When you’ve been privileged to live in Colorado for many years, it gets easier to drive around the state without noticing the natural beauty and wonder that surrounds us in the Centennial State.
However, one can seldom forget the endearing, if baffling, climate we usually enjoy and occasionally curse. The weather over the last couple of months illustrates how the seasons are like the suits in a deck of cards – all shuffled up.
Giving the 2011 Toyota RAV4 a thorough road test required simply crossing the Great Divide twice on the way to and from Grand Junction. In the process we went through four seasons in the space of a few hours as we climbed up to the Eisenhower Tunnel, crossed through the Vail Valley and over Vail Pass on through Glenwood Canyon and to the lower elevations of the Western Slope.
Through everything the fickle Colorado climate could throw at it, the RAV4 persevered without the slightest slip or complaint. It plowed through wet highways, huge sloppy snowflakes and episodes with freezing sleet as it climbed over passes and descended on seven degree grades without ever losing traction or its firm four-wheel-drive grasp of the road – not even for a moment.
Inside it was toasty, warm and comfortable even through a long drive through mixed weather and vexing traffic. The journey was made more pleasant by the heated front seats; the six-speaker six-CD stereo with subwoofer; the highly functional and responsive cruise control; dual climate controls, reclining rear seats and - in the canyon especially - the shaded power moonroof.
On a trip from Denver to Grand Junction and back, the RAV4 managed to get 24.7-mpg crossing the Great Divide twice in state – that’s great considering it climbed and descended a mile or more in altitude during the journey.
The 2011 Toyota RAV4 is a perfect match for Colorado’s temperament and lifestyles. It’s not too big or too small. It would certainly work well for students, young couples or families – those concerned with safety and economy but versatility and year-round mobility as well.
It is right in the middle of the road for emissions, which came as a surprise – Toyota usually comes down on the plus side of this scale.
The Toyota RAV4 has a base price $22,475, however the model driven was the LTD and with several pricey options came to $33,579 total.
If you’re in the market for a small SUV, the RAV4 is certainly worth a little research – and probably a test-drive as well.
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