IS a difference.

We both hate the process of searching for a new vehicle. The purchasing is pretty much the easy part. We call our credit union and we are pre-approved via phone. Easy, smeasy.

Going and looking at the vehicle, test driving and finding out the costs and hearing the salesman's spill...sucks time away from the things we really want to do...which is whatever the hell we want.

Anyway, we spent a couple of hours at Freeman and the salesman spill wasn't really given (because we typically talk to fleet sales through our credit union contacts(?)).

We did test drive the RAV4 first. It wasn't too bad but it really felt like a car that's been lifted a few inches or so. I guess it's probably because we have been driving the Dodge Grand Caravan which is surprisingly very spacious for something classified as a minivan. In the RAV4, the third-row seating is completely ridiculous! I mean unless your children are maybe three feet or shorter or you want to transport your BIG dog (or smaller) around, there really is NO point in the third row of "seats." In fact, the kids were in the second-row seats and were like, "I don't like this. We feel so close to each other and yet it's roomy at the top [above their heads although they didn't have their booster seats]."

We then test drove the Highlander. The moment we stepped into the vehicle it was already feeling like a whole different world in comparison. The sales guy said it would be when the wife asked about comparing the two vehicles—a suped up RAV4 versus a stripped down Highlander. The Highlander was worlds above. I mean it was spacious, powerful (a V6 versus a 4-cylinder) and just an overall better looking/feeling vehicle. It is funny though that the kids didn't mind so much the roominess in the Highlander.

We drove the Highlander back to the dealership and told them that it was obviously the clear winner in the comparison. One of the sales guys was like, "I told you so!" Which he did but we wouldn't have believed it if we didn't experience it by test driving both—the RAV4 THEN the Highlander. We told them we'd have to sit and stew on it but we'd let them know...soon...if we were going to purchase.

On the way home, we stopped by Toyota of Irving to see what they could come up with and to really see if they would quote different prices. Toyota of Irving was basically the same cost. They were about $400 higher but we think that was because Freeman didn't add the destination charge or whatever it's called.

The price difference between the Limited RAV4 and the stripped-down Highlander was around $3000. When you are talking $26k to $29k, what is $3k really? In payments, it's about $70 extra a month or roughly $350 versus $420 total monthly payment. And for that extra dough a month, you get a substantially better vehicle!

So, that was the rest of my Saturday after morning tennis. Exciting, huh? We still aren't sure what we are going to do because it is kind of based on whether the wife will get offered a full-time job or not on Wednesday and if we really NEED a new car with a car payment.

Ifs, ifs, ifs...basically it comes down to this, if the wife wants I will get and we'll figure out how to handle the finances.

My initial post was just shopping for a new vehicle. Since originally posting, I've essentially reviewed my purchase in the comments section.