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"New at first registration", June 1994

 

The Rav4 was launched in Japan in May 1994. It launched in the UK a few weeks later. Our Rav4 was registered in June 1994, and in signature red, so is probably one of the first Rav4s in the country.

 

Text from the Toyota article : https://mag.toyota.co.uk/history-of-the-toyota-rav4/ :

 

On its launch, the Toyota RAV4 (a contraction of Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive) single-handedly created the compact sports utility vehicle segment, bridging what was at the time a gaping chasm between traditional off-road and regular passenger vehicles.

 

Its construction was similarly unique, maintaining the favoured height, ground clearance and chunky look of a traditional 4WD vehicle but allied to a car-like monocoque bodyshell instead of a separate body and chassis.

 

The Rav4 was an idea that had been bubbling away among Toyota’s development team as far back as 1986 when the briefings for its radical styling were initially discussed. The first physical manifestation arrived in 1989 when the RAV Four concept was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show. The concept was then refined and remodelled for the 1993 show, providing a much closer indication of the production car that would emerge the following year.

 

 

In creating the RAV4, Toyota made use of a number of tried and tested components from its extensive parts catalogue. Specifically, the platform was donated by the Corolla, the engine and some driveline components came from the Camry/Carina, and the suspension and transmission were derived from the Celica GT-Four. The net result, however, was a clever ‘recipe’ that many other manufacturers later copied in the development of their own car-based SUVs.