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With the entry price of €27,995 around €5,000 cheaper than was previously the case, and higher grades coming in at around €4,000 less expensive, the Irish distributor is taking direct aim at regaining a significant position in a segment which the original RAV4 established in 1994.
Speaking at the Irish press launch of the vehicle on Friday, Toyota Ireland MD Dave Shannon said some of the price reduction was due to more efficient powertrains bringing the new RAV4 into lower tax bands.
But he also said the company is making a statement on pricing in what has become the third most important segment in the Irish car market.
The new car is longer, wider and lower than the third-generation model, yet offers more power and better fuel consumption.
It's available with 124hp 2.0 diesel power for the FWD variants, and 150hp 2.2 diesel for the AWD versions. There are also petrol versions available, but Dave Shannon said it wasn't envisaged that there would be any significant demand for them.
The segment is responsible for some 10,000 units per annum, and the Toyota boss said he was confident that in the remainder of this year there would be 800 customers for the vehicle. In a full year, and depending on market conditions, he saw now reason why they shouldn't exceed 1,000 units.
Last year, the segment leader was Nissan's Qashqai with 3,257 units registered, followed by Hyundai's ix35 with 1,525, Kia's Sportage with 1,208, Volkswagen's Tiguan (574) and Skoda's Yeti (543).
Pictured above at the launch are Toyota Ireland's Steve Tormey, Nollaig Breen, Dave Shannon and Ian Corbett.
