The good news: The 2006 Toyota RAV4 is no longer a “chick” car, apologies all around. And it no longer looks like a tennis shoe, thank heavens. Yup, most of the reasons people wouldn’t buy the RAV4 are gone: It no longer looks like a Special Agent Kim Possible Shoe Car.

But we still don’t love it. Ahh, okay, we like it quite a bit. It looks good, but is still a bit bland, and no matter how many practical arguments there may be, the tire on the back gate is out of place. First, it ruins what would be a nicely designed rear, destroying the overall look of the vehicle and putting a hard-shell case around the thing just makes it worse. Second, putting the spare up there should be reserved for Jeeps and such; hardy roughneck vehicles that sing songs of dirty utility. It may be iconic for the RAV4, but it’s an ugly icon. And while it’s nice to have a full-siz spare on a new car, and while dropping a tire from under a wounded car on the side for the road is a dirty, damnable experience, for the sake of vanity we’d go ahead and put the thing down there and let the RAV4 grab a new identity.

As of now, that identity is one of practicality, as much of the RAV4’s redesign intends to make things quieter and more comfortable inside the cabin. Thanks to its new and larger platform, the RAV4 has a wider, meaner look. By larger, we mean 14 inches longer – enough to make the claim that this RAV4 really is nothing like the outgoing model, except for that crazy spare tire in the back. Its new look is certainly more masculine, if not downright aggressive, even though its subtle sheetmetal angles infuse the RAV4 with a more serious and upscale appearance where previously it had the character of a cartoon.