Ha. There was a lot of negative criticism of Toyota, here in CL, in the last few years, for not moving as fast as some other automakers in jumping on the EV bandwagon. Now we see that the hesitation was done for good reason.

Except for their excellent and durable drivetrains, I'm generally not the biggest fan of Toyota products...but I give Toyota credit for being ahead of a lot of other companies in not wasting a lot of resources developing too many pure EVs. And they have developed what are arguably the best hybrids on the market....although IMO Hyundai and Kia are right on their heels in that department.

 

the RAV4 for 2026 (which this thread is about) is far ahead of the GM offerings as well as Ford Escape. The Ford escape actually feels like a tier below,

 

I am so tempted to get a 1st Gen, dear of death is the only thing holding me back lol!

 

Well no, but to accelerate like an LS does at normal throttle you do

 

And thats the best example...Toyota doesn't have enough interest in a niche car like the Supra to design one without it being basically a BMW.

Exactly. Thats what we're going to get because thats good business. Now if you like SUVs, Toyota has some of the coolest SUVs in the industry. Stuff you can't get from anybody else...because they can make cool stuff people will buy.

EVs are still the future, the industry just overemphasized the short term demand.

 

Thats the problem. You're trying to get LS acceleration from a 4 cyl ES250, thats not a reasonable expectation and its not a ding against the ES250 because it can't provide that. If you drive it the way a reasonable person would drive such a car its perfectly adequate.

I often will pull out somewhere when driving the Pacifica and say "forgot which car I was in lol" and then I change my driving to fit what the car is capable of providing. I'm not passing 4 cars into oncoming traffic in the Pacifica.

 

Have you test-driven or looked at a 2026? If not, I'd hold off making comments like that. While there are some reviewers whose opinion I respect, I myself usually hold off comparing vehicles until I have personally sampled them.

 

I've been trying to find a clean example for years, no luck. Guy near me has a 5-speed in green he loves it and will never sell.

 

The overall package of the new 2026 Toyota Rav4 is light years ahead of Ford Escape and other competitors. The design. Power train options. All hybrid. The Toyota is made in the USA 🇺🇸 at the Kentucky plant.

 

I truly never understand the hate this forum has for the RAV4. Don't want one? Don't buy one. I drive a 2019 hybrid one frequently and it's not noisy at all and it offers great torque, comfortable seats, price appropriate materials, and though it's subjective, I think it looks good. Great features like a panoramic roof that opens, digital rear view mirror, CarPlay, radar cruise, etc. It's all on the price point, in my opinion.

Just out of curiosity, how did you know it was 4500 RPM? The hybrid doesn't have a tach. Or are you just that good?

 

I somewhat agree, but I'm certainly not getting the experience I'm used to in a hybrid and the other eccentric behaviors on top of that are off putting for me

 

I love the green on them, they are just such cute little cars and SO light. Makes them awesome to drive IMO, rust kills them around me though so I would have to buy a southern car

 

Hybrids are no different than any other car. Some are slow. Some are fast. Compared to the 2004 Prius we had the Rav 4 Hybrid is a rocket.

 

You can hear it, floor it all the way it it will hold at power peak or if you realtor want to be a smartass like me put a scanner on it lol!

Did that to check a vibration on a customer car, hard to do if you don't know your RPM to repeat testing conditions

 

he can do it by ear to the nearest RPM.

I never cared for RPM since driving hybrids for the last 10 plus years. Yes you can change the gauge in some models to show tech instead of the charge meter.