Toyota's RAV4 Racer Shows What This Tough Crossover Is Capable Of

Toyota's racing RAV4 continues to do well in its off-road and on-road race series.

Toyota's RAV4 rally racer driven by Ryan Millen and co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino continues to tear it up in the Rally America Series. This time, the news is the team has finished second in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri.

The 13-mile race is split into 17 stages and nearly 2 hours of racing. The team was leading into the second day of racing, but the one-two punch of a 10-second delay due to a tire puncture coupled with the engine ingesting some water, the team lost the lead after stage 12.

Ryan Miller commented on the race, saying, “Friday was very fast and challenging for the crests and everything. Saturday was rockier with more height. It’s hard stone road here. Our position was so far up that we were sweeping the road. It was challenging. If you go back and look at stage times, you can see how close the times are. It was a battle all the way through the rally.”

Toyota Rally RAV4 vs Toyota Crossover Similarities

The Toyota Rally RAV4 is very similar to the crossover one might find at any Toyota dealership. The racer even uses a conventional six-speed automatic gear box. Modifications include more camber from the control arms, allowing for better grip in the turns. Toyota uses what it learns from the race series to toughen up its RAV4. Recently, Toyota began offering a slightly more capable off-road version of the RAV4 called the Adventure that takes the vehicle up one notch.