My daughter Xela, in the middle, with 2 of her classmates.

Last updated:  May 8, 2019

Originally published: May 7, 2019

(www.PlaytimeCares.com) - As you may or may not have noticed, I have not had the desire to really work on my website.  Lo and behold, my muse came in the form of one of my daughters and here I am creating!  My youngest kid, with help from classmates, performed a battle mantra via the primitive weapon known as the hula hoop.

Disclaimer:  Trying what you see here can be dangerous to yourself and those around you!  Hip displacement and other body damage may occur if you attempt what you see in the following video!

(www.PlayTimeCares.com)  -

Toyota gave me a week to test drive the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE.  To say the least, it was quite the experience to have with a vehicle. I posted a week long, on going saga, documenting many aspects of the RAV4 from the average Joe experience.

Toyota was gracious enough to say "Thank You" to me in the form of inviting me to a Houston Rockets NBA game.  Houston has been on a hot streak, and has yet to lose in December. The Rockets looked to keep the streak going by toppling the Sacramento Kings.  Toyota did not just want me to experience the game, but wanted me to experience the game on another level.  I was given a parking pass and a ticket to the Toyota suite.

I was super excited about this opportunity, so I showed up early and got a look and feel of the Toyota Center.  I was shocked to see that a fan was out there waiting for them to open the doors in order for him to get his Rocket time in!  The door opening was several hours away, and he had been there, so you know that is true fandom.  He told me that this game was his birthday gift.

Soon after, hours passed and it was time to get in the suite.  This nicely laid out place in the Toyota Center was fully catered for meat eaters, plant eaters and the omnivorous around us.  They also had a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for us.  The seats used to watch the game were comfy recliners where you could watch a huge jumbo-tron to watch the game action, or just looked down at the floor action, or just alternate between both choices.

Several Toyota executives also made the journey to personally give kudos to myself and some others.  They were as professional as they were polite.  It truly was a pleasure to interact with them.  Some of the Houston Rockets cheerleaders even took pictures with us.

After plenty of foods and drinks, it was quite clear that we would leave on a high note because The Rockets made quick work of The Kings, Houston took their foot off the gas and still beat Sacramento by over 30 points!

Toyota did a phenomenal job ensuring that the reviewers of their vehicles had an unforgettable experience.  I thank Toyota for feeling I was worthy of such a journey.

(www.PlayTimeCares.com)  -

Day 6 of my Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE experience is in the books, and now time for a new day and new details.  This, sadly, is the last day of me and my RAV4 being together!

Day 7 sucks because there is so much to love about this vehicle...and I had to go to work...so I could not have one last grand journey with MY vehicle.  I spent the majority of my work day trying to figure out ways to convince Toyota to just let me have the vehicle!

My entire work day passed along, and I could not think of one solid story to convince Toyota to let me have this small SUV.  How do I mask my disappointment about not being able to concoct such a grand tale to whereas no Toyota executive could turn me down?  I play Pokemon Go and see just how far I need to drive until some sort of fuel indicator light pops on!  The weather opted to turn rainy, but this vehicle handle wet conditions just as smoothly as dry conditions.

A drive here, a Pokemon there, a Pokemon Gym all around, and wallah!  Finally, a low fuel alert pops on the dash.

The low fuel alert on the dash was short lived because the navigation panel touch screen gave an even bigger alert!  There is not a way you don't know that you need fuel!  To make the panel even sweeter is that is ask you if you would like it to find you the nearest gas stations!!!  Swag dear sir...that is swag!

I did not need my RAV4 to navigate me to a nearby gas station because this is my area, and I knew several to go to.  You know I pressed "Yes" on that panel anyway though!  Check my video below to see what happens when you do press the panel.

I pulled up to the pump and decided to see if $5 would be considered gas money in this vehicle.  The gas release panel switch is on the left side of the driver's seat, so I put in the $5 worth of regular unleaded to run my experiment.  I love that this small SUV takes regular gas instead of premium, so you are saving even more with the hybrid.

To my surprise, a tad bit over 2 and a half gallons of gasoline, $5 worth of gas, actually pushed the needle past the quarter mark on the fuel gauge!  $5 could actually be gas money, but don't allow anyone to offer you less than $10!

All in all, this vehicle is luxury mixed with economy.  I love all the safety features as well as the sound system in the RAV4.  The fuel mileage is a great added bonus.  You are certain to get 30+ mpg out of this comfy and smooth riding vehicle.

Head out to your local Toyota dealer and take a look at this beauty and ask for a test drive!

(www.PlayTimeCares.com)  -

Day 5 of my Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE experience is in the books, and now time for a new day and new details.

 Day 6 started off like no other days in my RAV4 experience.  The day was dry and sunny.  Why did it take all those days to finally have a dry and sunny day?  Simply put, it was sunny and dry because I had to go to work!

Not being discouraged that I would not get to spend a lot of time with my RAV4, I started off my day by going from Spring, TX to The Woodlands, TX.

After getting my errands done in The Woodlands, I headed to old Town Spring and played Pokemon Go.  Do not judge me!  I am a proud member of Team Valor!  Pokemon Go consisted of me riding in essentially a squared circle, spinning Pokestops, battling Pokemon gyms and capturing Pokemon along the way.  If you look at the image below, every blue dot is a Pokestop that gives me more items to capture Pokemon and battle gyms.

Old Town Spring and its Pokestops (blue dots)

After at least 40 minutes of Pokemon goodness, it was time to head deeper into Spring and get home so I can get ready for work.  One more stop needed to be made, and that was to the grocery store.  This detour away from the abode was productive and necessary.  I had several bags of groceries, which were placed in the back of the RAV4.  It was then that I realized that I had much room to place many more things in the back with those groceries.

I finally make it home, get in the mindset of having to go to work and finally get going to work.  I took my drive time to reflect on the generosity that Toyota has given me thus far, and I could only smile and I headed to work.

Many hours later, I am finally freed from my occupational confinement, and I head home while carefully playing Pokemon Go in route.  When home, I noticed that I have been driving my RAV 4 Hybrid XLE for 6 days and have yet to put gas in the vehicle.  I wondered to myself if I would be brave enough to drive until a gas warning light pops up...but then I was amazed that I still had a quarter tank of gas left.

Will I cower down and just fill up the vehicle, or will I fight my inner voice and ride the vehicle until some sort of indicator light comes on?  Follow the adventures tomorrow to find out.

(www.PlayTimeCares.com)  -

Day 4 of my Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE experience is in the books, and now time for a new day and new details.

 Day 5 was a day or running errands from Spring, TX to The Woodlands, TX.  The weather was not giving up its rainy disposition whatsoever!  That did not stop anything though.

I figured that today would be a day of getting things together around the house after I finished running errands, but that my errands got a little longer due to people wanting to talk about the RAV4!  Always the gracious host, I allowed just that.  The first person was s short, professional woman that had many things to say about the vehicle.  The second person was a guy that was taller than me, so I was definitely interested in his opinion as well.

Video of their thoughts:

Believe it or not, I opened the driver side door and realized their was a feature that I never noticed hiding in plain sight.  That feature is a memory module for the driver and passenger seats.  What does that mean exactly?  That means that if you find that perfect sitting position in your vehicle, you can set the car to remember exactly how your seat is so you can one button push yourself back to that perfect position.

Not as much driving today as I did the previous days, so still not a dire need to refill the vehicle.




More of my RAV4 Hybrid XLE experience tomorrow.