Featured 2020 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid Spy Shots

Wasn't the styling revamp in 2019? There's more?

Addendum: oh, it's plug-in version. Well, charge door opposite side to the gas cap, lol.

 

wow, great find. the last thread was austrailia iirc, and complete camouflage.

late 2020? that would be sweet. i would take a hard look.

i'd be shocked if they used nimh

 

CHAdeMO is standard on the Prius Prime in Japan. That's why the charge port area is so large, to accommodate two receptacles. I don't think we'll get fast DC charging in the US for same reason the Prime doesn't have it.

While there is some technical reasons to use NiMH over Li-ion in cold weather, My belief is that Toyota uses it whenever they can because it is cheaper for them, and doesn't face supply competition. The Outlander PHEV has AWD, so not having it will be a disadvantage.

@telmo744 posted the first article with these photos. So I think they were taken in Spain or somewhere in Europe. Note the driver on the left side.

 

Fast charge on PHEV? Seriously? Then why bother with the ICE, just make it BEV? Fast chargers are expensive, normal user will just fill in the gas for the same price. Free fast chargers will not last for long.

This test mule was spotted in Europe, this is no coincidence, as next year manufacturers will have to meet CO2 targets, Toyota doesn't have to do much, they just have to make enough range to get sub 50g CO2 on the WLTP test cycle. IMO range will be short (20 miles), battery will be sized around 6-8 kWh, it's a mere hybrid upgrade, this is not a BEV. Hopefully trunk won't be too compromised.

The most critical part is pricing, it must compete with normal hybrid RAV4, majority of potential buyers will calculate when they break even, that is the only benefit in the eyes of average consumers. The lower the range, the lower the price premium, the bigger the trunk size, the more units Toyota will sell.

I know, It's the opposite of what people wan't, but IMO it's the only possible way a PHEV will sell in big numbers.

 

it's not a very big interior to begin with. to me, it will take a chassis redesign

 

from the looks of the 1990's RAV4, compared to the new ones? There has to be a much larger chassis. If that 1990's version RAV4-ev could get over 100 miles with nickel metal hydride? Then, the bigger chassis on the newest RAV4 ..... An EV version using much lighter per kWh lithium chemistry would easily get over 200 miles range.

CHAdeMO in Japan is typically lower power than here in the US, & more appropriately applied on much larger traction packs then the prime, because more heat is generated in smaller battery packs - especially if they're not liquid cooled.
Look how crippling heat is with a Nissan Leaf, even the newest version. It's still only air-cooled, and on a hot day? Once you deplete it's pack, you can no longer charge anywhere near the power, as if it were still cool.
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The Outlander PHEV and Prius Prime have CHAdeMO in some markets; the Mitsi even has it in the US. I don't see the point, but I'm in the land of cheap gasoline. In other markets where gas is noticeably more than electricity, I can see the draw of DC fast charging a PHEV.

We should be thankful it isn't smaller.

I think the concern over interior space is the fear that the battery will just be 'tossed' in the back like the Prime and Crosstrek PHEV.

How low is it? I thought most US ones supplied less than what the standard, or even the charger, is capable of.
Air cooling might be enough, if there is a fan. The Leaf relies on convection to move the air over the battery, which is why it is so bad. Nissan added a fan when they put the EV system into their little work van.

 

the thing is, Japanese power is all over the place. So one can't say that its CHAdeMO are lower power everywhere, but here's an example from plugshare if you filter out j1772 & only look for CHAdeMO, you can see the power level that these Mitsu EV car's are charging at;

Other regions? Other areas within other regions? Not so slow.
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How much greener, if at all, would you expect this to be vs a standard Gen4 assuming 50% of miles were accomplished in an ev-mode?

I’d be cross shopping the two as a family vehicle, if it ever comes here, due to the need for more cargo room than a Prime would offer.

 

how much greener poly depends on your electric power generation, unless you go solar

 

I live in a land of expensive gasoline (1.2 €/L) and cheap electricity (0.09 €/kWh), but a fast charger is around the same price (0.20 €/min, 8 €/per session) as driving with "expensive" gasoline.

 

You are lucky, gasoline here is above 1.5€/L and electricity between 0.12€-0.25€/kwh...

 

From a statistics point of view our price of electricity is at 0.16 €/kWh, but there is a lower night rate and there are different providers. There is also a fixed monthly amount (around 13 €) no matter how much you consume it will be the same. This may be what's causing the statistics to show higher price than actual per kWh.

 

Not to mention the tolls for the motorway .

Probably only gone up since I was there.

They do a good job of fleecing you in Portugal .

 

Which is just like pouring gasoline into car - depends on how much that costs.

free - or put another way - it depends if some other entity is paying for it

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What other SUV could it be confused with in the wild?
" same body length, height, width, weight, wheel base and wheel track "
as the RAV
see youtube My Cousin Vinny Marisa Tomei " Automotive Expert" and "The Defense is Wrong"