2026 Toyota RAV4 | Talking Cars with Consumer Reports #488

2026 Toyota RAV4 | Talking Cars with Consumer Reports #488

Hi and welcome back to another episode of Talking Cars. I’m Mike Quincy. >> I’m Alex Naac. >> And I’m Mike Monttoello. >> So today we’re talking about the redesigned 2026 Toyota RAV 4. And here’s what you need to know. The RAV 4 is offered exclusively with a hybrid powertrain as well as a plug-in variant, making the RAV 4 100% electrified. This is a big car for Toyota. Over 6 million units sold since 1996. Plus, the RAV 4 is super popular with Consumer Reports members. We borrowed a plug-in XSSE version from Toyota among the top trims. And let’s just get right into it. So, Alex, what did you like about this new RAV 4? Yeah. I mean, I think we have to start with the powertrain. Yeah. Right. I mean, this plug-in version specifically is uh it’s powerful, it’s quick, the electric component of it just makes it more direct when you drive it. I mean, the the last one was this way, right? And they’ve kind of just built on >> what that one more power and longer EV driving range. >> Yeah, exactly. And it it really makes it a nice driving experience, I think. Um Yeah. >> Yeah. I think I think, you know, really the big thing is is for me is the ability to drive it like an EV for those first 40 to 50 miles, whatever it ends up being able to do. Like for me on the IP it was saying 45 miles, but it I think it depends a lot on who drove it last and and those kinds of things. But the fact that you’re driving it as an EV, meaning super smooth power and and it feels like it has stronger power than it did before, you know, in EV mode to the point that you’re, you know, you’re not worried about having to have the gas engine come on to help out cuz it really doesn’t need it for most situations and you’re you don’t have any uh gear shifts like some PHVs, you know, have more of a regular transmission and this doesn’t have that. So again, you’re you’re having that true kind of EV light, as I think you like to call it, experience with a PHV and that’s definitely the case here. They they pretty much took the existing Toyota hybrid system, right? Where you have an electrically driven rear axle and then the front is really it’s not directly connected to the motor, but for all intents and purposes, that’s how it feels, right? And so when you have that battery charged up, >> yeah, no gear shifts, not like a um you know, an example would be Mazda CX90, for example, right? They have the m the motor routed through the 8-speed transmission, so even in EV mode, you’re feeling the shifts and all that stuff, right? Uh here you don’t have that. So, it really does feel EV light, as you would say. >> And according to Toyota, 324 horsepower for the for the plugin. That’s a that’s a good boost from the 302 from the the previous plug-in RAV 4. But yeah, what got to me is I got into this car with a a full tank of gas and a full charge. And it said 630 mile cruising range. >> And I’m like, ah, >> that’s that’s it. That’s it. You sign me up. I think too what’s funny about the powertrain is at one point in Toyota’s history, their V6 RAV 4 was the quickest model they made. And I don’t know if that’s still true cuz the Supra’s on sale and things like that, but at least one of the the quicker, more powerful vehicles that they make is now true again with this. And and the thing is is that I mean I think we should discuss the you know charging or not charging your PHB, but the reality is that even when the battery runs out and you really don’t have that to help as much anymore or the ability to drive on, you know, full electric at higher speeds, it still is a wonderful, you know, hybrid, right? It uh it has plenty of power. Um, there’s a little bit of an EV shove off the line, which again, we always, you always appreciate that in a hybrid or a PHV because, you know, so many vehicles these days have sort of that delay off the line, you know, whether it’s whether it’s a dual clutch transmission or some turbo lag and this has none of that. Although it does turn the gas engine on very, very quickly. >> Yeah. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Uh, but you know, you do know when that engine’s on. We’ll talk about more in the what we don’t like, but uh because it is kind of loud. But if you floor it like to, you know, you no longer have a battery charge, you floor it, >> it responds super quickly and there’s lots of power for passing zones, right? So that is it’s just really uh nice to to uh to live with. >> Yeah, cuz even when it, you know, doesn’t have a charge or you don’t have electric only driving, it has a large enough battery and those motors are bigger than a traditional hybrid. So there’s still enough in reserve so to speak to give you that thrust from the electric motors and all that. So, it just it really yeah makes it a better driving experience. But I’m glad you brought up the charging aspect cuz as good as this thing is with and without a charge. Like any plug-in hybrid, you really to make it worth it, right? Cuz this is going to cost more than the regular hybrid, you have to charge it, right? uh charge it as much as you can to take advantage of that all electric driving, you’re going to get better efficiency. Cuz if you don’t, the efficiency, and we’ll see when we test it for sure, but the trend has always been it’s going to be worse in that charge sustaining motor when you don’t have a EV range left. It’s going to be worse than the regular hybrid, >> right? In terms of uh actual fuel economy, right? You’ll get, you know, I was seeing 32 33 just I did about 100 miles without a battery charge to see what it would what it would do. and you know, let’s see how it tests, but likely the regular hybrid will do better than that. >> Now, by plugging it in, >> why why do you think that owners of plug-in hybrids don’t regularly plug them in? >> First of all, there’s a an aspect of not really fully understanding plug-in hybrids, right? It happens just anecdotally in my life all the time. People are asking, “Hey, what a hybrid, plug-in hybrid.” They just don’t quite understand the differences, right? So, it’s possible that somebody gets into a car that they don’t fully understand what it is, right? Depending on how it’s being sold to them. But then there’s also the what I think is the just human nature of it all where it’s easy to not plug it in. The vehicle functions not like an EV where if you don’t you can’t drive it, right? You still can drive it. And in this case, it’s still a good driving experience. >> You you pull into your driveway at night, you’ve worked all day, it’s raining, you’ve got arms full of groceries, you have to cook dinner for your family. Like, am I going to stop and plug it in? Right. No, I’m got to go inside and go. >> And it sounds like a small thing, but the data shows that that people might not be. It’s, you know, as humans, I don’t want to say we’re lazy, but we just don’t want to do one more thing. And it really, even when I have an EV and I know I need to charge, I’m like, are you kidding me? I got to plug this thing in. >> In my case, it’s it’s a little bit more of a issue because I don’t uh my girlfriend’s car is in the garage and so the the charger, you know, I do need to open up the garage and and the car sits right outside and charge and all that kind of stuff. But it just does seem like a weird added like an added step even though in the grand scheme of things, it’s so minor. And if you don’t plug it in, besides the efficiency, which is very important, you’re also just losing out on that that EV light driving experience, which is just so much nicer cuz it’s nice and quiet. Uh, you know, there’s very little um electric motor wine and like I said, pretty good power most of the time >> and and and dollar for dollar, it it electricity still costs more still costs less than than gasoline >> in most places. Anyway, >> in most places. Uh yeah. Now, that’s that that to me would be if you’re going to spend the money on the plugin, I’m going to plug you you say EV light, but what’s funny is that these plugins are are heavier. That’s >> that goes to the efficiency as well, the lack of efficiency. If it’s heavier than the that that’s part of the reason why it gets worse fuel economy, right, Alex, is that if it’s heavier than the hybrid, it’s carrying around more weight. And now when you’re not using when you don’t have that battery uh to work with, that’s when your fuel economy goes down because it’s simply a heavier vehicle. But but and and as we as we we we found out from our our last Toyota RAV 4 plugin, we used to call the Prime, it’s not the Prime anymore. Um we really pretty much concluded that the extra weight for the for the plugin improved the ride, probably made it a little quieter, too. Do you think Toyota’s been able to pull this off with with the new RAV 4? >> Yeah, I think mostly. Um there is one real quick on the on the powertrain before we get on to the ride, there’s one more thing I want to mention that I was personally very excited about. A lot of plug-in hybrids, and previous Toyota plug-in hybrids or primes, uh, had this, too. Basically, an onboard function that allowed you to charge the battery up to get more EV range while driving. You could hit a little button. In the Toyota’s case, you would hold down this mode selector button and it would start charging the battery. What basically what it does is it drives the engine at a higher speed than it would need to otherwise to start sending electricity into the battery to charge it up on the surface. Sounds awesome, right? because now I don’t have to plug it in and do the annoying thing about >> but it’s super misleading because it’s going to tank your fuel economy, right? And and that’s not always clear and it kind of it can be misleading and if people are over using that feature, they’re just going to add insult to injury and start um reducing their fuel economy even further. So, in this new version of the the RAV 4, they actually took that out. And look, normally I’m all for giving people options and more things, but I think on a technology like this that’s already kind of confusing for for certain people. Uh removing that’s actually a good thing. First of all, it simplifies the interface. You’re not cycling through so many modes, but >> don’t give them and don’t give them a bad option, right? Give them options, but if one of them’s bad, don’t have that as an option. >> But the way you were describing it’s like you have to go through these these menus, a secret mode to to charge while you’re driving. It almost sounded like, you know, the secret menu at In-N-Out Burger or something like that. It’s like in case you didn’t know this, there’s this inside information about how to charge it up. >> I mean, it was a press and hold of a button, but yes, you did kind of have to know, but the thing is is it doesn’t tell you really what the implications of doing that are, right? And that’s kind of part of the problem. So, I was personally happy to see it go away. We’ll see how people react to that. But >> that’s good. >> Yeah. But anyway, to the the ride and the noise, I think, you know, I was pretty happy with both, honestly. Overall, >> yeah, I I was too. I thought the ride felt to me a little stiffer than the last Prime we tested. And this does have bigger wheels. So, that one had 19s. This one has 20s with a lower aspect ratio, meaning a shorter sidewall. And so, to me, it just felt like there were moments where it felt like a little bit more of a jolt than I remembered on the last Prime. As well as when you get into sort of these, you know, multiple imper small imperfections in a road, feels a little brittleish over over them. Nothing bad. Nothing bad. But also be I think while the car is pretty quiet other than the engine when the gas engine’s on uh is that you also get because of these big tires, you’re getting some tire slap over some of those imperfections. Again, nothing terrible. It’s just a little more than I remembered on the last one. You know, that’s the downside to uh going with bigger bigger wheels. >> Yeah, sure. >> Um >> but I still think it’s for most people it’s it’s good. It’s just it’s always disappointing to see it go a little just a scoch backward. >> Agreed. I didn’t I didn’t really think it was objectionable at all. Either the ride or the or the um the the noise levels. Uh I mean dimensionally the new RAV 4 is identical to the to the outgoing model. This vehicle is like perfectly sized for me, but we work with some folks here at the track that it it’s just didn’t feel big enough. Now, do you think Toyota should have been like all the other auto like the new model, it’s bigger, it’s wider, it’s longer, it’s blah blah blah. Toyota’s just said, “Nah, it’s we’re sticking to You think that was a good move? >> For me personally, I didn’t have any issues with the I like the size. I thought it made it maneuverable. And I think there are so many options out there, especially when we’re talking SUVs that if you do need something larger, if Toyota doesn’t have it for you, someone else does. And there are a lot of great options out there. So, I could see the argument. Absolutely. But for me personally, the the size was absolutely fine. I didn’t feel like I needed more space. >> Well, and the reality is a lot of the interior space comes down to wheelbase, right? Not actual length. Length length uh sometimes is just overhang, right? You know what I mean? So, if you look at the wheelbase, 2026 RAV 4 106 in, CRV 106 in, Subaru Forester 105 in there. It’s right there. You know, the the new Mazda CX-5 has 111 in. So, that’s a little bit bigger, but for the most part, it’s still right there. So, it’s not like it’s a lot smaller than the others. It’s pretty much the same size as all the other compact or most of the other compact SUVs. >> And just for clarity, overhang is not the same thing as a hangover. >> No. Thank you for clearing that up for all of our all of our listeners and viewers. once. Um, okay. So, can we move on to the not so good parts of this vehicle? >> Well, there’s there’s a few. I want to talk about one more thing I really like. >> Okay. >> Spare tire. >> Shoot. Hey, >> temporary spare tire. >> And and we’re seeing this less and less in all vehicles, right? Not just hybrids, >> but especially for a PHEV, right? Uh, which usually there’s some more some space loss. They have to figure something out. uh but or with a hybrid. Uh we’re just seeing, you know, tire sealant kits or run flat tires. And to have to to have a temporary spare tire in um in the back of the this uh cargo area. I was really happy to see that, >> right? Which which has turned out to sort of be at least anecdotally a deal break for for people considering the Subaru Forester hybrid, which does not have a spare tire >> or it becomes a a deal breaker after they bought the car and they get a real side of the road. That becomes a real deal. But a detail like that, I think, is important to to to consumers to to know. >> No, certainly. I was kind of surprised to lift up the the floor and see it under there. Couple other things for me are before we move to the negatives are visibility I thought was pretty decent. Maybe not as good as a Forester, >> but you have pretty upright pillars that are of a reasonable profile. They mount the mirrors on the door, so you get those kind of visual gaps there. A lot of these SUVs get a lot worse the more rearward you go, but um yes, there’s a wide dillar like we’re used to seeing in these >> SUV. Huge third side window relatively speaking. Really happy to see that. So, yeah, it’s not it’s not bad. So, that was good. >> And blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning are now standard. So, that’s also good news. >> Yeah. Uh and then the last thing for me is storage. I was really happy with like if you look at the center console of this car, there’s two tiers of storage underneath the screen. You have like the wireless charger and a space next to that. And then you have another kind of tray area under that. And I don’t know, it just worked really well for me to kind of divide up that section. They’re a little deep. So, at one point I left something in the car cuz it was so far in there. But yeah, so I don’t know. Storage was really good. The flipping center console is is a funny thing, but uh it was kind of satisfying to use it. I don’t have a use for it personally. I don’t find one. But >> the I mean the beauty of it is that is that uh you know the driver flips it to get in and it’s very easy and then the passenger can flip it the other way. But I think we might I might have a negative or two to talk about it on the negative side when we get to that. But I mean that the the the engineering of it is fantastic. So smart. >> Well, and then the whole thing you can take off and >> I didn’t know that over and it’s also satisfying there. There’s some negatives. We’ll talk about it. But like >> you just I don’t know. It works really kind of in a satisfying way because you can just take it off and kind of smush it back down and it all clicks back into place. And I don’t know why. But >> you’ve got these storage uh pockets where you you put stuff and you forgot something in it. You might get some cars have get tell you a notice of you left your phone in the car. So you need one that says, “Alex, you left your pack of gum in the little bin.” >> Your wallet is where it was actually and that was kind of a problem. But >> I just want to talk about two more real quick things that I liked. The front seats, I don’t love them, but I like them. I typically lately Toyota seats have really been working well for me other than a weird slight bump toward the top of the upper seat back, but but the bolstering is really nice. We’re seeing, you know, a lot of seats these days that are pretty flat and don’t really conform to you. And I thought these were really good. And of course, I love that micro suede trim that’s in the center of the section. It’s soft and it’s grippy. >> And then just the other thing is I thought the handling’s not bad. You know, the handling’s pretty decent. I I I really like the steering has like a nice weight to it. Turns in naturally and body roll is kept uh pretty, you know, well under control during regular driving. Uh so that just it was >> not bad, you know. >> Definitely definitely agreed on that. >> Makes it easy to drive. >> Yeah. Easy to drive. Yeah. >> All right. >> Do we have to talk about negative stuff? Let’s be positive. >> I I >> Why can’t we be positive? >> I think we are Consumer Reports and we are among the few publications that will talk about stuff that we don’t necessarily I know. Uh we’ll we’ll just we’ll just have to move on with that. So, um well, listen, Mike, you want to get this out of the way. Just go ahead. Guess you tell us everything that that’s terrible about >> Yeah. We were just talking before we started the podcast, we were talking about when we were like in middle school and giving presentations. Do you want to be the first person to go or the last person to go? Yeah. And uh I I in retrospect I wish I’d always gone first instead of last. >> And now and now is the first day for the rest of your life. >> Um >> Okay. So one of my negatives is and correct me if I’m wrong, Alex, but when you’re in first of all, it seems to default to EV mode >> is what it was doing for you have a charge. Yeah. >> Yeah. Which is fine. I I don’t have a problem with that. like like the last one. Although I personally think a smarter choice would be that it defaults to some kind of an auto mode >> that prioritizes EV while it has it. And and the reason I say that is because in its full EV mode if you floor it, it does not turn on the gas engine. And while that’s fine most of the time and actually in the sense that a lot of PHVs you’re trying, you know, there’s either a you’re either watching a little dial for when the gas engine’s going to come on and you’re maybe trying to keep the gas engine off cuz it’s quieter without it. Uh or you’re waiting for the you’re feeling for the the kick down, right? And so here it come >> and I thought well I’m going to try this do this passing maneuver on this legal passing maneuver >> legal uh and I was born we have to say these >> it was uphill >> on a two-lane road >> and I was trying to pass a car and a truck and it was the slowest pass I’ve ever done in my And so I ended up hitting the mode button and it switched it to the auto mode which apparently I should have hit it twice because it still didn’t give me full power somehow. I don’t know what it did but it gave me more power but not the full it didn’t feel like the full power. >> We’re back at the secret menu in and out. >> So that was that was disappointing. I I can see why you would do it, but if it’s a dangerous situation, which in case I sort of put myself into that situation, but if it makes you think that it can do that. >> I think that’s legitimate. I think when when a car says it has certain amount of horsepower, you want to be able to tap into that at any time for any reason. >> Yeah, totally agree. >> And to your point, Monte, if you had to deliberately put it in the EV mode, you’re making at least more of a conscious choice to say, “Okay, I I realize I’m not going to have the full power here.” Again, it’s not a reason to not buy the car, but it is weird. It’s It’s a weird >> something to be aware of. Absolutely. And we’ll test it. We’ve been testing the 0 to 60 performance of these PHEVs in their EV only mode to really see like how usable is it without that gas engine coming on. We’ll do that same thing here. The Toyotas and Lexuses tend to be pretty good, but >> adding a hill to the problem is is >> adding a hill. Yeah. and and how much maybe the power reduced >> uh with it having much less range. >> Right. Right. Right. And and just how the automakers decide what the default should be I think is is a legitimate uh >> because it has that auto mode that you’re talking about. Right. It could it could default to that. >> Right. Right. So, >> right. >> Um >> Alex, naughty list. Let’s go. >> Uh yeah. Well, okay. So, this one’s a little a little weird because I might be the outlier. So, I think I’m looking at our log book right now and the we call it everyday usability, but controls, displays, all that, the buttons in the car. Seems like most people are kind of more on like the neutral to negative side. I didn’t mind it so much, but there are definitely some very concrete negatives that we can talk about. One is the climate controls, right? They moved all of the climate most of the climate controls into the screen. Um, which is not great, right? I mean, we’re much prefer buttons and dials for things that you change frequently while driving, right? and climate is definitely one of those. There are still some like you have toggles for temperature, but instead of a dial now they’re these like flush kind of shiny black plastic buttons that are harder to see and reach for. Still has a volume knob, things like that. But I think overall I was happy to see Toyota listen to some of things that we’ve pointed out, other, you know, certainly customers have pointed out with like the UI of the center screen. I think they made some really big improvements there. But yeah, overall they’re still moving to a direction that’s, you know, more stuff in screens and things like that, which, you know, is not going to be as easy for, >> right? And kind of, you know, to for clarification, we talk about screens, there’s like the center screen, but then there’s the driver instrument screen. It’s not just dials and gauges anymore. It’s like a whole screen in there. >> The fact that the car only has two is actually, you know, something >> to um and and that was that was one of my biggest problems with it. Toyota see Toyota didn’t listen to our criticism of the driver’s instrument screen and the complicated menus and all of the options. And one of the the comments in in the log book which I loved was um the the number of configurations is nauseating. >> I loved that and and totally apppropo here. >> Mhm. I mean I will say they so before they you could basically like preconfigure or make presets of three different screens, right? you, but you had to sit there and play the Game Boy and and make it all happen ahead of time. And then while you were driving, you could only select those three presets you’ve made previously. Here, they’ve made the presets for you, if that makes sense. So, you’re like cycling through different gauge views, but there are a ton of them, >> and it’s kind of visually overwhelming. So, some of it’s been simplified, while other aspects of it, maybe not so much. Yeah. >> Um, personally, I found it to be an improvement over the previous version, but it’s still kind of a lot to to take in and get used to. I thought it was weird that that when you you know the the seat heater and ventilated seats uh and I think the heated steering wheel are all on the screen, right? They’re not physical buttons, >> but they’re always visible, which is great. And you can actually make uh uh >> you can make a change with just pressing once, right? Where you you know, you’re not bringing up a different menu, but you are bringing up a weird different menu. So, because another popup of basically the same thing shows up right above the heated seats. And the reason is so that I think you can switch from heated heated seats to ventilated seats, which you do all the time. >> It’s just very strange. >> It’s just very strange to have the secondary pop-up and you can do the same thing on either one and they’re like right there. It just to me seemed a little weird. Do you think so? Or >> Yeah, I guess at least you don’t have to use that secondary popup. If all you’re doing is the last time you turned on heated seats and now you want to turn them on again, right? If you want to switch from heated to cooled, that’s where you’re going to start interacting with that secondary menu. But, >> um, I did find out that you could press both the wheel and the seat at the same time on like you can two-finger it some touchcreens, you know, it’s one thing at a time. >> It might sound like some of the things that we’re we’re picking on are are small items, but these are day-to-day kind of usability issues. Uh I I certainly with for me as I’ve experienced with a number of Toyota models, the Bluetooth and the Android Auto connection is completely inconsistent. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason, and I’m not sure why Toyota hasn’t whipped this into shape with this new RAV 4. Um, I hope when we get our own model that somehow they push through some software update, but I think it it’s absolutely crazy to me that the system can see you paired your phone. It sees that your phone is there. Look at that. There’s your phone, but then you it won’t the Android Auto won’t turn on. Like, why not? >> Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a pre-production. You know, this is a borrowed car, so maybe there’s something there. But hopefully when we get our own. >> But that doesn’t just explain why it also doesn’t work in our RAV 4. >> True. Yeah. I mean our our 4Runner um uh and and my phone is not it’s not an old phone. It’s a relatively new phone. So don’t give me all Oh, you must have an old phone. Um but but it but but we see this with some manufacturers where some of them like like Hyundai’s and Kia, you pair your phone, boom, you come it it just starts automatically without without a glitch. But Toyota and some Lexus models I I don’t know. It’s one it’s one of those things that you use every day. >> Yeah. going to drive you nuts if it’s if it’s constantly being unreliable. >> Um, let’s talk a little bit about the fit and finish. >> Subject matter near and dear to my heart. Um, we had the XSSE from Toyota, which is a pretty high level trim. It’s not the the the GR Sporty1, whatever the heck that’s called. Um, >> that GR Sport. >> Yeah. Um, was that was close. I get points for being close or right on. So, um I thought uh lot of lot of hard plastics in different panel gaps. Uh I definitely like the micro suede trim on the seats. That’s a really nice touch, >> but not an interior that people are going to get jazzed about. What do you think? >> It is surprisingly plasticky. Even the upper part of the dash is where almost many cars these days are padded. Although I’m actually coming to realize that in some ways I think it it uh those sort of some versions of the padded dash uh actually attract dust and are harder to clean than than straight straight hard plastic. But um I think people expect that padded dash these days. And then just kind of we touched on it, >> the clunkiness of the center center armrest, the way it works, the button is clunky, right? And again, maybe it’s because of that whole flip over thing, but it feels awkward and like it doesn’t want to open and then it just, you know, it just feels and sounds super plasticky and cheap and like it may not last that long. >> Yeah. >> And then, you know, this is a little more driving position, but there’s no padding for where your right knee is, and the center console intrudes on your right knee space. Quit. It’s weird. It’s almost there’s almost like there’s a pad there, but it’s plastic. Now, I don’t know. Again, it is a pre-p production, so maybe an upper trim like this will actually be padded there. But if it’s not, it’s very much intruding on your right knee space. And same with the armrest or for me, they’re both a bit a bit low. Terrible padding. The one on the door is super thin and the one the padding on the center one is super hard. So, you really don’t win with either. And we talk about day-to-day stuff. You have to live with that on a daily basis that these armrests are just not that comfortable. They’re feel pretty hard on your elbows. >> The lowness of them, too. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, you notice that, too? Yeah, definitely. I mean, not to the point of being a dealbreaker. Some are. Um, but they definitely were noticeably low. And then the center console does kind of make me laugh because you’ve compromised the the action of the console that you’re going to do probably almost daily, which is just opening it normally, right, for the 1% of the time that you might flip it over if ever, right? So, you kind of compromise the the part of it you’re going to use all the time for the part you might use never, right? Which kind of funny, but >> maybe the automakers say, “We’re doing this because we can.” >> They could. necessarily because everyone’s going to use it. Um, uh, so another thing I was I was kind of thinking about was the in Consumer Reports um, past surveys, owner satisfaction for the RAV 4 has always been about average, >> you know, is that is that something that an automaker considers when they’re doing a redesign? Do they want to get, you know, a higher passion for their from their customers or just they sell so many of these that it really doesn’t matter? Oh, I would think that they absolutely want to satisfi satisfy, excuse me, the the people who are buying them and, you know, people who have bought them before, get them back into it, right? If you want to keep that brand loyalty going. I mean, yes, I don’t think Toyota struggles with it for other reasons, right? They might be sacrificing some things to get a vehicle that they or the consumers feeling is going to be more reliable, you know, and our data shows that. >> Um, so willing to give up some things to get other attributes that Toyota’s known for, right? But yeah, to not be conscious of that would seem like a mistake. >> Do you think they they tried too hard in some ways, Quent? Is that where you’re going with this? Or on this one to try and improve that? >> I guess where I’m going with it is will will the redesign model with that will that improve the the the owner satisfaction scores? >> Yeah, that that’s what I’m going with. I’m not sure >> that Yeah, that that also that that sort of um non-tangible assessment of cars. Let’s look let’s talk about the styling. >> Sure. That is which is nothing to do with with our numerical ratings or anything like that. That’s we’re car people. Our audience are car people. >> How do you think it looks? >> I kind of dig it. >> Yeah, I think the front looks good. >> It’s it’s it’s very blocky, >> which normally I’m not a fan of, but I I kind of like it. And uh I think honestly more than anything just because it’s so different than most other compact SUVs, you know, and I just it it stands out and it’s kind of to me it’s a little bit unique without being ugly. >> Yeah. Yeah. I think the front is different for me though. I kept seeing Nissan Rogue in the rear. >> Oh, that’s not a compliment. I’m sorry. >> You said it, not me. Uh, I don’t know. Every >> I tell it like it is. I don’t know. >> Something with the shape of the lights. It’s the way the line goes up and kind of meets where the rear glass is. It just I don’t know. It It’s not that I think the Nissan Rogue is not an attractive SUV or anything. It’s just they look so similar in in that rear three/arter view to me >> that I kept seeing it when I walked up to it. But I think the front looks really good. >> Now my wife whose taste you might question because she’s with me. I looked at the styling of the RAV 4 and said, “Well, it might take a little getting used to.” So that’s not necessarily a compliment, but um but listen, Talking Cars audience, let us know. Put put some comments in the in the in the in the comments section and and let us know if you what do you think of this stuff? >> Can I talk about just one more negative? >> Talk about anything that super producer Dave Abrams allows us to talk about. >> Um the rear seat. I don’t know if you guys sat back there. It’s just not as good as it should be. Um it’s it’s oddly low. And I say oddly because, you know, there’s this sort of stadium effect seating that a lot of SUVs have, which is cuz it’s it’s just more interesting to sit up a little higher. you. It lets passengers look out a little bit more. Uh so they don’t feel like they’re all sunken down, >> especially if you have kids. >> Exactly. Right. And so this does not have that. But what’s weird about that is that there for me anyway, there’s plenty of headroom left over. So there was room to have that seat higher. The problem with having the seat low, besides the fact that it doesn’t feel like that stadium effect, is that now you’re sitting too low and so now uh your your knees are higher up in the air. And I have I have almost no like under leg support, right? And uh I mean if if the seat if the bottom cushion was raked back more that would have helped as well but it’s just it’s again it’s not uncomfortable but it should be more comfortable I guess is what I’m saying you know. >> Yeah. I wonder if there’s you know to make the seats fold flat. Yeah. >> Depending on how >> you know if you want to maximize cargo space >> to have a super flat floor. >> Yeah. If you raise the the bench up too much then maybe the seat would have had to go up in an angle when you folded it or something like that. But >> ultimately yeah that’s not as comfortable as it should be. >> Yeah. Yeah. And every design um decision means a compromise somewhere else. >> Yes, that’s >> and certainly automotive design. >> Yes, that’s the car world. So, um let’s get down to the brass tax. Would you would you buy this new RAF 4 or would you recommend it to friends or family? >> I would personally, it’s just I would really be annoying about telling that person that they need to plug it in. Otherwise, just get that. I mean, we haven’t driven the hybrid yet, so TBD, I guess, on on the details, but if they’re not going to plug it in, then go somewhere else. But if you are interested in, you know, electric only driving and and all that like this in a plug-in hybrid specifically, this is a great option. >> Yeah. How how do you use your car? What is your commute like? Uh >> how to are you to >> Well, yeah, but some people if they’re really interested in saving money and they have a short commute and they have legitimately a place to plug it in, let’s say you’re not living in an apartment or something like that. Um then then it makes all the sense in the world to >> make the little extra effort, I suppose. >> Mr. Monosel. >> Yeah, totally agree. I I mean I I would recommend someone buying it just for the powertrain alone if for nothing else because it is so nice to drive as an EV and it is so nice to drive as a hybrid even when it’s not plugged in. But I would absolutely probably not be quite as annoying as Mr. Alex over here. But I would definitely harp on them fill in the gaps for you know like don’t if you’re not going to plug it in, don’t buy it. Just just buy the regular hybrid. Um so yeah, but I think it’s a really I think in in most ways it’s it’s a quite a good vehicle. Yeah, this is they’re entering or re-entering an area that has tough competition. I mean, buyers who want more space should look at the CRV. Uh buyers that want cabin that feels more special, look at the Hyundai Tucson. Uh and packaging efficiency, Subaru Forester. Luckily for consumers, there’s a lot of choices out there. Yeah, absolutely. And the RAV 4 is another really good, viable choice. Uh, the RAV 4 will go on sale in early 2026. Uh, the plug-in hybrid version goes on sale in the spring. The entry- level model is a front-wheel drive, which starts at $31,900. Um, check back to consumerreports.org for more information on the RAV 4 and uh we will get our test models as soon as we can. Which brings us to one of our favorite parts of the podcast, which is your questions. We love your questions. text 30 secondond videos. Just go to cr.org/talkingcars. That’s cr.org/talkingcars. And if we use your question on the podcast, we’ll send you a free t-shirt or some other auto test swag. And first up is Keith, who writes, “I’ve now owned three EVs. When I was shopping, one of my primary goals was to get a balance between horsepower for maneuvering and range for distance. It seems that horsepower figures for new EVs are increasing much faster than range. Is there a trade-off between horsepower and range? So, Alex, I will um turn to you first for a legitimately intelligent answer for Keith. >> I’ll try to keep it. >> Yeah, that’s the high high. >> Yeah. Well, first of all, Keith, absolutely. Like, some of these horsepower figures on these EVs are just out of control. Ridiculous. >> It’s ridiculous. It’s fun. But yes, some of them have gotten a little out of hand. But, you know, to answer more directly, like it’s not related in the way you might think, especially if you’re thinking about like gas cars, right? Where a big engine generally means less fuel economy or less efficiency and therefore less range, right? Because that engine needs to run at a certain level all the time. Basically, with a an electric vehicle, so much of this is driven by just the size, the capacity of the battery, right? That drives the range. Certainly the bigger uh the battery, all else equal, the more range you’re going to be able to get out of that vehicle. But also a bigger battery means you can pull power from that battery more quickly. Research something called the C rate of a battery. Basically, how how quickly can I discharge or or charge that battery and that ties to how powerful that motor is. But the thing is is with an EV, unless you’re going full throttle and you’re really using all of that power, it’s just running at a pretty efficient level, right? So yes, a bigger battery is going to make it heavier and more horsepower is going to generally if the automakers got some responsibility behind them means they’re going to put bigger things, wider tires, bigger brakes, heavier duty suspension, etc., etc., to hopefully cope with the amount of power that they’ve given the vehicle. But we see, in other words, we see very powerful EVs have really long ranges also, right? Things like the Lucid Air. I don’t know, another one that comes to mind, the Mercedes EQS. Uh, quite powerful, also one of the longest ranges that we’ve tested. And another example that I just looked at some more specific numbers is two vehicles that I think are quite comparable, the Model Y and the Equinox EV. So, the Model Y has a smaller battery pack, but is more efficient and went further in our range test and has more horsepower than the the Equinox EV. >> That’s a sweet spot. >> So, you know, the Equinox Yes. bigger battery, less range, less efficient, and less power. So, in other words, they’re not directly coupled the way you might expect. >> And would one of the downsides sort of be with having a lot of horsepower is that it gives the owner the opportunity to use that horsepower. So, I mean, and and and what I mean by that is, >> uh, if they do that, it’s going to it’s it’s going to hurt their range, right? So, if they drive it normally, you’re going to you’re going to have a longer range. But if you use that horsepower to its maximum, yeah, it’s going to be a real problem. But if you drive it, you know, in a efficient way, it will be efficient. >> I mean, aside from some of the the earliest EVs that Consumer Reports tested, the early Leafs, the Mitsubishi IMV, and all that stuff, >> horsepower has never really been much of an issue. >> I’m glad you brought that up. That was how I was going to close this out is even >> I wouldn’t be so worried. like try to get the range that you need and that you think you need for for what you’re going to do. But don’t worry so much about the power cuz even the slower EVs that we test are still doing 0 to 60 in like 6 seconds. >> They’re crazy fast, >> right? Yeah. The only all of them are going to feel quick from a stop and at lower speeds. It’s just it’s just when you get up to that 60 65 mph range, if it’s a kind of a lower horsepower EV, it won’t have the the uh you know the grunt that the higher horsepower ones do. But for the most part, they’re totally fine. We we love getting EV questions because we’re always testing them. We’ve we’ve invested all this money on tons of chargers here at Consumer Reports Test Track. So, we will be on top of all emerging EV technology. Which brings us to our last question and this is from John from Wintergreen Resort, Virginia. We live on a mountain in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Range and travel frequently to visit family in Vermont. Many of the roads we drive on are expressways and open highways with less than ideal pavement, especially the farther north we go. The Audi A6s we drive are available in multiple wheel sizes. I’ve always felt that bigger wheels are better for managing potholes, but the smaller wheels provide better ride because of less unsprung weight. We need true snow tires in winter and all seasons in the other three seasons. As we look at replacing cars in time, any thoughts on wheel size, on pothole survival, as well as ride noise and performance and Mr. Monaceel, I’m turning to you to enlighten John. >> Well, so I mean I John’s theory is interesting and it kind of follows like what happened with the mountain bike industry, you know, 15 to 20 years ago. mountain bikes had for a long time and had used 26-in wheels and the industry started switching over to 29in wheels or 29iners as we call them. And the theory there was and it and it works and it’s true is that this larger diameter wheel makes it easier to roll over obstacles. So, it makes it easier to get through uh very tough technical terrain. And it also has the bright side of of uh also they’re fantastic on really charging a rough fast downhill as well. They work great there also. But while that you would I can see why you would think that would be the case with potholes with a a car tire or wheel because it’s larger. So maybe it’s not going to fall as far down into the pothole. >> But the reality is that typically these larger wheels, the tires that are on them have shorter sidewalls, right? Typically the larger the wheel, the the shorter the sidewall. And when you have this very short sidewall, which mountain bike tires do not have, it ends up being very uh it’s a stiff short sidewall. And so it ends up kind of making the ride worse. Typically, not always. Obviously, there’s ways you can the manufacturer can cope with that through the suspension, but it ends up feeling quite often like the the wheel and tire are crashing through these potholes, whether they’re crashing over them or into them. And sometimes it’s to the point where you you swear that you just broke a wheel. Such a hard hit. And so, personally, I think 17s and 18s are the sweet spot of of wheel size. Back in the day when people were back, this is a long time ago in the early 2000s when you know people were so much into the sport compact movement, you know, modifying their cars. 17s and 18s were the sweet spot in terms of basically all you wanted to do was have a wheel big enough to fit the, you know, uh, larger brakes that you put in the car. That’s all that mattered. But going anything beyond that, basically you’re just adding a lot of weight that you don’t really need. So, my suggestion would be always look to a smaller uh wheel size if you can, >> right? I mean, growing up reading all the enthusiast magazines, it was all about low profile tires, right? That’s all they talked about. It’s like, oh, the handling and everything, blah, blah, blah. But daytoday, certainly in Consumer Reports testing, when we test multiple trim lines or we experience multiple trim lines, usually the trim lines with the larger wheels and tires, the ride is degraded. Yeah. And the noise is typically as well. You know, we’re us especially especially of course if it’s a wider tire or if it’s a performanceoriented tire, those are almost always going to be louder. And so you’re increasing your tire noise and your road noise that way as well. So >> and and it’s like it’s all about sidewall. We talked about how suspensions are set up, ride comfort, and but but a lot of it has to do with with with how how how tall the tires are. Right. >> Right. And there’s been this, you know, switch for years now to these bigger wheels. And it’s mostly, correct me if I’m wrong, Alex, for looks. It’s it’s what the automakers started doing. >> Uh, and then, um, buyers like the way they look. It It does make the car look better. It really does. Wheels, I mean, wheels can make or break a car style, right? And so, you can see why they’re doing it, >> but it’s just not the smartest thing to do for a certain certain um, aspects of car. But if if you upgrade to a higher performance wheel, you’re also getting probably a higher performance tire replacement cost. I’m always I’m always thinking like the buying decision. So it’s not so much that you’re buying something and you just like the way it looks right now. It’s how much is it going to cost to replace that as opposed to like the stock wheel and tire size. >> Right. >> So So that’s that’s probably another part of the the the decision here. >> Yeah. Yeah. And I’m just I’m just reading this and uh it sounds like if I’m understanding correctly like keeping the vehicle the same, the A6 in this case, going with a larger diameter wheel doesn’t mean the whole wheel entire package is going to be larger. You know, analogous to the 29 versus 26 in >> bike, right? >> They they bring the sidewall down so the whole outside diameter of the assembly is the same. So, it’s not changing, you know, how it impacts a pothole or anything like that in terms of >> rolling over it differently. it’s going to crash into it as you said, but >> and and what would the automaker, you know, equip the the stock vehicle with a certain mission in mind? In other words, an a mainstream A6 is probably going to skew a little bit more toward comfort as opposed to an S6 >> or one of the higher performance Audi’s, they’re they’re going to maybe have summer only tires, huge wheels, and whatnot. So, uh John doesn’t say which trim, you know, kind of A6 he has. So, I guess we’re kind of assuming it’s it’s more of the mainstream one, >> hopefully the wagon. >> But but but I mean, is it is it illegitimate to say that that most of the time the automakers know what the best wheel tire combination is for their car? >> Yeah. I mean, >> and should you just stick to that? >> They tune their cars a certain way. There’s a lot of engineering time and resources that go into these vehicles. So yeah, you can change something and kind of skew it in a direction that you might prefer or want to change, but yeah, they’re ultimately out of the box the vehicle is going to be as wellrounded as it’s going to be. >> So So sometimes the the answer is what do I do for replacement, you know, tires? Like we’ll stick with what the manufacturers and Ryan Ryan Pislowski will be very excited to know that you are uh going to get winter tires. Thank goodness for you and and uh and preparing for for the for the roads in in Vermont. We love Vermont up here. Anyhow, um that will about do it for this episode of Talking Cars, which was orchestrated and conducted by super producer Dave Abrams and edited by Andrew I still play hockey bise and of course Anatoli the great Shumsky. Uh as always check the show notes for more information on the vehicles topics that we discussed. Just a reminder, keep your questions coming. Go to cr.org/talkingcars. Thanks so much for tuning in. We’ll see you next time.

We take an early look at the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid XSE, which promises more power and a longer electric-only range than the previous versions called the RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid and RAV4 Prime. We discuss its EV capability, acceleration, interior feel, everyday usability, and where it is worth the $46,000 asking price. We also answer audience questions about how EVs balance horsepower and range, and whether smaller wheels are an effective way to deal with potholes.

00:17 – Toyota RAV4 PHEV first impressions
33:00 – how do EVs balance horsepower and range?
37:22 – how much does wheel size play in role in pothole damage?

2026 Toyota RAV4 PHEV First Impressions: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/hybrids-evs/2026-toyota-rav4-phev-review-a1016340226/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT

Low-Profile Tires vs. Potholes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBdRy0utyaM