As much as we love the car, we had to let it go as my wife and I want to buy a new home here in Northern California next year. We bought this car 10 months ago with 37K for about $35000, we ended up trading it in on a RAV4 EV for $32500. While I did lose $2500 + tax in ten months, but we did get 16K miles out of it. There were definitely some quality issues with this vehicle, but we would definitely consider coming back in three years when our lease is up on the EV. Anyway thanks for all the help guys, good luck with everything. I will definitely miss the soft leather seat and the luxury feel of the Lexus. Still, getting $10K back and having my payment cut by 25% is something that has to be done if we want a second kid here in expensive California. As I said to my wife, these cars are everywhere. While they are expensive, I am sure I can find another one again.

 

cossie1600, best of luck with the RAV4. While it's sad you had to let the 450h go, like you said you might come back to the RXh in the future. The 4th gen should be out by then. Who knows, maybe the NX will appeal to you more. Best of luck in the home hunt. And come back and visit us on CL.

 

We will definitely get a Lexus again. With the incentive on the REV2 (RAV EV 2WD), I just can't pass up on it as I get 10K in cash back plus I lower my payment by 25%. It's only three years,no biggie. I cant wait to see what they have to offer next.

 

Can you tell us about your experience with the RAV4 vs the RX?

Personally, i find the RAV4 as the most agile Toyota. it handles great and the cornering is far better than the RX. ( RX a little of the disadvantage due to it's length).
Comfort wise, especially for those long freeway drives, i'll never give up the RX. But if you want to have some fun on the race track, the RAV4 is quite a surprise.

 

The RAV 4 EV is a little different as it was built with a $51K sticker on it. There are a lot of options on it that can rival the RX. For example, the LED headlights are amazing. You can even adjust it to shine at people as needed. The NAV on that car is also like the 2013+ NAV., so it actually has higher resolution and more features than my 2011. This is all done with a touch screen too, no remote touch.

As far as handling, you are right in that the Lexus is not quite as nimble. Yet I can tell you I feel more comfortable pushing the Lexus than the Toyota as the RAV4 EV just feels very heavy, the steering is also very dead. The car will turn in great initially, and then the understeer picks up and the car just wants to go straight. In a way, it reminds me of the new ES300 I had as a loaner. It felt sporty, but can't turn to save its life.

The interior is nowhere close to Lexus with its ugly fake leather and cheap plastic all over the car. The colorful NAV, dash and HVAC did make it more bearable. The RAV4 runs about 3-6db on average louder than the Lexus. On top of the noise, there was also a lot more vibration too from the suspension and drivetrain. It isn't bad like my Leaf, but it is definitely more than the Lexus. I would say the vibration would be on par with something like a Camry/Accord.

As far as cargo space, the RAV 4 is about 20% smaller. Yet I think it actually has better usable space than the RX. Everything was built with convienent and not so much comfort in mind. There is decent amount of storage underneath the rear carpet too. Also since it doesn't have the giant wheel well stuck up on the side, it's a lot easier to stack boxes in there. And the trunk sits much lower too, makes it a lot easier to load heavy items. Of course you have to be careful with that car in the city as the tailgate swings to one side. I parked too close to the car behind me and I ended up not being able to open my trunk.

Lastly, the crown of the REV2 is the Tesla built EV motor. The motor is only rated about 150/200, but it can go up to 170/250 with the sport button. The motor is way more efficient than the one on my Leaf and the 40kwh battery allows me to do 85+ miles easily on 80% charge. Unlike the RX450h where the car has the annoying engine whine as you build up speed, the REV2 just takes off and can hold its own in highway acceleration test up to about 80mph. The biggest problem you will find is that the eco tires make it very hard to take off from a stop light without peeling out. Today I was trying to beat a giant loud diesel truck to the 101, I almost got beat by the gas guzzler because the tires just wouldn't grip. The EPA rates the car to be about 103 miles @ 90% charge. I have no doubt in my mind that you can beat that driving faster than average (I used to get 24-25mpg on my 450h). There is no way you can do that in a Leaf without backing off the gas.

Overall it is a great car. For those who is in the market for a new mid size commuting SUV, you might want to give this a shot. You can get these cars for less than $35K now, which is not much more than a Honda Pilot.

 

Forgot to mention the RAV4's radio is way better than the 10 speaker system on my rxh.

 

Wife and I traded in our 06 RAV 4 for the RX. Loved the RAV, especially because it had the 6 cyl (essentially the same engine in the RX) which I don't think is available any longer. That little sucker could run circles around the RX. The only knock against the RAV: it was really loud on the open highway.

ps I agree with cossie1600. The RAV's radio was way better the our RX. which was good because we had to turn it up full blast to overcome the road noise.

 

Cossie, what's the MSRP on the RAV EV well equipped in the top trim level? If when Toyota/Lexus comes out with a version like the 'Volt' that will keep going on a small gas engine big enough to provide power to the electric motor I might be interested. It would have to better built than the 'Volt'.

 

I believe the RAV EV is based on the 2012 model. The NAV in the 2013 is definitely a step below in screen size and I don't think you can upgrade to a bigger one like you can with the Prius. Another boneheaded move by Toyota.

 

cossie1600 - Got to agree with you there, living standard in CA is a bit high, but if you ever in the market for a RX again .. it dime n dozen here, used n new.

Welcome to Nor Cal, just in time for the NEW Bay Bridge grand opening.

 

Thanks Cossie for the RAV4 and RX mash up. It was a very informative read. Thanks again!

 

Cruiter, the Msrp of this car is 51k, but u can lease it like it is a 33k car. In ca, we have 2500 cash additional dollars. With no down payment, my lease is 470 taxed 8.75%. Car has an everyday range of about 85 90, but you can go extended and do 110 or drive slow to do 150 miles. The residual on this is 19900 at the end of lease too. Judging by the value of the first gen rav 4 ev, I bet I can make money off this. You have to ship this to Georgia as it is a ca vehicle, Toyota won't make another one. They actually hate this car lol.

The car is based on a 2012 rav 4, but it has a different interior. The Mac screen is 7 inch or something, it's big. The led headlights put the Lexus hid to shame

 

This is a very interesting car as it had a tesla drivetrain underneath it. I bet Toyota loses 20k for each one sold. They are making 2600 of these only.

 

My lease is unlimited miles too, no worry about depreciation!!!

 

I see they just dropped the lease price on the 2013 RAV4 EV:

http://wot.motortrend.com/2013-toyot...th-399263.html