RAV4 diesel tows less than Yaris

It might come as a surprise to most, but the most torquey RAV4 has the lowest towing capacity of any model in the range.

The newly announced 2.2-litre turbodiesel RAV4 is capable of towing only 550kg, the same figure certified as the unbraked capacity for Toyota's Yaris, which can tow 900kg if trailer brakes are fitted.

Speaking at the launch of the fourth-generation RAV4 today, Toyota Australia's executive director of sales and marketing Matthew Callachor, told motoring.com.au that our hot climate was a limiting factor in the model's conservative towing capacity.

"The towing capacity [of the turbodiesel RAV4] is 550kg for the manual and 500kg for the automatic. This is the first time we have offered a diesel in the RAV4, in what's considered to be a harsh environment, so TMC adopted a relatively conservative approach to its towing capacity."

Mr. Callachor said market feedback would be a driving factor in any increase in towing capacity for the diesel model, which trails both petrol variants, and indeed European-spec models.

We were then told by another Toyota executive that some Euro variants quote a towing capacity of approximately 2000kg. That spokesperson, who wished to remain unnamed, said he believed cooling issues were behind the unusual decision, though he did not specify if these were related to the engine cooling, intercooler or transmission.

"We need to get feedback from the market segment to see if we can increase this in the future," said Mr Callachor.

Petrol variants of the new RAV4 can tow up to 1500kg with trailer brakes fitted.

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