The upcoming New York International Auto Show always hosts its share of major new reveals. One of them this year will be the all-new 2019 Toyota RAV4. And as (recent) custom would have it, the Japanese automaker released a first teaser image today that provides a profile view of the new edition’s silhouette and is sure to boost interest even higher ahead of the official unveiling.
Most often a model that gets to the end of its natural lifecycle will be in urgent need of remodeling in order to remain contemporary and appealing, and interior upgrading in order to remain competitive in its segment. The case of the RAV4, however, is a little more complicated. There’s no doubt that the crossover is due for a makeover, and no doubt either that its rivals have been busy modernizing. However, the brain-trust at Toyota is, we’re quite sure, not unaware that the RAV4 was the best-selling Toyota model in the United States in 2017, ahead of even the automaker’s juggernaut sedan, the Toyota Camry (which had been the company’s top American seller for 15 years.
In fact, take away the three top pickups by the American manufacturers, and the RAV4 is the absolute top-selling vehicle in North America.
As for the image floated by Toyota, it shows relatively little about the new edition’s lines, but if you look closely you can identify a more aggressive approach in the front end – which meshes with what we saw in some leaked photos of a camouflaged RAV4 during testing lest year. It will be interesting to see to what extent the 2019 RAV4’s styling will have been influenced by the FT-AC concept. In any case, if the recently remodeled Camry is anything to go by, the new RAV4 should sport a stronger, more willful design.
We also expect to get some modifications made to the available powertrains and to the list of safety equipment. We already know that the new RAV4 will be built on the excellent Toyota New Global Architecture that has already been used in a few of the manufacturer’s recent products.