Rav 4 Forester and Xtrail sealed road comparsion.

Submitted: Thursday, Jul 16, 2009 at 21:12

ThreadID: 70733 Views:4199 Replies:4 FollowUps:9

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Madfisher

Among our fleet we have Ravs Foresters and Xtrails all with 20000 to 30000ks. I have covered heaps of ks in the Ravs and Foresters, but somehow always managed to avoid the xtrail. Now I will admit my Favourite has always been the Forester . Yesterday I had to do a trip to Mudgee and back and the only spare vehicle was an Xtrail. Anyway By the time I covered a quick 260ks I was dumbstruck. The level of refinement(nvh) blew me away and is miles ahead of the rav, and also better then the Forester.
Not overly fussed on the way the transmission works on steep hills(feels like its slipping but it is not)
The feel of the Xtrail is more American then Japanese,with a very good ride, and the wet weather handling was also very good(had the selector in auto).
Anyway any one thinking of buying a soft roader take the Xtrail for a decent drive, I think you will be surprised.
Cheers Pete

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Reply By: Sir Kev & Darkie - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 06:56

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 06:56

Pete,

How did you go with the centre mounted speedo??

It took me a few drives to get used to it LOL

We are thinking about going back to a 1 vehicle family :( but that means the X Trail goes first hahahah

We have just cracked 90 000kms in it and it is still powering on, only had a couple of teething problems that were sorted under warranty.

Cheers Kev

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AnswerID: 374886

Follow Up By: Madfisher - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:34

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:34

Good day Kev,
Mate the latest ones have the speedo in the normal spot. They are quite a bit bigger then the previous model as well. I do not think they would be as good off road as the previous model either, too low and to much overhang, but a very nice drive(never though I would see the day I would be praising a Nissan LOl)
The New model is a huge improvement on the road though.
Cheers Pete

FollowupID: 642211

Reply By: Robin Miller - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:01

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:01

Depends a bit on which model Pete

The 2yo previous RAV4 was the best as it was only one with true constant 4wd , the others and new rav have auto connecting drive which isn't as good.

All of them lose traction very quick due to short wheel articulation off road.

Best of all soft raders is Suzy with its low range and 4wd system and V6.

AnswerID: 374888

Follow Up By: Trevor R (QLD) - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:20

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:20

Whilst I do not doubt what you say Robin, I think the main aim of a soft roader is comfort onroad, with the ability to drive a formed dirt road or maybe even get on and off the beach when one gets a bit adventurous. In this, the suzy is way behind, it's onroad manners are somewhat lacking compared to other soft roaders. Still a nice car but not as nice as something like the Rav or CRV or.....(insert other soft roaders here). This is precisely the topic as Madfisher says "Sealed road comparison". I am not having a crack at you, as what you say is correct, but just adding my $0.02 worth.

Just my opinion.
Cheers, Trevor.

FollowupID: 642190

Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:35

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:35

Hi Trev

I don't know - admittedly it was the grand Vitara they gave us for a weekend and it was black and we compared it to our Rav4 sports.

The Suzy was pretty impressive around town and (with the V6) it was a lot less fussy about changing gears. We summed it up as slightly tinny compared to Rav but as nice , it also measured a couple of DB quieter on road.

FollowupID: 642191

Follow Up By: Trevor R (QLD) - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:57

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 08:57

Both my B_I_L and Sister have the XL7 Suzy and they are very ordinary in terms of on road manners compared to all the soft roaders I have been in including the Rav (cruiser pack) CRV top of the range and Forester (not sure what spec these have been but not turboed). Remeber the XL7 is supposedly top of the line for the Suzy is it not?

I am confident each vehicle will give different feel to different drivers which is why there is such an array of vehicles sold, other wise we would all be Patrol 4.2T owners wouldn't we? ;-)))

Cheers, Trevor.

FollowupID: 642193

Follow Up By: Madfisher - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:41

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:41

Good morning Robin,
AS Trev said I was comparing sealed road performance only, The Ravs have a lot more NVH compared to the new Xtrails. Mind you if it was my money, it would be the rav(resale) or Forester.The trip the other day was at either 110, or a bit quicker and the level of refinement was comparable to a Falcon or Comodore.
Cheers Pete

FollowupID: 642212

Follow Up By: tim_c - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:53

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:53

Trev, I think you'll find the XL7 is in a different catergory/class to the Rav, CRV etc. The Grand Vitara would be the one to compare with Rav, CRV, etc.

FollowupID: 642218

Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 12:32

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 12:32

Yep Trev , that explains our different perceptions.

The XL7 is old model and was completely made over with major drive train changes as well as body 2-3 years ago.

It certainly was rougher.

FollowupID: 642221

Follow Up By: Trevor R (QLD) - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 14:57

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 14:57

Yep the XL7's I am referring to are 02 and 04 models so these are probably outdated by now, so maybe I should have bit my tongue. One thing's for sure, they (the soft roaders) are probably all much better mannered on road than my old oil burning dinosaurs LOL!!

Cheers, Trevor.

FollowupID: 642245

Reply By: Member - Jo Q (NSW) - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 14:01

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 14:01

Hi All,

I just recently bought a new car - 08 Nissan X-trail and it's great! Easy to drive, comfortable, a lot bigger than the earlier models and is great for towing. The dash is back above the steering wheel in the later models.

We had one as a fleet vehicle at work as well and that's what made made me buy one when I traded in the little daihatsu terrios. Taken it on the beach but that's about it for off road driving - so far!

That's it pictured in my profile with the camper.

AnswerID: 374925

Follow Up By: Madfisher - Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 19:42

Friday, Jul 17, 2009 at 19:42

Nice rig Jo, auto or manual.I reckon with a slight lift they would be great for general touring. One of the guys at work has brought one as well after driving our fleet ones. I am surprised how economical they are as well.
Cheers Pete

FollowupID: 642256