Toyota Australia Towing Cautiously With New Diesel RAV4

Toyota's first diesel-powered RAV4 lobbed into Australia this week, but one point in the SUV's spec sheet had TMR and its readers wondering if a 'typo' had slipped into the print.

Arriving with a meagre 550kg maximum tow rating, Toyota's new diesel Rav turfs the idea that torquey diesel engines are the top choice for towing.

What's more, the diesel's tow rating falls well short of the 1500kg rating carried by the 2.5 litre petrol, along with the 800kg rating of the 2.0 litre front-wheel-drive models.

On paper, the 2.2 litre turbodiesel's figures suggest a trouncing of the 2.5 litre petrol engine’s towing potential, its 340Nm of torque between 2000-2800rpm comparing favourably against the petrol’s 233Nm at 4100rpm.

Curiously, buyers in the UK are offered the new RAV4 with the same engine, but there it carries an 1800kg rating in auto form, and 2000kg for the manual variant.

While local and overseas tow ratings aren't directly comparable, the power and torque of the UK model is more-or-less in-line with the Australian model.

But here, the RAV4 diesel's tow rating is less than half its UK counterpart. The problem for Toyota Australia, of course, is the growing popularity of midsized SUVs for hauling the weekend getaway gear. 

On these figures, would-be RAV4 buyers looking to tow will need to leave the diesel off the list for the moment (and choose the 2.5 litre petrol model), or look to Toyota's rivals for the assurance of greater towing ability.

Nissan’s X-Trail and Mitsubishi’s Outlander offer up to 2000kg towing capability, while all Mazda CX-5 models are capable of the same 1800kg as diesel Subaru Foresters.