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

The cost of solar and things like that in SoCal only make sense when there is federal tax credit etc attached to it. I believe there is still a 20-25% one for solar but the price for solar has gone up a lot in recent years. I believe it’s do to the cities charging for permits etc

 

I’m strongly of the mindset that right to charge and right to install (solar)
Needs to exist at a federal level alongside permitting bans/limits

If you do things “the right way” in some areas you will pay more on the government than the cost of the panels and equipment.

On grid installations and on roof solar need to be opened up more so you don’t need to be a lawyer or need to partner at high cost with a limited set of experts to mount panels.

 

No; not strange.

A fast charger, when used often, shortens the life of the battery.

 

A 6.6kW charger is available in the top package, and a 2-3 hour charge is nowhere near a "fast charger". Anything over an hour is a slow charge.

 

anything up to about C1 even C2 has zero effect on battery life.

Even extremely high rates of charge have minimal affect on life if temperatures and SOC are low.

 

I didn't personally require actual price parity for solar, but was willing to put some money where my mouth was in doing my part to reduce carbon emissions. Getting my house to energy-net-zero had some value in and of itself, and solar PV covered half of that change.

Though it did help that my costs were held down by DIY design and installation.

What permits are needed in your area?

Besides the utility interconnect agreement, I needed only an ordinary electrical permit, the same as for any other electrical work (e.g. heat pump installation, water heater move, etc.). A mechanical permit and engineering review would have been needed if the system would have added more than a certain number of pounds per square foot, but normal solar PV doesn't reach that roof loading.

 

Remember when they used to call it Naugahyde? They stopped using it when the Nauganoceros became extinct. Now they use the hide of soft skinned Texans.

 

It's not vinyl.

 

That's what the soft-skinned Texans are always telling me.

There's an interesting table showing the differences in this website. I wish they had included leather in the table too:
Polyurethane Furniture vs. Vinyl Furniture: What’s the Difference? | Office Interiors

 

Funny that they say "breathability" is "excellent". I covered it with seat covers because the stuff doesn't breathe at all and my back was always becoming hot and soaked.

 

Not like tarriffs would have any bearing on PV price.

 

The L3 charger in my car takes 250 kw or a little more than 3C. 6.6 kw L2 is an option and isn't very fast at all, its arround 0.4 C, but you have to buy a lot of options to get it on this car. That is the rate of most L2 public chargers. The price for these chargers has gone down drastically and it really is a minimum to make it worthwhile to charge outside work or home.

 

Ok, summary of further details on the RAV4 Prime has the following (please note voltages are Japanese origins unless noted):

18.1 kWh battery (355.2V, 51 Ah) - recharges in 5.5 hours via the standard 3.3 kW charger at 200V (16A). Probably will be slightly faster with US 240V, 16A L2. I don’t believe they will offer the 6.6 kW charger in Japan. Recharges in 27 hours using 100V at 6A which is probably necessary for the Japanese market. Should be significantly faster with 110V, 12A US L1 like 14 hours.

Battery cooled by A/C coolant - also the same as the European press release, but I’m starting to think it may be a translation issue. I believe it will be air cooled via a separate A/C loop which of course uses the A/C coolant.

100V 1.5 kW AC socket use is selectable between traction battery or hybrid mode (this seems like a Japanese only option). I’m pretty sure the US version will use the traction battery first and then hybrid.


Toyota Launches New Model RAV4 PHEV | Toyota | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website


iPad ? Pro

 

Thanks for the link, @drash.

Total power (hybrid) 225kW, total power from the two electric motor ratings is 134kW + 40kW = 174kW = 233HP if the battery can max-out both motors (it can't in the Prius Prime).

The Prius Prime has a 95 cell 25AH battery. The Rav4 Prime has a 96 cell 51Ah battery. So, slightly more than twice as big. The Prius Prime battery seems to be limited to about 68kW. If power density is the same, that would make the Rav4 battery 140kW, not 174kW. Maybe it has more power density and can run the motors at full power. Have to wait and see I guess.

 

Any ideas what is the city/hwy mpg after the battery is depleted?

 

The most recent I've seen is 42 combined, U.S. EPA scale. That is a slight bump up from what was mentioned at last year's news release, and slightly higher than the RAV4 Hybrid (40 combined, 41 city, 38 highway).

 

While the new RAV4 and RAV4 Prime look nice, I'm too cheap to buy one. I'm not sure I like the highway fuel economy either if it truly is only 38 MPG.

why the heck doesn't Toyota bring the Yaris Cross over to the USA? The one vehicle I'm quite interested in gets nixed in the USA....aargh!

 

Didn't the Volt go to a 6+kW charger for its last year or two?

The pack of the gen2 Volt was a little larger, and it took a little over 10hrs to charge from a 15amp outlet(Level 1).

Some hybrids did have a loop from the air conditioner to directly cool the pack, but i don't think that is feasible with a PHEV sized pack. The Outlander PHEV directly chills the air for the battery with the A/C.

 

Towing capacity for the RAV4 Prime?

Do the back seats fold down flat?