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

Isn't available for sale in NA yet. It might have arrived at dealers this quarter before the pandemic.

 

"As on the RAV4 Hybrid, the innovative Predictive Efficient Drive feature ...."

hmm not sure if we have that on our RAV4H..remembering the hills on the way to Walmart?

 

The Rav4H does have PED. If you have GPS it shows on the map where you have done regenerative braking at stops.

I don't think it makes a lot of difference but I am getting somewhat better mpg this summer than last when the vehicle was new.

 

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You can "build" one on the Toyota website now but when you check inventory none can be found.

 

In May, it was announced deliveries to dealers would start in the summer. That started June 20th, but company scheduling usually revolves around quarters, and the new one started yesterday.

Seeing how the Priusp sold almost 2500 in its first two months, and we are only getting 5000 Rav4ps this year, I would expect the first ones to dealers to be closer to the end of summer.

 

Nearly 3 miles per kWh really isn't terrible, when you consider such a Vehicle .... it's weight, size, drag coefficient is a far cry from a prius. That level of efficiency is pretty much on par with our Chrysler Pacifica plug-in. Push a couple tons of car down the road & you have to give up something. True - the model x can get 3mi/kWh & is bigget/heavier than the Rav - but the Rav is not configured to be a mileage champ.
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The EPA rating of Prius Prime, 133mpge is only 3.95miles/kWh. That means, the Rav4 Prime is about 30% reduction. Comparison of the gas engine side between Rav4 Hybrid of 40mpg vs Prius of 54mpg is about 26% reduction. Considering that my own Pathfinder Hybrid is giving me only 25mpg after a year, for a compact SUV, the number looks good to me.

 

Plus, my long-term average on my Prime is 5 miles/kWh - 25% better than the rating.

 

Yes, that makes me think the RAV4 PRIME can do better than rated 94mpge in hands of right drivers.

 

Compare Side-by-Side



Yes you are close but a little too precise as there are rounding errors lets call it 2.8 miles/kwh or a charge of 15 kwh to charge it. There are charging losses so its likely less than 90% or 13.5 kwh of useable pack for EV range or around 72% of the pack. Its likely they need to maintain more of the pack for power for hybrid operations.

It is not terrible. At $0.17/kwh canadian its about 6 canadian cents per kwh which would be equivalent to gasoline @$2.40/gallon canadian for the rav4 hybrid at 40 mpg and I think gasoline is more expensive than that.

The bigger problem with the rav4 prime is toyota doesn't appear to want to deliver it into many places. I'm sure they could sell a lot in texas with cheap renewable electricity prices and commutes that would be all electric and long drives that at 38 mpg highway would be much more efficient than most current crossovers that people drive. It could definitely reduce air pollution in dallas and houston.

 

I'm not sure what we were expecting though. It is similar to the Gen3 Prius vs. Prius v wagon. The fact that it is heavier makes a huge difference. I can really notice the weight between out Gen3 Prius and our Pruis v. And the EPA and fuelly averages are pretty clear that it's not just me.

Edit : And isn't it true that the Rav4 Prime is 'tuned' for more power, etc..vs. the Prius Pime? If so, that could certainly play into it as well.

 

There are 12 for sale in our area. Three are XSE and the rest are SE. Only one is actually MSRP under 40K, at $39,609. All the rest approach $42,000 for the SE and a rather wide variance between $46,000 and darn near $49,000 for the XSE. Odd none of the XSE have the XSE Premium Package with options which is supposed to add in the 6.6kWh charger.


iPad ? Pro

 

I don't think the comparison of Gen3 Prius vs. Prius V wagon is not quite equivalent for comparing Prius Prime vs. Rav4 Prime. They are totally different cars. Yeah, I would never expect Rav4 to be anywhere close to the FE of Prius. If saving fuel (either gas or electricity) is the main goal, I will drive Prius Prime any time. That being said, after being a single car household (Prius Prime only) for a little over a year, we came to a conclusion that we do need a bigger car with larger cargo space. If Sienna hybrid was out last year, we might have bought it, but then again it would have been a quite bit pricier than what we paid for a used Pathfinder Hybrid last year.

 

Of course it is not quit equivalent. Just pointing out that weight makes a huge difference...regardless of drivetrain. Physics. Should be obvious but I see far too many discussions..even on here...that leave this important fact out. It needs to be reiterated.

Yeah..weight vs. space is probably the biggest trade off there is. We got the Prius v to replace our minivan...so the reduced MPG was more than tolerable.

 

a slow charging 240v is something that new buyers won't understand until after they already own it. We wouldn't have purchased a max 3.6kW charging car - knowing a 6.6kW onboard charger can refill in under 2 hours. Brand new buyers don't get that, and manufacturers can save a little bit of money that way. Heck, manufacturers even use chintzier upholstery that you don't like - just to save a few cents here & there.
In any event, aren't many dealerships marking them up thousands over invoice?
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The package has more than just the upgraded charger, and not sending out any optioned out examples with the roll out is odd. More likely the factory couldn't get some required part at this time.

Charge times I've seen listed are; 12hrs at Level 1, 4.5hrs with the 3.3kW charger, and 2.5hrs with the 6.6kW.

 

Sadly, many if not most public Chargers are running 2 legs of 3 phase, which frequently means charging down from 240v to 208v. So adding that 208v charge - kiss off another 15% of charge times.