2025 Toyota RAV4 SE Plug-in Hybrid: Is The 2025 RAV4 A SMART Buy?
[Applause] [Music] Good morning everyone. Welcome back to the channel. We’re back here at team Toyota of Princeton and we have the last RAV 4 trim that we’re doing for the 25 model year. The Rav 4 A-List vehicle sells quickly and we do every trim level whether it’s gas, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid. For 25, we did them all and this is the last one. 26 redesigns not going to be coming out on the dealer lots until probably first quarter 2026. They’re still building the 2025 RAV 4s. Right now, that build won’t switch over until mid December. So, you’re not going to see them on the 26 redesign on the lot. So, given that and given the myriad of 25s available, do you go gas because there won’t be any more gas only Rav 4 and 26? Do you go with the regular hybrid or you do you jump up to this plug-in hybrid like this one? A 25 Toyota RAV 4 SE plug-in hybrid all-wheel drive. Midnight black metallic is the color. Since it’s an SE, we have the charcoal gray cloth interior, red cross stitch, but the plugins cost a lot more. So, let me know what you think. Do you go all the way to plugin or are you satisfied with a regular hybrid in your RAV 4? you can let me know. The RAV 4 is the number one viewed vehicle on the channel so far in 2025, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. So, let’s dig in. Front end of our RAV 4 SE plug-in hybrid. Midnight black metallic paint, full spread of LED lighting across the front. Toyota badge right in the middle. We do have some aluminum trim in and around that Toyota badge on the middle of the grill, which is gloss black. and some more aluminum trim down on the lower part of the front bumper area. As we come around to the wheel and tire package, we have an 18-in machined aluminum alloy wheel. Wheels wheels are wrapped in Dunlop Grand Track PT20 allseason tires, 225 on the width, a 60 series sidewall 18s. All four corners, all-wheel drive. Moving on out, there is the midnight black metallic with aluminum finish around the windows and of course on the wheels. Coming in to our black side view mirror caps with LED turn signals, body color on the front and rear door handle. We have a right side charge port door, left side fuel filler door up top, color matched roof, shark fin antenna gloss black roof rails, flat black crossarss, standard sunroof, and then over the back, roof spoiler coming off the top, the wiper down below on the glass, standards for turn signals on the back. And then we have the Toyota badge, RAV 4 and SE all blacked out with the PHEV badge in chrome. And then we have a, as you can see, chrome dual exhaust finishers. Under the hood of this 25 RAV 4 SEPHEV is Toyota’s 2.5 L inline 4 cylinder plug-in hybrid engine mated to an electronically controlled CVT. 302 net horsepower, 165 pound- feet of torque. That torque number is engine only. We’re looking at 94 MPG, which equates to about 38 miles per gallon of gas only driving. We are at the back left quarter panel of this SE plug-in hybrid RAV 4. Now, the plug-in hybrid has a 14.5 gallon gas tank. Minimum octane rating of 87. So, you can run this on regular unled gas. Additives up to E15 only. No E20, no E85. We are now at the back right quarter panel at the plugin hybrid charge port. And this can accommodate level two charging. So to get this battery to a full charge, have a level two charger at home, will take about 2 and 1/2 hours. Once you get it up to a full charge, get about 42 miles of EVon driving in this RAV 4 plug-in hybrid. Before we get into the interior, you’re going to want to know, Mike, how much? While PHEVs are expensive. Here we go. Base price 25 RAV 4 SE all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid, $44,565. This vehicle’s got a bunch of options on it. We’ll go over all of that as we go through the window sticker a little bit later in the video, but the big one is the weather and moon roof package for an additional $1665 once we add in a destination and delivery charge of $1,450 from Toyota’s OBU Aichi Japan assembly plant. Total vehicle MSRP for this SE all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid, $49,422. So, let’s check out the interior. Before we get to the driver door panel, here is the parts content. We have 80% of our parts from Japan, 20% from China. We all know that is the plug-in battery. Final assembly. Obu Aichi Japan. Engine parts Japan. Transmission parts Japan. As we come on to the front door panel, all black with some aluminum accents. But it’s an SE trim, right? Hard black plastic. $50,000 vehicle. Got to be soft touch up here. We do have soft touch on the armrest. Flat black on the switch gear. Decent size door pocket. Move in closer. Large dead pedal brake and accelerator. Floor mats in the trunk or the cargo area of the vehicle. Rav four door plates to welcome you to the vehicle. Power seat with lumbar for the driver. Manual assist front passenger. Should have power seat for the front passenger at 50,000. I know it’s an S se trim and that’s not part of that trim, but you’re asking 50 grand. Now we have the black and charcoal gray cloth seating with red stitching, bolstering, firm but forgiving and so are the headrests. Front passenger door panel. Same action as the driver. No memory seats for either front passenger. And again at 50,000 I think we should have driver side memory. Again, I know it’s an SE trim that doesn’t come with the SE trim, but you’re charging $50,000 for this vehicle. Moving on up, we have soft touch. Finally. And then we have brushed aluminum into the heat and air vent. More soft touch with the red stitching. Nar to lie your phone that’s not rubberized so things may slide around. And down below large glove box and it is a locking glove box. Now base 8 in Toyota infotainment screen, wireless CarPlay, Android Auto, built-in nav through subscription service only. Music. You have Sirius XM as well as HD AM FM radio. Bluetooth music. Also have Bluetooth in your phone. Vehicle settings. Right here we have the energy flow meter since this is a hybrid. We also have your charging schedule to plug in the vehicle to charge that plug-in battery. Then we have our general settings, driver profile, as well as Bluetoothing your devices, Wi-Fi hotspot, overtheair updates. We do have some vehicle customization for the lights, the door controls, and your climate system. Volume button right down here. We go to reverse. And we do have a decent size backup camera. Clear with trajectory. Can also zoom out or zoom in or change your trajectory lines depending on what you may want to see. So, that’s cool. Then we go back to park and we’re good to go. Pretty simple. Push button start right over here. We have dual climate right here. Down further we have our traction control off. Two-stage heated seats for the driver and the front passenger. Underneath there you do have USB as well as a 12vt and an area to slide your phone even though again it’s not rubberized so it may slide around. No wireless charging pad in here. Again, I know it’s an SE trim, but it’s $50,000. Leather gator with the stitching, drive modes, which we’ll check out when we go through the dash. Electric brake, auto vehicle hold down further. Two cup holders. We do have our key fob right here. There you have it. Lock, unlock, up tailgate, panic button, Toyota badge on the back. on the bottom. RAV four on the back of the key fob. And now we do have a fairly firm armrest. Even though it’s soft touch, it’s pretty firm. We open it up and we have a larger area storage underneath with a couple of USBC’s. Rav four steering wheel, leather wrap wheel, red cross stitch, nice 10 and two notches, some brushed aluminum to lift the wheel up, Toyota badge on the horn button, round bottom wheel, so I have plenty of room to get in and out of this RAV 4. No problem at all at 5’11. Flat black on the switch gear on the left. Telephone voice commands, volume controls for the digital portion of your dash on the right. Seek for your music modes for infotainment system and your adaptive cruise control. No paddles on the left. You have your headlight controls, turn signals, high beams on the right, front and rear wiper over here on the left. Bright and dim the dash. Adaptive high beams on or off. Windshield wiper deicer on or off. Heated steering wheel on or off. Pop the tailgate. Manual tilting and telescoping wheel. And before I forget, way down low here on the left, that’s going to pop your fuel filler door. Immediately to the right is pop the hood. So don’t get them confused. Now as we come up to our dash, it is an analog digital combo, right? So analog gauges left and right with that 7 in digital screen in the center. So let’s check out our drive modes. Go to eco, everything goes green. Go to sport, everything goes red. We push the button down on the center console. We go back to normal. And then we have trail right there. You get a little rocks and trail off. Then you have your auto EVHV, but we can’t do that because the battery is low. Not surprising. It’s been sitting on the lot for a while. And we just get back to normal drive. And then you have additional information. You can go through left to right. Once you get where you want to go, you can then hit the down button and you have different sub menus that you can take a look at. All depends on what you may want to see when you’re going down the road or when you’re on a road trip. Overhead console. Got a spot for your sunglasses right there. Now, if you want your LED dome lighting to come on off when you open and close the door, this button that says door, you leave it in. And when you open the door, lighting comes on. Close the door. Lighting will dim out. SOS button in case there’s emergency on the road. Now, standard sunroof, manual shade. Throw the shade back with your hand. This will open the glass. One touch open. Glass goes back. Wind buffer comes up. One touch closed the right side. That’s going to vent it or tilt it up and back down. And then you can close the shade with your hand. Now, framed rearview mirror with manual dimming function. Sun visor with vanity and an LED light. Does it slide? No, but you do have an extension. Get into the back seat of this Rav 4 plug-in hybrid. First, the rear door panel. Same as the front, right? The hard plastic all the way down to the soft armrest. But we do have outboard heated seats in this SE PHEV. That’s nice. I have the seats set for my driving position. So, let’s get in. flat roof, no problem getting in. No need to duck till you’re probably 6 foot or taller as you get down into the back seats, which I like. Plenty of room for my head, shoulders, and knees. Down the the back of the seat, we have the cloth. No seat pocket behind the driver. We do have one behind the front passenger. And then we do have two heat and air vents, two USBs for rear seat connectivity, and then we do have the same dark gray cloth interior with the red stitching. Still pretty soft for cloth. Open up our armrest. Semioft. Two cup holders, but there is a lot of passenger room in the back of this Rav 4. Getting into the cargo area. Well, it is a power lift gate. You can pop from the key fob, pop from the dash, come to the back and right above the license plate, there’s a button. You hit it, beeps a couple of times. Nice electric assist on the way up. Nice electric assist on the way down using this button. Now, with the rear seats up, 33.5 cubic feet of cargo space in the back of this plug-in hybrid RAV 4. We have the allseason mats here. We have a uh charger cable right here. Charge cable right here. And we have the allseason RAV 4 cargo mat. Underneath here, we do have tools jack and a spare. Very nicely done. A lot of plug-in hybrids. Get rid of the spare. We do have some wider cubbies over here on either side. And we do have LED lighting and the 12vt in the back. And you can get the rear seats down by either reaching forward or going around to each door. But we’re gonna reach forward, pull the button up, throw the seats down, reach forward, pull the button up, throw the seats down. We have this removable tano cover. So, with the rear seats down and that tano cover out, you’re looking at 69.8 cubic feet of cargo space in this RAV 4 plug-in hybrid. Window sticker time. Here we go. 2025 RAV 4S all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid made in Japan midnight black government safety ratings MPG estimates standard equipment you have the 6.6 6 kW onboard charger. The charging cable that I showed you in the cargo area is for a 120 volt outlet. It’s not a level two charging cable. Safety Sense 2.5 and then all the options. And there’s a lot MSRP 49422. A lot of money for an SE trim plug-in hybrid. It’s a lot of money. Take her out for a spin. [Music] out on the road in this 25 RAV 4S SE plug-in hybrid and the seats feel pretty good. Nice driving position, good visibility on the glass, big side view mirrors, blind spot monitoring, cross traffic alert, lane keep assist, pre-colision, Toyota safety sense 2.5 in this RAV 4, but you know what? You get a lot of wind noise in here in the engine’s noisy. Uh, not a quiet cockpit, not a $50,000 cockpit in this RAV 4. And this vehicle is 49 and.5, right? 50 grand. And certainly, it’s not 50 grand quiet. It’s more like 30 grand quiet, 35 grand quiet at the most. And that’s why these plug-in hybrids are just not my cup of tea. They’re all just too expensive for my taste. So, at the expense talk to the side, right, it drives okay. Drives confidently. Let’s try it over this bumpy wooden bridge. Not bad. Not bad. Suspension’s well damped. I can still hear the noise. Wind noise on the windshield at, you know, 354 mph. Drives well. Steering’s light, but fairly direct. Come on down. Hang it right here. Check out our brakes. Nobody gets behind me. There you go. No problem. Now, let’s take off. It’s got plenty of horsepower, right, with this 302 net. So, you get the engine plus the electric motors motoring this thing down the road, right? You got electric motor up front and out back because you have the electric all-wheel drive. takes the turns okay, leans a bit, but you expect that in a people hauler. I guess the biggest part of this is you can drive this 42 mi EV only uh with a full plug-in hybrid battery. And if you are commuting to work less than that, you might be able to get back and forth to work without having to fill up with gas all week if you plug it in at night while you’re at home. uh maybe you only have to put gas in it once a month, once every other month. So, I think that’s the big attraction to plug-in hybrids, but your acquisition cost is so much higher. So much higher. Uh almost 50 grand for this. Now, albeit there’s a lot of options on this vehicle, but it’s still 495. 18.05 ft turning radius. So, that’s pretty good. We just zip right around. No problem at all. Now, we do have a sport mode. Let’s put it in the sport gear shift over to the left on manual. And we’ll shift this like we have a six-speed automatic. So, let’s go. Or six-speed manual, I should say. So, let’s get stopped and let’s go. You know, the shift differentiation in this ECVT, not much. You hear it more on the way down, but frankly, a plug-in hybrid that’s designed to get you out of a J, get your big MPGs, EV only driving. I don’t know if you need manual mode. Sport mode maybe if you need to get out of a jam, but manual mode probably not. Techwise in here, you got the base screen, wireless CarPlay, Android Auto, you got dual climate, you got heated seats, heated steering wheel, heated seats in the back row, which of course is part of that big option package, 12volt USBs, front and back, drive modes, no wireless charging pad. If you’re in the market for a RAV 4, there’s still plenty of 25s around because they’re still building 25s through mid December before they retool for 26 production uh in United States and in Japan. And 26 production, the refresh redesign is not coming out. You’re not going to see it on dealer lots till probably mid or late first quarter 26. So, do you go with this 25 or do you have to wait another four, five, six months before you get a 26? Do you have a lease coming up? You need to get into something. Do you go plug-in hybrid? Do you go hybrid? Or do you go gas only? Because there won’t be any more gas only RAV 4s in 26. And the gas only in the 25 has the lowest acquisition cost. You let me know. You put it in the comments. But I do want to thank team Toyota of Princeton for allowing the channel access to this brand new 2025 Toyota RAV 4 SE plug-in hybrid with all-wheel drive in midnight black metallic paint for review today. I’d like to thank all of you for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please consider giving it a like. Please also drop a comment, give it some hype points, get it up in the YouTube algorithm. I’d really appreciate it. And as always, please also consider subscribing and turn on that notification bell so you never miss another Shabby’s Rides video. And I’ll see all of you on the rebound. Take care, everyone.
Is the PHEV worth the extra cash?
Thank you to Team Toyota of Princeton for allowing the channel access to this vehicle for review.
Team Toyota of Princeton
2871 Route 1 South
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
(609) 883-4200
