The high horsepower and 0-60 times are a big waste for what this compact SUV should be. Imagine what efficiencies could have been achieved if the power was cut and mpg's were spotlighted.

 

you’re always so negative.

 

Yes. LC500h dressed in crown suit it seems...

 

You're the expert, so how much exactly?

 

I'm no expert, just realistic and observant. Since the beginning, the RAV4 has been built and known to be an efficient, affordable, family, run-about compact. With today's race to achieve the highest mpg's, and Toyota's big push for hybrids/plug-ins, this new announcement is odd, at best. Those looking for speed and power will not drop a thought on a RAV4, just like no one would look to a Prius for speed.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Somebody's got to keep things grounded. =)

 

The compromise in MPGs is because of the heavier battery pack artificially dialing down the power won't make the package more efficient.

 

It won’t matter anyway because the small drop in efficiency is more than made up for by being able to run full electric for most people’s driving patterns.

Also, it’s the same ICE as the regular hybrid. The power gain comes from the upgraded battery, electric motors and power electronics (like the voltage booster) that have been upgraded and that doesn’t entail a decrease in efficiency in itself. The power gain is a natural consequence and not necessarily the design goal of the upgrades (although they most likely intended it even if they didn’t have to).

 

probably not... it actually has very high MPGe rating while also having by far the most battery capacity from the list below.
So it has same 90 MPGe as Subaru that is a lot slower and has half the battery/range.

It really is a good effort. Also shows how bad are the germans at this. Keep in mind MPGe does not account for how much battery capacity/range you have, just efficiency of all of it together.

From MT:

• Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid | 46 MPGe | $163,250
• Bentley Bentayga Hybrid | 50 MPGe | $159,625
• Volvo XC90 plug-in | 55 MPGe | $67,995
• BMW X5 xDrive45e iPerformance plug-in | 56 MPGe | TBD
• Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e | 56 MPGe | $51,645
• Volvo XC60 plug-in | 57 MPGe | $55,590
• MINI Cooper S E Countryman All4 | 65 MPGe | $37,750
• Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV | 74 MPGe | $37,175
• Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid | 90 MPGe | $35,970
• Ford Escape plug-in | TBD | TBD

 

The Rav 4 is the best selling vehicle in the US. It beats the second place Honda CRV by 15%. Add this new PHEV option and sales will skyrocket. A 39 miles electric range will cover for the average driver not using gas or very little or a daily ride. I would have to get gas about every two months. The RAV 4 hybrid gets 40 mpg now. With the RAV 4 hybrid only $2,000 more then the gas version will interesting to see the price. Plug-in hybrids receive an average of $4,500 tax credit. The most exciting news is hopefully this will be coming to Lexus models soon.

 

Yeah Germans are real bad at this PHEV game, it's a stopgap for them and entry ticket into forbidden downtown areas. Different philosophy overall, for Germans hybrid portion is addition to ICE while Japanese use hybrid and ICE pieces together to create synergy.

 

I completely disagree. At least for my household.
I totally respect there are other people with different objectives. I expect there are a group of people wanting that hyper efficient crossover.
I do believe however there is a healthy segment of people that want performance oriented crossovers. Basically upscaled hot-hatches. We aren't looking for extreme performance as the true hot hatches, but I do like to smile occasionally...

We have an 08 Rav4. The one with the good V6. It's the fastest generation of Rav4 (short of the new Primes). A big part of the reason we cling to this vehicle is the great balance of function, performance, reliability.
Reliability is very big for us, so Toy/Lex is our default preference. Treated us well, not saying others suck.
Crossover functionality is great for us.
Performance of recent Rav's has been a barrier to us refreshing to newer models. The NX and RX a kinda OK, but not great and the hybrids have perf penalty that blocks us there. So far, not enough to get us to move.

We tend to own vehicles for 10-15 years. We hold out for everything we want because we are going to live with it for a long while. If we rolled every 3 years we would likely be more flexible.
A performance phev crossover with reliability is exactly what we have been waiting for. This Rav looks great for that. The only issue is if we hold out for a better NX/RX instead. Or that someone else draws our interest in that time.

 

More photos

 

I think your situation is quite unique. People do want performance SUV's, just not from the RAV4. Even Toyota got rid of your "performance" engine option, to better cater to fuel efficiency.

The direction the company has been focused on is efficiency, reliability (as always), adventurer, and value. If they want to re-invent the role of the RAV4, they have their work cut out. Would have made more sense to introduce the new tech and direction on an all-new model or a more car-like CUV with some handling.

 

You’re simply wrong. People want performance AND efficiency. That’s why the Tesla’s are so popular. The problem is they'll only pay up to a certain amount for it.


This Rav4 Prime will achieve performance and efficiency at the same time. It’ll be as efficient as the current Rav4 Hybrid (the Toyota announcement says most efficient Rav4), have electric range and be powerful. It’s only a trade for one or the other in your imagination.


With that said this can become stillborn if priced too high. But if it’s pricier than the hybrid to a reasonable degree it’ll absolutely sell out every unit. Toyota just won’t be able to make a huge number because there aren’t that many batteries available (this is why Tesla built a battery factory to support their growth).