The glaring failure point on the 18 rav4 and prior was the exhaust down pipe. My parents have one. It really has no business going anywhere you might encounter a large rock. And by large I mean 5 or 6 inches tall. It's a fine grocery getter and ski hill shuttle mobile. Overall it's a great vehicle IMO. But it really doesn't belong any further from the pavement than most sedans. Possibly they re-worked the new one to protect the vulnerable bits on the bottom? If not - I wouldn't take it any further into the woods than I wanted to walk home.


You can see the unprotected exhaust pipe in this picture. It's very exposed.