Weekend drive: Toyota RAV AWD Limited

THE VEHICLE

I pull up, and surpise the kids — it gets massive groms respect. It’s New, it’s Now. It’s not embarrassing. This was a weekend that required me to basically live in the car. Sports. Foraging at the stupidmarket. Taking half an hour to drive 50 metres to the dairy. Standard Auckland stuff. On reflection, to fully appreciate its features, I probably should’ve slept in there. It’s spacious, and possibly more comfortable then my actual bed. Sweet dreams, infused with a new- car smell. Plus I could reverse up the drive to the letter box to get the paper without even having to put on my Ugg boots. There is massive boot space. It’s pretty macho in terms of styling. Black leather interior — tick. The RAV has all the standard bells and whistles but I’m really excited about the manual radio tuner, plus it senses when I’m within metres of it and locks or unlocks, so I don’t have to faff about trying to find keys. Smart.

THE DRIVE

Big points for minimal noise pollution: you know, that incessant reverse mode beeping, or an ear- bleeding alarm when the sensors have you too close to the wall/ fence. This is not innovation or progress in vehicle technology — this is another thing to drive us crazy. This vehicle — a sort of low- rise SUV — is not neurosisinducing. It’s unfussy, a smooth ride, and the visibility is fantastic. It’s punchy. It’s also possibly way more fun and capable in more challenging terrain. Take a proper off- road trip. Sarah Daniell

Courtesy of Europcar, premium car rentals around NZ. Get to the snow with this Toyota Rav 4AWD SUV europcar. co. nz/ snow