2019 RAV4 Hybrid Limited

We pulled the trigger today and bought a new car. It is a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited, which is a mouthful. Technically it is an SUV and not a car per se, making Anne and I the newest Rani and Raj, riding atop our Asian elephant. After years of cursing SUVs and their owners, I have finally succumbed. 🙁

It is a sweet ride and we got all of the bells and whistles with it. It is a dark blue, not quite black and is the top of the line of Toyota’s most popular vehicle. By buying a 2019, we eked out a small discount. I figure that in ten years, when this car is just hitting middle age, the difference between 2019 and 2020 will be nil. 

We’ve been very happy with our 2011 Prius and have had absolutely no issues with it. 2011 was the year of the Fukushima earthquake and Toyota’s supply chain was a wreck. Finding Toyotas then and in particular a Prius was a struggle. We ended up buying our Prius off the delivery truck, when another customer’s financing fell through. It was the base model, with no options.

This RAV4 is totally the opposite. It has heated seats, a moon roof, power everything and not one, but two backup camera displays. The only thing that I don’t like about our Prius is its combination of poor rear visibility and no backup camera. Having two backup displays may just be overcompensating. The RAV4 also has more safety nanny features than if Mary Poppins was sitting in the backseat, going tsk, tsk. Someday I will have to bite the bullet and figure out what else it has and RTFM. Until then it will be fun learning on the job.

We’ll be a two car family again for a little while, until Dan swings by to pickup the Prius. We don’t need two cars and actually don’t do that much driving in Saint Louis. Most of our miles are accumulated on our epic out-of-town road trips. The RAV4 will be quite the step up on this kind of cross-country travel.