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Toyota RAV4: Sound off

I have a romantic way of looking at car stereo systems. I like to think that each car manufacturer has a diligent army of stereo-building elves who live in a charming little elf village somewhere, one with cobbled streets and miniature pointy-roofed houses. These industrious elves work their tiny elf hands until they bleed, all in the name of creating audio systems with the type of amazing sonics that sate the selfish desires of listeners like myself.
RAV4 Stereo - photo by Warren Clarke
Anyone who's ever spent time in a Scion knows that Toyota has some A-list elf talent on its team...
However, after listening to the RAV4's stereo, I've come to conclude that this stereo was built by Toyota's B team of elves. Make that the Z team. Yes, I realize that Scions are aimed at an entirely different market relative to other Toyotas, one that's young and hip and whatever. But with its sporty handling and compact dimensions, it certainly seems as if the RAV4 is also aimed toward a youngish contingent, and for this reason, a bit more more care should have been devoted to its stereo. Muddy bass and tinny treble won't get you far in your quest to capture youngish hearts.

On a more positive note, the elves did a great job in designing the stereo interface, which is clean-looking and easy to use.

Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 19,250 miles



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