Featured Get the First-Ever 2021 RAV4 Prime Starting at Under USD$40K MSRP

yes - i'd convinced friends to buy a Camry Hybrid, only they didn't notice when they bought it that there were no vanity sun visor mirror lights (as many women especially like to use for their makeup & such). Oh, you could get them. But you had to buy the model with the $1,500 sunroof, that you don't necessarily want - just so you can have lighted vanity mirror sun visors.
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iirc, for comparison, the Ford Escape plug in starts in the mid $30's range.
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It's also a Ford.

 

who has been pretty successful with their hybrids to date.

 

Interesting, looks like they started making RAV4H in Kentucky in Jan_2020.
But I do not seem to have the usual door-jamb sticker with born-on date and location.
Since we bought end-Feb I am not sure.

 

OK @austingreen I am VIN starting "2T3" = Canada

 

I saw the Rav 4 Prime at the Toronto auto show... Super nice! Checks everything on the wish list, other than the price tag.

 

I suppose they could put that spare tire on the back hatch like the older RAV4's

 

or an aftermarket kit?

 

Not if the door swings up to open, which is what most buyers prefer. Toyota, and every body else, got rid of the spare on the rear to have an up opening door. A spare tire and wheel is too much weight for the struts. reinforcing everything will increase cost and weight.

An arm to hold the spare, that attaches to the rear quarter panel and swings to the side might be possible. A hitch mounted spare holder that somehow gets out of the way of the door may be available.

 

The door swinging up is a better design. It would be great to have a removable spare tire arm, that also could be a bike rack ;-) Really in town I have simply had my car towed to a tire place. I could also have a friend grab my spare in the garage if I still had one. On trips it would be really nice to have that spare with me just in case.

 

With gas prices being below $3 it doesn’t make sense to plug in with California electricity rates.

 

How about if you make your own electricity? Home rooftop PV?

 

your still paying for the roof top and in my area Edison still gets there cut as I got solar and paid cash for it but had to sign an agreement so Edison would “allow me” or “give me permission” to put solar on the roof of my own home.
*messed up system we live in

 

That is an unfortunate situation.

California rates for electric are set to skyrocket. The state of California sued itself recently when it imposed a huge lawsuit on its public electric supplier (PG&E) due to the wildfires. The Utility will now pass the cost on to its consumers - the public who will pay the lawsuit.

PG&E settlement reached: Power company settles for $11 billion over Camp Fire and other California wildfires - CBS News

PG&E will maintain their profit margin and pass on any expenses due to the lawsuit to the public. These situations will never end well and are indeed most unfortunate.

 

I guess only silver lining is I am Edison power. Another ridiculous situation is Corona makes there own power (I live in Corona) and doesn’t supply us with the power but sells it to Edison.

 

New England is another region the gas is cheaper than electricity. Hawaii has an even higher electricity rate, but not sure how cheap the gas is there. I have been paying more to drive my Prius Prime PHEV on EV than HV for the last three years, but still thinking of getting RAV4 Prime... Only if Toyota gives as good of incentives as they did on Prius Prime.

 

What's a new car for, if not for drilling holes for your mods;


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For me, that is a sunk cost of housing.

I had to sign an interconnection agreement (with minimal one-time application fee) to electrically hook up to the local utility. But our legislature has established a system where the utility doesn't get a cut, but must play in a net metering environment. And since this utility is publicly owned, not investor owned, it happily and cooperatively plays to such established public policy.

The agreement is technically for the interconnection only. I don't need any utility permission to put a non-grid-tie solar system on my roof or in the yard. But a Tesla Powerwall or other on-site off-grid battery storage is far more than I want to pay.