For the old RAV4 PHEV, Toyota claimed an EV range of 46 miles on a full charge. The new one in Design trim offers 85 miles, only dropping to 82 miles in the all-wheel-drive model. Our drive saw a mix of hybrid and pure-EV running, although when the battery was around 75 per cent, the RAV4 had an estimated range of 50 miles, suggesting around a 70-mile range. For comparison, Volkswagen claims its Tiguan eHybrid has a range of up to 75 miles, the Ford Kuga PHEV can reach up to 45 miles and the new Jaecoo 8 SHS-P, with its massive 83.4kWh battery, is slightly below the Toyota at 83 miles.
Charging has been upgraded for the latest RAV4 as well. The old car’s 6.6kW rate was agonisingly slow and really only suited to overnight top-ups, but the new model has a 50kW charge rate meaning it can be replenished from 10 to 80 per cent in 30 minutes. There’s also a new 11kW AC charger, which is twice as fast as the previous version, meaning the battery can be almost fully topped up in around three hours.
Model Battery sizeRangeToyota RAV4 PHEV AWD22.7kWh82 milesToyota RAV4 PHEV FWD22.7kWh85 miles
Tax
Since the RAV4 Plug-in has a starting price in excess of £40,000, it faces the luxury car tax supplement for the first five years of ownership. However, that’s not uncommon in the world of PHEVs and most of its rivals incur the same cost.
Depreciation
Given how much of the new RAV4 is carried over from the fifth-generation model, we expect depreciation to be similar to before. The previous model’s residuals were in the mid-50 per cent range – pretty impressive and a match for newer rivals such as the Cupra Terramar.
The RAV4’s interior is still more ergonomic than some rivals but it’s taken a downturn with the latest model, and quality isn’t as good as before either
Pros
Chunky, imposing styling
GR Sport brings a lot of visual changes
Physical steering wheel buttons
Cons
Climate control now on screen
Lacking colour on non-GR Sport cars
Suspect material quality in places
The styling of the new RAV4 has moved on quite a bit from the old car, although its proportions are almost identical. The front end features a set of C-shaped LED headlights – similar to the ones found on the new Toyota Prius and facelifted bZ4X – and there’s a honeycomb-shaped grille. The surfacing of the RAV4 is blocky, too, hinting at its rugged off-road appeal alongside the plastic wheelarch extensions. At the rear, we can see the RAV4’s new model logo sitting between its rear lights – themselves embedded in a black piece of trim on the bootlid. Other markets also get an ‘outdoor-inspired’ Woodland trim with a raised ride height, exclusive paints, all-terrain tyres and a reshaped grille and front bumper, although this isn’t destined for the UK.
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