Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Is it just me, or is that one of the ugliest cars?

Also see no driving pleasure being the one stuck driving that thing.

Perhaps good value, but not a very good car.

It's a good car, but not a very good driver's car. Had a hybrid as a rental for 3 days and it's very easy to drive and comfortable around time, Toyota Safety Sense definitely took the stress away in traffic and I hardly have to do anything for my 4+ hour trip everyday. But it's slow and I second the poster above that the sound system is complete garbage, and it looks very cheap inside, in comparison the CRV has a much more comfortable and premium feeling interior. One cool thing for Toyotas and Hondas is that they are compatible with OpenPilot, so for $600 you can get some true hands free driving on the freeways.
 
...actually that's pretty impressive tbh, especially given the comparatively poor aero of the RAV4. Guess there was more headroom in the motors than I thought.

90 MPGe at 39 miles means 14.6 usable kWh, and Toyota likes big buffers on their PHEVs (the Prime has a 2.5 kWh buffer on an 8.8 kWh pack). That means they're getting the full $7500 tax credit.

Underfloor battery surprised me, given that Toyota hadn't done that before.

Heat pump likely means that the battery is aircooled like previous Toyotas, though - I only know of one vehicle with both heat pump and a chilled battery, and that's the BMW i3, which actually has two compressors, one for AC, one for heat (so it can chill the battery while it heats the cabin).
 
Sheesh, not sure how I missed this, but these specs are darn compelling. We have a 7 year old Volvo XC60 R-Design and I have been looking at replacements candidates for quite a while now. I was excited for the Volvo XC60 T8, but it is pricey and the sub 20 mile range was pretty disappointing in our use case. This is really the first PHEV SUV with decent performance AND range. Heck, it is even better than the new X5 PHEV. Impressive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: InternetDude
I would have bought this car last year had it been available. As it is, we bought a 2018 RAV4 hybrid. The primary attraction here is the Toyota’s hybrid drivetrain is extremely reliable and highly efficient compared to other ICE drivetrains, so arguments that the hardware reduces reliability is not consistent with the data. This is a good car for long distance travel. Our other car is a Prius. I will be replacing that with an M3 sr+ this Spring.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GSP
The Rav 4 phev looks very interesting. I’m curious to see how it’s acceleration times are on EV only. If I recall correctly, the Prius PHEV is god awful slow on EV only mode.

With my preference for spirited driving, I’m thinking a model 3 or y is going to be a better choice (or Ford Mach E).

Has anyone seen any 0-60 times on the RAV4 prime with EV only? The under 6 seconds numbers I’ve seen suggest a use of both gas and EV to achieve that pace.
 
It's a good car, but not a very good driver's car. Had a hybrid as a rental for 3 days and it's very easy to drive and comfortable around time, Toyota Safety Sense definitely took the stress away in traffic and I hardly have to do anything for my 4+ hour trip everyday. But it's slow and I second the poster above that the sound system is complete garbage, and it looks very cheap inside, in comparison the CRV has a much more comfortable and premium feeling interior. One cool thing for Toyotas and Hondas is that they are compatible with OpenPilot, so for $600 you can get some true hands free driving on the freeways.

wow. this is the 1st I've heard of OpenPilot Might try it with our next non Tesla purchase. I was thiking Pacfica PHEV that Waymo uses. comma.ai – Supported Cars

BTW
compatibility-results-unsupported.svg

Sorry!
Your 2018 Tesla Model 3 is not yet supported by the comma two. However, the comma system is open source and you can manually add support yourself.
 
I want one, the Rav 4 Prime will be an ultimate no-compromises car. Better customer service, mainly EV driving, easier to get service, more reliable, better build quality, etc. Many reasons to buy a R4P.

It will only be 'mainly EV driving' if you drive gently. These kinds of PHEVs aren't Volts. To make them accelerate, the gas engine must start and warm up a bit, then it's really laggy. You don't get the instant push of a 200HP EV even with 302HP of dual-mode propulsion.

And once the battery is depleted the performance will be affected. 176HP of N/A ICE in a 4200lb (est) car isn't going to blow wind up your skirt especially at altitude.
 
To make them accelerate, the gas engine must start and warm up a bit, then it's really laggy. You don't get the instant push of a 200HP EV even with 302HP of dual-mode propulsion---There are significant errors with this statement. You need to post a photo of your RAV4 Prime-which currently is not for retail sales--and the data and independent reviews (don't exist as the vehicle is not for retail sales now).
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: E Dizzle
To make them accelerate, the gas engine must start and warm up a bit, then it's really laggy. You don't get the instant push of a 200HP EV even with 302HP of dual-mode propulsion---There are significant errors with this statement. You need to post a photo of your RAV4 Prime-which currently is not for retail sales--and the data and independent reviews (don't exist as the vehicle is not for retail sales now).

It's a design problem with Big I Little E PHEVs. They are rated when the battery is fully charged and the gas engine has been warmed up. The 'Rated Power' applies only in such situations. An example would be the Cadillac PHEV. It does 5.2s to 60mph, there is no doubt about that. However, in many situations it's lethargic. It's freakin' irritating.
 
Prices came out $39200 to start with destination. That is low 30s after fed handouts.

Officially gets 42 miles EV. 3 more miles than marketing during review.

The fully option is expensive though... $48k.

But good cheap option for SUV with some EV functionality. Especially if someone that don't want to cough up another $20k to get a Y.
 
Prices came out $39200 to start with destination. That is low 30s after fed handouts.

Officially gets 42 miles EV. 3 more miles than marketing during review.

The fully option is expensive though... $48k.

But good cheap option for SUV with some EV functionality. Especially if someone that don't want to cough up another $20k to get a Y.

Higher price than the Outlander PHEV. Global price will decide whether it will destroy the Outlander's market.

Also expensive enough not to hurt the Prius Prime.