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2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Next Your Jeep Alternative

When you think of TRD, body-on-frame trucks and SUVs come to mind. But Toyota decided to take advantage of their popularity and diversify with its first-ever RAV4 TRD Off-Road. We think it's cool.
2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative 8 photos
Photo: Toyota
2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Revealed As Your Jeep Alternative
The new RAV4 has only been out for a few months and was already looking more rugged than some of its rivals, thanks to beefy fenders and big-SUV-like front end. The TRD model will probably punch you in the face if you dare to call it a "crossover."

The new trim is based on the Adventure grade, which is why it looks so familiar. But it offers more in the off-road department thanks to TRD-specific suspension, wheels or tires. More precisely, its ride is supposedly inspired by the Rally RAV4 Race Team and is designed to iron out small bumps, making trails more comfortable. It is accompanied by Dynamic Torque Vectoring All-Wheel Drive, TRD 18-inch dark wheels which are wrapped in Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail All-Terrain Tires.

Power still comes from a 2.5-liter, which sends 203-hp through a standard eight-speed Direct-Shift Automatic Transmission. Toyota's Dynamic Torque Vectoring system can shuffle up to 50% of the torque to the rear of the car and also move it from side to side. Engineers tuned this for different conditions, accessible through the drive mode selector: Mud & Sand, Rock & Dirt, and Snow. The interior is dressed up with new mats and trim, another TRD specialty.

Towing capacity is set at 3,500 pounds, but if you're not into that sort of thing, you might be glad to know that the AWD shuts off during normal driving. Toyota makes it clear what kind of vehicle this is when it mentions "rough city roads" as obstacles it's designed around, but the RAV4 TRD is no wuss and looks like a viable alternative to Jeep crossovers of an off-road disposition.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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