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Think the Toyota RAV4 is just a quaint, compact SUV, perfect for families on the go? Think again! Recently, well-known speed demon Ryan Millen took his RAV4 SE to the Oregon Trail Rally in Portland, OR and won. Thanks to the scrappy vehicle Millen and his team were able to fight tooth and nail over the three-day rally to come out on top. “The big open class boys were pulling out boulders,” remembered Millen.  “There was no way to dodge them all.  We bent a wheel, but overall in those rough terrain sections, the RAV was great.  It has so much wheel travel; we don’t have to slow down as much as some of the other cars.” On day one, Millen and felt things out, keeping a slow and steady pace to get a feel for the vehicle and the terrain. There was a bit of trouble when a shock failed on day two, but crew chief, Brian Hoeppner, didn’t allow that to hinder them too long. In the end, the RAV4 left the leader in the dust by a mere 10 seconds taking home the win. Now, the team is preparing for the Olympus rally on May, 14 which is the next stop on the Rally America series. "RAV4 SE Wins Oregon Trail Rally | Toyota." RAV4 SE Wins Oregon Trail Rally | Toyota. N.p., 26 Apr. 2016. Web. <http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/rav4-se-oregon-rally-2016.htm>.

Ryan Millen and his fiancee, Christina Fate have returned to the rally circuit for the 2016 season, following an incredibly successful inaugural season last year where they took home victories in their class in four out of five rallies. As the son of legendary Toyota driver Rod Millen, Ryan has had some pretty big shoes to fill over the years, but now he is proud to be proving himself and making a name on his own outside of his father’s legacy with his incredible Rally skills. This year, him and Christina will be hitting the trails in an all-new 2016 Toyota RAV4 SE giving them a new vehicle for a new year of adventures. Additionally for this year, Toyota will be allowing fans to follow along with Ryan and Christina’s Rally adventures through a new video series called Ryan Millen: Life on the Edge. All of the episodes will be available at RallyRAV4.com but you can see the first episode titled “A New Beginning” now on the Toyota YouTube page. Check out the first episode below to meet the team and hear Ryan discuss what he is most excited about with the challenges of the courses for the 2016 and look out for new episodes as they are released.