SUVs, as we all know, are the flavour of the times. So what is Europe's best-selling SUV? We posed the question to a few knowledgeable motor people but they didn't have the answer. It's actually Toyota's RAV4.(In Ireland, the top spot is held by Hyundai's Santa Fe).
RAV4 is just now going into its third generation and we will see it on Irish sale later this month.
First launched in 1984, it was to establish the popularity of compact sports utility vehicles and sales of over 1.8 million have been notched up since then, with 655,000 of these in Europe.
It's a measure of Toyota's aggressive marketing that 300,000 worldwide annual sales are now planned with 100,000 of these going on European roads, a doubling of current volumes by 2007.
There are lots of changes compared to the second-generation version which made its debut in 2000.
The biggest difference is in size: maybe the old RAV4 was a tad too compact. The new vehicle is 145mm longer with a significantly increased wheelbase (over 70mm) and rear overhang.
Predictably this allows greatly improved passenger comfort: the cabin length has been increased by 85mm with the distance between the rear and front seats up by 55mm. All in all, interior volume is up 13 per cent. In spite of the lengthened wheelbase, Toyota claims a lower turning circle of 5.1 metres, saying it is well below many rival vehicles.
Toyota don't want us to think of the RAV4 as a soft sort of SUV so at last week's international launch, there was much trumpeting of their Integrated Active Drive system with computer interaction and control of the active torque four-wheel-drive arrangement.
The key element is the active torque control which continually monitors and distributes torque between the front and rear wheels. For the first time, there's a hill descent system, proof maybe that it's not so soft any more.
Relatively few new RAV4s will do dirty off-road work but all of them will labour on tarmacadam and of course, doing the ubiquitous shopping and school runs. It's hardly a surprise then to hear that the reworking has included a new front and rear suspension aimed at giving better ride and drive comfort and reducing too NVH, that's the motor industry's acronym for noise, vibration and harshness.
There was a short wheelbase three-door version in previous generations but that's gone now: RAV4 is only a five-door.
The engine line-up has a 152bhp 2.0 litre petrol and the D-4D 135 diesel with 135bhp. Here in Ireland, petrol vehicles are expected to outsell diesel by a 60:40 margin.
Irish sales are projected at around 1,200 this year. There's no word yet on Irish prices which will be announced closer to launch.
We can expect them to be higher than the outgoing model range which started at €34,580 for vehicles with true blue 4x4 competence.
We drove both petrol and diesel models on and off road and were impressed by the greater space that has come through the body's growth. It drives in a sharper and more responsive way and it almost offers a car-like fun-to-drive element.
Meanwhile, the growth of SUVs is a serious business, for environmentalists, for manufacturers like Toyota with their heady expansion plan for the latest RAV4 and for a clutch of other lower cost makers like Chevrolet with its new Korean-built Captiva.