Ironman 4x4’s kitted-up Toyota RAV4 tested off-road

What’s this, a RAV4 in 4X4 Australia magazine? Hold up, that’s not a real 4x4!

True, the RAV4 falls directly into the realm of light-duty SUV and is not the usual fare for these pages but this RAV benefits from a few touring mods to help it traverse some rougher tracks.

I’m old enough to remember the early 2000s when compact light-duty SUVs like the RAV4, Subaru Forester and the Nissan X-Trail were turning the new car buying world on to SUVs, and the big 4x4 accessories brands were falling over themselves to create products for them.

However, they soon realised that most buyers of SUVs are not four-wheel drivers, and not the sort of folks to accessories their vehicles for adventures… and the SUV products soon disappeared from their respective catalogues.

70

The growth in popularity of so-called ‘overlanding’ in the USA has seen a resurgence of kitted-up soft-roaders where the RAV4, Subaru Crosstrek and Hyundai Kona are popular candidates for adventure mods. This has seen the launch of a swag of new gear and accessories for these vehicles to help their owners explore further than the Walmart carpark.

While there’s been a small groundswell for similar builds here in Australia it’s nothing like that in the USA, but with Australian 4x4 accessories manufacturers producing products for the American market, it was inevitable that the gear would come here to suit local SUVs.

One such manufacturer doing big things in the USA is Ironman 4x4 and along with its gear for proper 4x4s, it has developed kit to suit vehicles like the RAV4. Much of that product development happens right here in Australia, so the RAV4 products to fit our local models are now available.

70

We saw that Ironman had a kitted up a RAV4 here and we borrowed it to see what all the excitement was about.

While we won’t be seeing products like bullbars, rock sliders and massive lifts fitted to RAVs Down Under , the Ironman kit does centre on the same key areas of protection equipment and suspension, as well as storage systems.

Ironman calls its suspension for the RAV4 ATS, and it uses the brand’s Nitro Gas shock absorbers matched to heavy duty coil springs to offer up to 50mm of increased ground clearance. Add some bigger tyres like the 255/65R17 BFGoodrich muddies fitted to this vehicle and the RAV4 is getting some usable clearance, while the aggressive tyres also help with off-road traction.

70

The thicker coil springs also help the little Toyota carry weight like the rooftop tent as fitted to this example, as well as other adventure equipment.

Even with the added ride height afforded by the ATS suspension, the RAV still has a poor – by off road standards – approach angle, so Ironman developed some frontal projection in the form of the ATS-X bumper guard. Protecting the front edge of the vulnerable front bumper, the tubular steel ATS-X guard mates to a 2mm steel skid plate to protect the engine sump from clashes with the track.

The ATS-X bumper also provides a place to mount UHF antennas and auxiliary lighting, which on this RAV is an Ironman LED light bar.

Compact SUVs are just that, so they don’t have a lot of space inside for carrying gear, so Ironman developed a set of its Atlas roof bars to suit the RAV4, allowing a host of roof-storage options for trays, racks, sporting accessories or even a rooftop tent as fitted on this rig.

On and off the road

We’ve gotta say that the little RAV4 Edge looks pretty tough with the Ironman kit and muddies fitted to it, so we were keen to see how it would perform on and off road.

Modern electronic traction control (ETC) systems are pretty impressive these days and the ETC systems on proper Toyota 4x4s like the LandCruiser and Hilux are some of the sharpest acting and best in the business, so we hoped this technology transferred on to the SUV range.

The RAV4 Edge even has a multi-terrain mode dial with settings for mud and sand, rock and dirt, and snow, so we hoped that would help with the absence of low-range gearing and long wheel travel.

70

First impressions of the Ironman RAV on the roads heading out of town revealed that you’d never want to fit aggressive mud terrain tyres to an SUV like this. The way the unibody design of SUVs transfers road noise through to the cabin means that the muddies make their presence known at all road speeds, and ruin what is normally a nice ride in the RAV4. A less-aggressive all terrain would be a better choice of tyre for this vehicle and its abilities.

The ATS suspension feels firm and well controlled over a range of surfaces including highway, gravel and secondary roads, and there was no discernable body roll due to the weight of the tent up on the roof racks.

The off-highway part of our drive took in a popular local gravel road that included some steep climbs and one particular rut that we thought should be within the RAV’s capabilities. Maybe we had too much confidence in the vehicle, as when trying to climb the rut, as soon as either of the front tyres were unweighted from the track, they simply spun with the ETC seemingly doing nothing to transmit drive to the tyres that could use it.

70

We tried the various modes in the terrain selector, and different lines up the rut, but there was no way the little RAV was going up there and we didn’t want to push it too hard and risk any damage.

This was disappointing as we expected more of the ETC, but it seems the soft-roaders don’t get the same calibration as their more capable stablemates.
After detouring around the rutted track we still managed some steep climbs on the hard-packed sandy tracks, some smaller ruts and steep descents where the hill descent control worked great in the absence of low-range reduction.

Just clearing the erosion mounds on the steep hills was only possible for the RAV due to the extra ground clearance afforded by the Ironman ATS suspension; a standard RAV would have bellied out. The BFG muddies helped on these tracks too, contributing to the feeling that without this kit fitted to it, the RAV4 would have never ventured up these tracks.

Powertrain and equipment

The Edge is the highest specification in the current RAV4 range and makes for a nice little family car. It’s powered by a naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre petrol engine that makes a claimed 152kW at 6600rpm and 243Nm from 4000-5000rpm. It’s backed by an eight speed automatic transmission that combines to provide spritely on-road performance and plenty of climbing grunt.

The 2.5L RAV4 Edge has a 1500kg towing capacity, which is enough to haul a lightweight camper trailer.

Toyota claims that the mechanical AWD system fitted to the RAV4 is able to deliver a front/rear torque split of between 100 per cent to the front wheels and a 50:50 split across front and rear axles to suit the driving conditions, but our experience showed it to be inadequate, as once a front wheel lost even the slightest amount of traction, all drive was lost.

70

The Edge has a very well equipped interior with heated and ventilated leather-like seats, a great sounding JBL sound system and a spacious cabin for a vehicle of this size.

While we’d definitely run all terrain tyres in lieu of the muddies fitted to this example, the Ironman 4x4 accessories fitted to it certainly increased its usability once we left the sealed roads. We were able to take it up tracks that would have had a standard RAV4 scraping its front bumper and its underbelly, if it managed to get up at all, and we did it without causing any damage.

The roof racks afford users a host of options for carrying extra gear, camping or sporting equipment, further expanding the ability of the RAV4.

70

While soft-roaders like the RAV4 will never meets the requirements of those who need a proper 4x4 vehicle with more ground clearance, a dual-range transfer case and long wheel travel, there remain owners who will be content with a soft-roader and the added abilities and range of adventures that this Ironman gear can give them.

Australian drivers might not be running to outfit their soft-roaders with adventure kit, but this Ironman gear was developed with the US market in mind where there is a greater demand for it… and it’s nice to know it is available here for anyone who wants it.