Medium SUV Shootout
The Medium SUV market is a hotly contested one. Once a vehicle manufacturer has entered the market segment with a Large SUV to cement their presence in the grand scheme of things, it's not long before the scaled down versions begin to arrive.
The busiest segment in the SUV market is that of the Medium SUV, so it seemed appropriate to gather a cross section of popular models and subject them to a three-way analysis by people who know their cars. Fortunately for Sean and Ross, Karen knew exactly what she was talking about.
Medium SUVS are frequently more desirable than the larger versions as consumers perceive them to be more in line with a traditional car in terms of fuel consumption, environmental consideration and convenience.
Our first test vehicle is among the very latest releases to our market, the 2019 model Subaru Forester launched in August of this year.
Touted by Subaru as the best SUV on the market, the All Wheel Drive Forester has changed dramatically since its first “ugly truckling’’ appearance back in the early 90’s and is best described as a technological tour de force.
The Honda CRV Active Sensing is our second contender – a mature nameplate which is wearing especially well and is still spectacularly relevant even in a burgeoning market such as the Medium SUV sector. It embraces new tech and delivers it in such a way that it all feels like a natural and timely development.
And lastly, the “go to” compact SUV, the 4th generation Toyota Rav4. Darling of the rental fleet especially, and a popular choice for the young at heart, the Rav4 was described by our resident whipper-snapper (Graham Hughes, photographer) as the ‘go to’ SUV, and we all agreed this was a pretty good summary.
Our drive programme was an entertaining event right from the word go. Normally, all three vehicles would launch from the same point after a safety briefing and there would be an orderly number of kms driven, during which drivers would spend an equal amount of time and road conditions in each vehicle.
This one was a little different. The Forester first went south to collect our photographer Graham Hughes from Hampton Downs on the day of the drive. It left Auckland at a smidge before O’dark thirty and we understand there was a little bit of ‘playtime’ en route.
The CR-V launched from the North Shore, but had to collect first, our third driver from West Auckland, then despatch a driver for the Rav4 which was loaned to us very generously by Tom Barrow and the team from Greenlane Toyota.
With the Honda and the Toyota traveling in convoy and in midweek traffic, there was plenty of opportunity to analyse their dayto-day drive characteristics. All went well up until Waiuku, where the Toyota sat nav wanted to go one way, the Honda’s another.
This resulted in two test cars wandering around in search of each other while the third was lounging at a local café carpark awaiting our arrival.
Eventually our Drift King finished his triple shot soy latte
(such a townie!) and decided to come and find us. Great. Now we had three vehicles trundling through downtown Waiuku, occasionally catching sight of each other before disappearing again. Talk about the Keystone Cops!
Still, it all came together after we all managed to assemble at Karioitahi Beach, which was a great starting point for our evaluation.
And who was testing? We thought we’d change it up a little this year, so with the obvious inclusion of NZSUV and NZ Company Vehicle editor Sean, NZ4WD magazine’s editor and demon drifter Ross, we had the pleasure of the company of Karen, mum of three and driver of either a Chev Camaro, Mazda MPV, Lamborghini Countach 25th anniversary replica or her latest restoration project, a ’48 Ford truck. Well, we thought a driver with distinction would be a nice change…
We arrived at Karioitahi Beach with the appropriate permits (its legal to drive on Karioitahi and Muriwai beaches, but you should apply for the online permits
officially FYI) with just enough time to put the SUVS through some paces in the low tide sand zones.
Since Ross attended the Forester launch, he was probably the most qualified to lead the sandpit trials in the eminently capable Subaru, with new-to-sand-driving Karen in the CR-V – initially – following in his wheelprints. The Rav4 made for a sensible tail end Charlie, especially as it potentially could get stuck, being a 2WD model.
Toyota Rav4 2WD GXL Lack of off-road assistance mechanisms notwithstanding, the Rav4 scored highly in a variety of categories.
Cleanly defined bodylines give Toyota’s contender an excellent level of definition and stance on the beach, on the road or in the bush, though its compact size (the Rav4 is arguably the smallest of the trio) makes its natural hunting preserve the concrete canyons of the city.
Here again, the Rav4’s clean lines work in its favour here too, with sharp creases and defined edges making it an easy proposition for ever decreasing parking spaces such as those you would find in downtown environs.
In saying that, the Rav4 far from disgraces itself on the open road, the two-litre petrol giving it plenty of punch and a comfortable top end cruising speed. While it can get a little thrashy when pushed,
it settles comfortably and only occasionally comes across as being a little desperate on extreme hills.
Shifts through the six-speed auto box are smooth and not especially worthy of condemnation or commendation and inner cabin space is surprisingly noteworthy, given the vehicle’s diminutive outward appearance.
The Rav4 delivers an uncomplicated interior which sets it up well for the driver who may find the plethora of modern driver aids a little (or a lot) bewildering. A technology briefing for a Rav4 should not tie up a new user for more than 20 minutes and yet, no tester considered the Rav4 to be lacking in equipment.
A weak spot however was the very small infotainment interface screen which all testers found irritating to use. A touchscreen it may be, but when even longer fingernails find it challenging to operate the silly sized buttons well, the question was asked, ‘’why bother?’’
The rear seats fold down adequately, though not quite to a flat floor and if the Rav4 is in full family holiday mode, the cargo area is acceptable if not remarkable, the Toyota’s small size not working to the SUV’S advantage in this respect.
Rav4’s rear tailgate is fully manual with no push buttons to open or close and provides the narrowest opening of all the SUVS tested, yet it is still home to a full-size spare under the single level floor. Pull levers drop the 60/40 split seats easily, and the configuration means – depending on how many are on holiday – that plenty of beach toys can be accommodated, along with three passengers.
And at the beach, we found the Rav4 to be something of a disruptor. In the first place, it was challenged being a 2WD only model (4WDS are available in this spec) but traded this against its ability to traverse sand comfortably enough because of the vehicle’s light weight; so long as you kept moving in a mostly straight line.
On wide circle turns the traction control refused to submit to the driver’s commands to disengage, contributing to some irritating second attempt photoshoots as the two other AWD’S made short work circles in the sand, while the Rav4’s ‘nana’ system took ‘’calm your farm’’ to frustrating new levels for the photographer who wanted a nice evenly spaced vehicle shot.
Back up on the tarmac twisties, the Rav4 proved its playful as a puppy nature giving plenty of lift over the undulating road and settling back quickly and comfortably to deliver a good ride with minimal body roll.
Other than that, there was remarkably little for our commentators to report on in terms of road ride quality, the Rav4 distinguishing itself by being pure vanilla.
Moments of note only seemed to come up as a result of the interesting roads we found around the Awhitu peninsula. On the motorway runs, the Rav4 was inoffensively capable and comfortable, though the choice of Dunlop tyres for quiet touring is a questionable one.
Honda CR-V Active sensing The Honda took all that was asked of it in stride with dignity and aplomb (still not sure what these ‘plombs’ actually are, but the CR-V had one).
On the road, its manners were impeccable and the ease with which it soaked up bumps and bangs on the highway certainly put the Honda’s performance right up there as far as Karen was concerned.
Oddly, while the CR-V tested was the top of line specification with pretty much every cool car toy known to man fitted to it, nothing stood out as being hard to find or clashy with the overall sense of in-cabin serenity.
And serenity is the right word. It wasn’t until we all got together
– finally – to investigate what made each vehicle tick, that Karen asked the pertinent question “What’s under the hood of this thing anyway?”
Ross was bemoaning the lack of coffee at the time to Graham, and all I could come up with was “maybe a 2.4 or a 2-litre? That’s what it feels like anyway.”
Scientific to a fault, Karen found her way to opening the bonnet and revealing the Honda CR-V’S big small secret: a 1.5-litre, blessed with VTEC, direct injected turbocharged engine.
From the long loping haul down the Southern motorway to the unfussed zooms over the hills and far away, the CR-V’S engine should by rights, have been buzzy, overtaxed and left wanting.
In fact, it is quiet, refined and eminently capable, with performance in keeping with a much larger displacement engine and it may surprise many to learn that of the three, the Honda delivered the highest power levels and the greatest torque from the smallest engine.
The 18-inch Toyos delivered an amazingly pliant ride. Unlike the Rav4’s Dunlops, the Toyos were not affected by changing road surfaces and soaked up irregularities with ease.
On the sand, the CR-V’S intelligent all wheel drive system made short work of shifting sand and the maturity of the vehicle in terms of its performance, put novice sand driver Karen comfortably at ease, even through the water crossing. “Heck, all I did was steer, the car did everything else.”
Karen also made special reference to the side camera which engaged as the indicators were activated. It was only at the end of the day we discovered that the camera could be active permanently, an apt demonstration of the CR-V’S subtle technologies at work.
As far as outward appearance, the CR-V appears to be the largest of our trio, but in fact, it is only the widest. On the plus side, this gives drivers an exceptional view from an expansive windscreen, but countering that is the CR-V’S turning circle, the widest of all the vehicles tested.
Looking down the length of the CR-V the Honda’s width was emphasised with its ‘muffin top’ crease curves. No way could they be called lines.
The Rav4 looked chiselled by comparison and the Subaru erred more towards an androgynous look, but the CR-V was happy carrying off the cuddly and comfortable appearance.
Subaru Forester The Forester was always going to do the business off-road. Its recent launch in Queenstown on a sheep station chasing a Ranger Wildtrack up hill and down dale was testament to this, even without Subaru’s legendary status as a go anywhere vehicle.
Given that Ross volunteered to scoot south at ludicrous o’clock to collect our cameraman and use the Subie to do it, suggested he knew a little more than the rest of us about the Forester’s on-road abilities too.
Obvious fandom aside, the Forester’s outward appearance brought home the fact that Subaru no longer considers the Forester as being something of a cousin to
the Legacy/outback/impreza ranges, if indeed it ever did.
The boxy Forester – it always was and it likely always will be – has been rationalised to a point, like so many other one-time quirky vehicles. But with that rationalisation has come an explosion of high-tech wizardry which can bewilder the buyer without too much difficulty.
If one can overcome the overdose of warning lights, bings, beeps and icons, the Forester is an amazing piece of automotive tech, kind of like comparing the simplicity of a glider to the complexity of a space shuttle.
This is not to suggest the Forester is lacking in its purely vehicular characteristics and its superior ground clearance compared to the other SUVS on test speaks volumes as to its hardcore off-road abilities.
While the Rav4 and the Honda can and do tackle recreational off roading, the Forester almost actively
pursues the opportunity, it’s Bridgestone HT 18’s adding more credence to this consideration.
The Boxer engine is rewarding in its power and torque delivery and the pleasant in-cabin burble may be more damped than gen one Forester drivers will remember, but it is there and still rewarding for those who appreciate such nuances.
On the beach, the Forester was a positive weapon, confidence inspiring, indefatigable and unflustered, regardless of terrain. It was hard to know who was happier playing: the car or the test pilot!
Off the sand and onto the strand, the Forester again engages with the exuberance of a Huntaway sighting sheep, haring down the highway with laser-like precision, straight’nin the curves and flattnin’ the hills, as the song goes.
The low gravity centre, the position of the Boxer and the Subaru’s inherent attraction
to the road gave minimal body lift while engaged in some spirited driving, which Ross liked.
The information overload the Forester provided and its various sound effects counted against it in Karen’s book. There were controls which would have been used and appreciated, but because of the busy-ness of the cabin, some systems were overlooked.
Summary While each SUV had its fair share of for’s and against’s, there were some very obvious considerations and conclusions.
Toyota Rav4 – overall the Rav4 demonstrated its shortcomings against the more expensive and obviously better equipped competition, but then you could say it was behind the eight-ball to start. In saying that, the Rav4 was lauded for its appeal-to-every buyer attributes.
Honda CR-V – A great engine was the surprise and delight factor, but then kudos to Honda for the artistry of positioning clever tech in predictable places and making it seem it had been there forever. The CR-V is the quintessential demonstration of a well established and thought out SUV, delivering a feel of quality and sophistication.
Subaru Forester – If high tech spins your wheels, the Forester is your go-to SUV. Exceptional levels of gear – while brilliant – is a doubleedged sword inasmuch as it can appear daunting. This notwithstanding, the ride quality, space and superior all terrain ability of the Forester is better than it is aboard the other two.
While all examples should appeal to the same market and the same buyers, the truth is they don’t because they have the have very definable pluses and minuses. Who won? The consumer of course, they can buy what best suits them.