FIRST LOOK at the all-new Toyota RAV4 PHEV and hybrid
Good day. I’m Paul. The new Toyota Rav 4. It is coming to Australia in 2026. I wanted to give you a really quick look at this now before it does arrive in Australia. We’re at the Tokyo Motor Show. We have a broader walkound video from the Motor Show. If you do want to check that out, you can click up there. But let’s kick off here with the GR Sport. So, we have actually driven this in Australia and done a slightly more detailed video, but I’m going to give you just highle overview here so you can get better understanding of what’s coming. This is probably one I’m most excited about. It’s called the GR Sport. So, this is a plug-in hybrid. And while the regular RAV 4 range will be available both as a front and all-wheel drive uh hybrid, this is a plug-in hybrid. We drove this in the States, the previous generation of this. And if you do want to check that video out, click on the link up there. I was genuinely amazed at how quick it was, u how efficient it was, and just how well the plug-in hybrid drivetrain paired with this platform. So, this is a carryover platform, next generation RAV 4. While they have made some changes to the engines, the platform beneath the skin is the same. And it’s the same story sort of with the Hilux as well. So Toyota saving a bit of cash here on R&D by just continuing these platforms as long as possible. But on the design front, enough has changed here to make it look different on the road. So full LED headlights. You got these aero elements here that are slightly different on each grade of this, but the GR Sport being the the sportiest looking of them all. Around the side here, you’ve got the charging port for uh the plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Also, a lot of piano black as well. I don’t know why they’re obsessed with doing piano black on the outsides of cars because it scratches really easily. Um, I’ll run you through the battery specs and the engine specs in just a second, but you have a look here. You still have stacks of room, but we had a look at the CX-5 just before and you can see with the CX-5, they’ve gone to the effort of making that door swing out wider. CX-5 has a bit more room inside as well than this. So, I just fear with carryover platforms where they don’t really look far enough into the future to see what other brands are doing, they don’t really accommodate for things like this where your competitors are increasing the size of their cars. With a carryover platform, you can’t really change the wheelbase. It is just the same as it always has been. Around here, you’ve got a big old spoiler on the back here. Look at that. It looks like a a rally car effectively with the the air that sort of pumps through there. Uh full LED tail lights. And then I’ll crack this open here as well, so you can have a little sticky in the boot. Got a battery under the second row there for the standard hybrid. But here with the plug-in hybrid, it sort of breaches into this section a little bit more because it is a much bigger battery. It’s not the end of the world. You still have a decent size boot with power outlet there for some V2L. Power outlet uh 1500 W. So pretty reasonable there in terms of that capacity. There are some big changes to the infotainment system though. So Sean, if you go around that way, I’ll go this way. This infotainment system is a massive change. So Deb’s a new infotainment system called Ring. So it’s a connected system with uh the ability to have uh intelligence connected through Google. So big display there. doesn’t sit too high, so you still have great visibility down the road. Head-up display as well, digital display ahead of the driver. This is also going to debut new remote connectivity features, so it means you’re able to connect into the car, track the car, send music to the car, do all those sorts of things. And then down the center stack here, it’s been simplified with the gear shifter here for the plug-in hybrid being this sort of knobbyby arrangement. Drive mode selectors off to the side, and then this. So, basically opens both sides, but can also be detached as well if you do want to use this as a little tray table. Uh, not a bad setup. Now, in terms of the drivetrains, we’re going to whip the phone out here. So, 2 and 1/2 L, they’re doing photos over there. 2 and 1/2 L hybrid drivetrain, either front or allwheel drive. Uh, 143 kW of power. So, it’s 20 kW of power down on the previous generation of this car, which is a little bit disappointing. And again, it just shows you with these carryover platforms, if you’re not making changes to the mass and and all the other stuff associated with it, you are going to come at the compromise of uh engine capacity for emissions controls, which is where they’ve got a D-tune. But here on the plug-in hybrid, 2 1/2 L, 22.7 kWh battery, 227 kW of power. And the big difference here as well, this will be available as a front-wheel drive and an all-wheel drive as well, which is impressive. Australian lineup will include GX, GXL, Edge, XSSE, Cruiser, and then topsp spec will be GR Sport. So, love the look of this. Very impressed with the way it’s styled. Let’s hope they don’t go too crazy with pricing, which seems to be the thing these days. They just keep jacking up prices. So, uh, but anyway, first glance, this looks fantastic. Now, while we know the specs uh for Australia, here in the Japanese market, they’re a little bit different. But thought I’d show you this if you didn’t want to go down the path of the GR Sport and how sporty that is. This is a slightly more sedate version. So, you’re still getting LED headlights, but you can see down here, the whole look of it is completely different. The one thing as well with RAV 4, have a look at this grill. This is a concept that I think they’re going to continue as well with Hilux, where you’ve got that sort of grill section that’s open, but sort of appears to be fairly closed. Uh, you’ve also lost the piano black highlights here on the side, which is good news. This is a bit more durable and isn’t going to to wear as much. Inside the cabin, it’s a fairly similar story. You can see here with this particular car, it’s got the same gear selector setup as the plug-in hybrid, but you will notice a couple of random things. So, while this and the plug-in hybrid have 45 W USBC charging ports, the base levels don’t. And I don’t know whether that will carry on to Australia, but it is funny how they just make slight little changes like that where the output of your USBC’s are different depending on how much you spend on the car. But outside of that, the rest of the interior looks fairly similar there. difference with the hybrid being that the battery is here under the second row and it doesn’t intrude as much into the boot. I’ll show you what I mean by that. Here with the boot, it’s a flat floor. You don’t have that uh hump that you do there with the plug-in hybrid. So, it just gives you a bit more space to work with. And come over here as well. This is kind of a a base model. You can see here you’ve got the chunky tires, so it’s going to ride very nicely. And then inside the cabin, it also has a more traditional gear stick setup and there sort of vinyl finish on the seats. You can also see there with the the USBC ports that I mentioned, instead of 45 watts, it’s 15 watts. So, you get a massive reduction there in how quickly, thank you for the applause, how quickly you’re going to be able to charge your devices. So, uh, still a nice setup there inside the cabin. You’re still getting that big almost 13in infotainment screen in the center. Piano black has made a reappearance here on the door handles. Uh, but yeah, still plenty of room in there as well. So, uh, that has been your first look at the new Toyota RAV 4. We have driven this and if that video is now live, there is a link in the description below. Let me know what you reckon. Do you think they’re going to jack the price up on this? How much are you willing to pay for the new RAV 4? If you did enjoy the video, make sure you like it and you share it with your mates. But until next time, take it
Toyota has taken the wraps off the all-new Toyota RAV4, its best selling hybrid medium SUV. It’s arriving in Australia in 2026 and while we haven’t driven it yet, this is your first look to see whether it’s worth holding out for.
Watch the full Tokyo Motor Show video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzyKQbpavTU&pp=ygUVdG9reW8gbW90b3Igc2hvdyAyMDI1
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