We all know the guy. Right after graduation, he was the one who still called you at 1:30 in the morning to talk. At one point he quit his reasonably steady gig to go backpacking in the Andes. While you were toiling away at A Real Job, he was posting images of himself at Burning Man.
Time passes, and perhaps despite his best efforts not to, this same person lands in an actual career. Another few years down the road, and now the once-Burning Man is making good money – but the adventurous and fun-loving guy you used to know is now as dull as a box of rocks, and I mean rock-rocks, not cool geodes and crystals and stuff. Any non-work hours are devoted to “family time” with the kids, or falling asleep at 9:30 while watching the latest Bridget Jones thing his wife wants to see. What happened to him?
If there’s a car equivalent of our once fierce, now flabby friend, it has to be the Toyota RAV4.
For millennia (well, it felt like millennia), the battle for the title America’s Best-Selling Car was fought tooth and nail by the Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord. Later, it came down to a clash between Ford and GM full-sized trucks. And today? Behold: the RAV4 has unseated the Ford F-150 as the nation’s best-selling car.
This actually makes sense; crossover SUVs are the default choice that sedans used to be for many buyers today, and the RAV4 is the Camry equivalent of the category. Undeniably, it’s a good product, and if you were pressed to recommend a CUV to someone who doesn’t know anything about cars and sees them merely as transportation appliances, you’d probably go straight to the RAV4. You know that they’ll be content and, more importantly, will never come back to blame you for recommending a piece of shit. As for a CUV you’d want to own yourself, I bet the RAV4 is much closer to the bottom of your list than the top. It’s just too boring, right?
This wasn’t always the case. When the RAV4 first appeared in US showrooms some thirty years ago (whoa – in my mind, a thirty-year-old Toyota is a woodgrain-clad Corona wagon), it was a rather cheeky little rascal; the four-door wagon and two-door enclosed “coupe” model had a rounded look with funky strakes molded into the flanks below the often-brightly-painted sheet metal. Toyota economy-utility could be fun. Sporty, even.
There was also a rare open-topped two-door RAV4 on offer that was so offbeat it seemed dramatically out of character for straight-laced Toyota. With a stubby wheelbase compared to the four-door model, lift-off roof over the front seat, and drop-down convertible top in the back, the RAV “cabrio” was like a Jeep Wrangler or Geo Tracker but with a smooth-riding car-based drivetrain.
Sales of the small RAV4 two-door in either open or closed form never set the world on fire in the US. When the second-generation model was introduced for the 2001 model year, the two-door version was no longer offered in America (and dropped entirely for the third generation worldwide). The four-door version soldiered on, climbing the sales charts to the pinnacle.
Concessions must be made in order to become a best-selling car, and that typically means losing any quirkiness or nail-that-stands-up character that might prevent the product from having total mass appeal. Sadly, the RAV4 seems to have made that deal with the devil over the years. As a thirtieth birthday gift to this unsung hero of Toyota’s model lineup, let’s imagine a rebirth of the Wrangler-style RAV4.
Goodbye Colorado Rockies, Hello Chuck E. Cheese
It’s rather hard to believe today, but up until the mid-eighties, your choices for four-door sport utilities were pretty limited. Shoppers looking for full-sizers could choose a big Chevy Suburban, the aging full-sized SJ Jeep Cherokee/Wagoneer, or the rugged (and rare) Land Cruiser wagon. But if you wanted a small- to mid-sized sport utility with four doors, you were outta luck: the S-10 Blazer and Bronco II were introduced as two-door models only. The Blazer didn’t receive back doors until 1991, and the Bronco II never got them.
Even the luxury Range Rover wasn’t available as a four-door until 1981, unless you made one yourself; conversions by outside coachbuilders like the one below once owned by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi required large sums of cash earned by writing heavy songs about smoking pot.
But change was afoot. When Jeep debuted the XJ Cherokee in 1984 as a four-door SUV and legit substitute for the family station wagon, it forced the competition to scramble and add more doors to their Pathfinders, 4Runners, and the like. Of course every last groundbreaking innovation in off-road vehicles was going to be from Dick Teague at American Motors, right?
This opening of the floodgates to mainstream acceptance of SUVs was a double-edged sword. As more suburbanites flocked to SUVs and came to dominate daycare pickup lines and other Mommy-Daddy duties rather than sporty pursuits, the category slowly lost its cool factor. The shorter-wheelbase, two-door models that remained saw their sales dwindle, likely due to their compromised practicality and perhaps in part to their often-stubby proportions – consider the sawed-off Ford Explorer “Sport” model and the rather comical-looking two-door Isuzu Trooper, especially.
Brands that kept selling two-door utes often tried to market them as sporting propositions with standout looks. Notable examples included Isuzu’s fun-loving Amigo (with its bizarre roof-wing-CHMSL) and their bonkers what-the-hell-is-it VehiCross.
Niche products don’t last forever, and by the early 2000s the Jeep Wrangler was one of the few small SUVs left that still offered a two-door version; even then the four-door flavors of that icon were gaining more market share.
Today, any summer day in American will see people cruising in their two- or four-door Jeep JLs and Ford Broncos with the roof and doors removed, making them the convertible of choice for modern drivers despite the fact that will likely never take them off road. It’s a shame that the loyal followers of mega-brand Toyota don’t have a way to let the sun in; just because they religiously read Consumer Reports reliability charts doesn’t mean they don’t want to have fun, right? Let’s do them a solid and fix that inequity.
Open Up A Bit
For what I’m calling the RAV4/30 Anniversary Edition, I’ll start with the sporting-looking Hybrid Woodlands edition with arguably the most outdoorsy style and coolest wheels.
For my two-door version, the wheelbase is only very slightly reduced, and longer doors attempt to keep the look from getting too ill-proportioned. Notice at the front I’ve added fog lights into the grille with frames above the mock “push bar” Toyota has designed below the grille to look sort of like rugged add-on aftermarket lamps so popular in the Malaise era.
Like the original open RAV4 two-door we’ll have an opening roof section over the driver and front passenger but keep the door frames and cant rails in place; sure, that’s kind of Triumph Stag-like but the visual tradeoff for good weather sealing should be worth it. Unlike the 1996 car, the roof panel of the RAV4/30 will slide back electrically, and rear seat passengers will have power roll-down quarter windows (but it won’t be a pillarless hardtop).
In back, the soft top can be folded manually or removed entirely and dropped into the cargo area. The hatchback now needs to be a pivot-down tailgate; the bottom edge of the soft top above can lift up to ease with loading if needed. An optional, rigid rear cap would be available that includes lift-up rear glass. Note the slight recess in the rocker panel to pay homage to the original RAV4’s styling detail.
Here are animations to take you through the changes and options:
Side views also tell the story, starting with the original four-door:
Here’s the two-door enclosed and opened up for fun
And now, animation of the side views (four-door, then two door, then open to the sky):
No, you can’t remove the doors, but you couldn’t on the 1996 RAV4 either, and the owners still had more fun than anyone in a budget Toyota had a right to.
The Fewer The Doors, The Greater The Cool
Two-door SUVs making a comeback is about as likely as Detroit-built “personal luxury” coupes making a triumphant return, and that’s fine. The RAV4/30 would be a limited production special edition anyway; a Toyota twist on the Jeep or Ford approaches to open off-roading. If nothing else, as a sort of “halo” model, the RAV4/30 would add some interest and attitude to the highly successful but extremely staid line of Toyota best sellers. It’s a throwback to a time that few recall, the brief era when the RAV4 was quirky and cool; let’s jog some memories.
A Ford Maverick Could Be The Affordable, Practical Convertible The Market Is Missing – The Autopian
Subaru Needs To Bring The Weird Back With A New BRAT – The Autopian
You Asked For It: A Minivan Made Cooler And More Versatile At The Same Time – The Autopian
Also, the current RAV4, the non- hybrid anyway, is a perfectly miserable vehicle to drive. Every time I rent one I was to pull over every 10-15 miles and just set it on fire. Toyota has destroyed every fun thing about driving with this extra sucky, depression inducing misery box.
I rented one and I didn’t think it was…actually, I don’t remember at all. I chose “small SUV” online, my Bluetooth still has a TOYOTA RAV4 on “my devices” but I really don’t recall anything.
The RAV4 is built for the life you actually have – the dystopian future that arrived when you weren’t paying attention and now you’re in Hell and this is your life and there’s a 3 percent chance we might get hit my an asteroid in seven years, if we’re lucky… Come on, comet!
You’re talking about the RAV4 for the life you WISH you had, where there’s no traffic and you’re at the beach and the mountains and it’s nice weather and you’re driving around in your fun, top- down adventure machine and you’re going to a clam bake later and there will be music and dancing and volley ball and all your friends laughing and having a great time.
Wake up! You’re in Hell, stuck in traffic, inching along the freeway in your soulless metal coffin…
This brings up a great point. Americans do not have a lot of options in terms of transportation to begin with. For many, it’s just cars. So, ideally, you would have a lot of variety within that choice. Were that it was so simple…
Without a lot of different body styles that cater to different lifestyles, you are, in fact, being pigeonholed into a certain lifestyle. In this current crossover-filled landscape, that’s a lifestyle that either involves gig work or little league matches and A LOT of chardonnay.
I think that explains much of the Wrangler and Broncos success, which allows the domesticated to feel adventurous without giving up their excessive lifestyle…er…I mean “quality of life”.
And historically, this was also the allure of the sport coupe era. They were mostly economy cars built out of sedans that were given a splash of fun and style (and in GM’s case in particular, a healthy dose of throttle tip-in response) so you could imagine you really could be that steely race car driver of your fantasies, not a guy commuting to work.
Oh! I like this more than I thought I would! Yes, I would buy one of these
This would be perfect for replacing the 2013 RAV4 in the driveway. It addresses the miserable fuel economy with the hybrid. It’s also a convertible without the compromises of a JK or JL. Toyota hybrids are anvil reliable so hopefully it should be a fine car to keep for the long term.
It absolutely needs AWD. That will help sell it as a viable four season car in places that get winter. Even better if it had an optional factory hard top.
NO!!! It is not fine! I miss my Mazda Navajo and I love the big dumb 70’s PLCs! I’m a reasonably successful empty nester and I want my Lincoln Continental Mark IX!!!
As penance for thinking such a ridiculous thing as “that’s fine,” I demand you design my Mark IX for you next blogorino!
There’s no more car platforms left to make a Mark IX, unless I make something based on a truck or SUV. Which would be interesting to say the least.
Navajo! Actually the first American car sold in the US with a Japanese badge if I recall (as in American design and developed; not talking about Ohio made Accords).
Ahem, the Mustang still exists (the real one). And the Mark VI and VII were both based on the Fox platform, so the precedent has been set.
Hell, I’d even look seriously at a Mach-e based Mark IX, as long as it was designed as a 2-door coupe with a massive frunk, maybe with optional range extender. I’m sure an uber-talented designer such as yourself would be able to, as Tim Gunn would say, “make it work!”
I really like the 2 door – Do the rear quarter windows wind back into the C pillar?
Can we lower it, dump the AWD, give it a sleeker fascia and make it a real coupe?
Windows would drop into the quarter panels; I think there’s room and the C pillar would likely have steel reinforcements in it to act as a bit of a “roll” bar.
I’m a big fan of all your designs, and this whole series on general. This is the most likely to happen/needs to be made vehicle I’ve seen you present, and I love it. As a parent with 2 young kids, with 1 in a booster, and 1 still in a car a seat, I desire the ability to put them in a coupe when they both use regular seatbelts. It may not be the sexiest choice, but this could be an actually cool option to daily the kids around in. Kids love convertibles, and they can deal with less leg room. My 2 door Jimmy was one my favorites of all time, and maybe car like this will make feel better about going to bed at 9:30.
My exact thoughts as I came to post something along these lines. I truly think this is a really viable product that many would jump at. I wouldn’t even consider purchasing a new 4 door CUV at this time but this? I would at least walk into a showroom to look at in person and do my best not to drive out in it. Then again my thoughts, ideas, methods, have became unsound. Kind of like Col. Kurtz, another misunderstood genius.
We rented an old Jimny in Greece with a similar convertible top. 100% would recommend.
Very nice. I’d be much more likely to buy a RAV4 if they offered your two-door, open air version, but that being said, I’m still not likely to buy a RAV4 of any stripe. Now, talk to me about a new MR2 Spider or the Surf concept SUV and I’m listening.
I know the name signifies the 30th anniversary, but RAV4/20 was right there…
It’s crazy how well the RAV4’s design language lends itself to this. It’s also crazy how ugly and boring the standard 5-door is but how much more attractive it becomes on a SWB chassis.
Yah 2dr explorers called, and wants to be on its roof again in the ditch. 4dr is far better and a ton of people saw that.
2 door Explorer vs Bronco II. Expound and discuss. This is for credit.
It has a whiff of a middle aged man in hiking sandals, but apart from that it’s nice.
I guess that’s a step above a middle-aged man in New Balance with tube socks, so I’ll take it.
Yeah a convertible Rav4 would be awesome as fuck 😀
Also, how the fuck did you forget to mention Suzuki? They made the XJ done right, the Vitara/Sidekick/Tracker. Far ahead of its time.
Sorry, but overlooking the AMC Eagle is the real sin. The 4-door Suzukis didn’t come out until 1990 and The Bishop explicitly said in the mid-80’s.
I kinda figured the Eagle was more of the first crossover and not SUV; you do note that I called out AMC’s Dick Teague. Also, you will remember that the Eagle came in a rare open version as well.
Let us not forget the Goodness that was the Mitsubishi Pajaro Gen 1 or the almighty Pajaro Evolution!
I like the idea but would leave the existing wheelbase to save costs and add rear-hinged doors like on old extra-cabs.
This happened to me – non car person close friend had a Murano totaled out in a wreck. I just said look for a used Rav4 or CRV. Period.
This is good. The transformation to a two door that you put together here works surprisingly well.
Lede image does not compute.
they would only make 4 of them though, yea its sweet, but you’d never be able to get one.
This needs to be the next Toyota/Subaru group project.
This, but with the new 4runner.
I saw a concept of that at the Auto Show last week. They even had the roof hanging from the ceiling, just like you would do with a hoist in your garage on the 1987 version a friend of mine at school had.
The fact that they design these things and don’t give them to us is incredibly frustrating.
Yeah I discussed this in a thread here yesterday. Toyota needs to bring back the FJ or something that is 2dr full frame with a shorter wheelbase and better angles then the 4runner. So a shorter 2dr 4runner would also work for me.
Or the Corolla Cross, a little bit lighter and cheaper, closer to what the RAV4 originally was as a starting point.
I love this
When the rav4 lost its rear-mounted spare it lost its soul.
I was equally as bummed when they canceled the 3.5V6 in the Rav. They were genuinely quick!
The gen3? Rav4 was arguably the most space efficient CUV ever made. The rear swing door with the spare mounted. Simple, logical controls. Low load floor and high roof.
I feel the same way about the CR-V.
An electric window in the tailgate would be a good alternative to a plastic soft-top window, which probably wouldn’t sell these days in something as practical as a RAV4 no matter how few doors it might have. Might cannibalize a few 4Runner sales, though.
That would actually work well with a soft top or hard top. I think I’d have to reshape the window a bit so that it rolled into the gate but good idea.