What the hell was Toyota smoking when they came up with this one? I've always hated the design of the tailgage and spare tire of the Toyota Rav4. They've just carried over the last generation Rav4 design over to the new generation. They insist on wrapping the spare tire in a fibreglass casing and warp the rear hatch at the same time.
Honestly, the new Rav4 has a very interesting new shape to it. The stance is wider, it seems a little less "gimpy" and has a overall appeal to it ... that is, until you see the rear hatch. They've decided to incorporate the spare tire into the body at the same time obstructing the rear view by as much as 1/3 the height of the rear window. Not to mention lowering the bumper to accomodate the tire.
I've never been a fan of externally visible spare tires on street-inspired SUVs. It looks natural on the Jeep Wrangler/TJ/YJ series, and somewhat acceptable on the Jeep Liberty line. On the Suzuki Sidekick it was necessary because there wasn't a whole lot of room elsewhere. And it just suited the old Ford Bronco original line of SUVs (why do I always associate Chuck Norris with a Bronco ?).
I think Toyota would have been much better off placing the spare tire inside the truck buried under the rear cargo space. Well, the typical Rav4 owner would have no clue what to do if it was buried under the truck externally visible like the Jeep Cherokee or Chevrolet trucks.
Maybe then the design team for the Rav4 could have carried over the design cues to the rear of the truck. And maybe if I was lucky, they'd change the hinge location while they're at it.
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