Modified Toyota Rav4 Puts the ‘Sport’ In Sport Utility

Matt Farah takes an AWD V6 Rav4 for a spin and is immediately in for a big surprise.

“This Rav4 should not be this fun!” says Matt Farah about the weird and wonderful Toyota SUV in a great new video from The Smoking Tire. “It would just never occur to you that a Toyota Rav4 would be fun in any way. But with the right wheels and tires, an exhaust, and the right combination of little things, you could honestly surprise a lot of people in Blaze’s Rav4,” he adds.

Now, it isn’t every day that you see a Toyota Rav4 that has received enthusiast-oriented modifications like the one in the Smoking Tire clip, but as it turns out, they can actually be quite a lot of fun with minimal work. The XA30-generation V6 (3.5-liter 2GR-FE) car, with its 5-speed traditional automatic and 4-wheel drive, is basically never thought of as an enthusiast car. But with nearly 300 horsepower on tap and power delivered to all four wheels, it’s actually quite spritely. This particular Rav4 that Farah is putting to the test has been fitted with a lighter set of wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sports, some lowering springs, performance dampers, and a much louder than stock exhaust system. As it turns out, that’s all you need to have a large family commuter that is capable of putting a smile on your face.

However, Toyota has created some slightly unorthodox performance machines in the past. Who here remembers the Tacoma X-runner? Heck, even the V6 Camry comes with 300 horsepower now and can sprint from a standstill to 60 in a little over five seconds. In light of the Smoking Tire video, our eyes have been opened to the potential joy of a lightly modified Rav. What do you think, would you do this to your own family truckster? Sound off in the YotaTech forums!