Last summer when my beloved Volkswagon Jetta became too small for my kids’ ever growing legs, I bought a Toyota RAV4. I could not be happier with this car. If you have a family of four or less, you may just love the Toyota RAV4 as much as I do. (Especially if you’re short like me!) Here’s why:

Toyota RAV4 is the Right Size 

I looked at a lot of crossover vehicles before settling on the RAV4. I like the smaller cars with the storage capacity. But I also have kids. The crossover SUV seemed perfect. I needed something to carry me through the next 7 to 10 years, because that’s how long we keep our cars. By the end of it’s life cycle this car will be carrying around teenagers. One of them is a boy and the other is a fairly tall girl. I love the back seat room in the RAV4. Adults are comfortable back there too. The back seat moves forward and backward so if you have a lot of stuff to cart around, you can move the seat up. However, we almost always keep it in the far back position.

Note: The 2007 version came with a third row seating option. It’s kind of cool to have the option to put those extra seats in at will, but it seemed like a pain to me so I didn’t get it. Besides, where would you store those suckers?

Toyota RAV4 has Cool Features

As a short chick, a very important feature for me is the side opening rear door. I can’t tell you how much easier this is on my back. Not to mention I don’t have to worry about my shirt riding up every time I load groceries!

Speaking of groceries, I love the cargo net. I thought it was ridiculous at first, and even took it out. However, once I tried using it for groceries I was hooked. The net that spans the rear section of the car gives you two stories of storage.

Make sure you spring for the super duper good floor mats. The RAV4 also has one that covers the whole rear section. This is great for dirty sports clothes and picking up plants from the nursery.

Toyota RAV4 Rocks the Road Trip

We have family five hours away so we make the trip several times a year. One nice thing about the RAV4 is that the back seats recline. This makes it nice for the kids (and dog!). The center console has the requisite plug-in so the Nintendo DSs never run out of energy! You can get a video system installed if you want, but I think it was well over $1,000. We bought an inexpensive portable model that attaches to the front seats and provides the added benefit of an extra DVD player wherever we’re staying.

There’s also tons of storage on the Toyota RAV4. Seriously, we are taking it skiing this year. Not only do you have a really roomy rear section, because the spare tire is mounted on the outside, there’s this great ‘secret’ storage compartment under the floor in the back.

Overall I’ve just been extremely pleased with this car.

Do you have a RAV4? Let us know what you think!