Prius Prime to the Rav4 Prime

Leaves me confused; what are the two electric-only ranges?

 

Yikes..the RAV4 is only 38 in HV mode? That would be hard to swallow for me coming from a Gen3 or Prime.

 

It's kind of like people stating the Prius v (wagon) fuel efficiency comes close to the Gen3. However, in reality, that just isn't true. It's physics...the v is just a larger, heavier vehicle compared to the liftback. Fuelly spells this out pretty well. I'm sure the same will hold true, on average, for the Prius Prime vs the Rav4 Prime.

Also, I'm not sure I like the emphasis on HP for hybrids...but I guess I'm old school. However, if the HP 'feature' converts some diehard ICE folks, that's ok with me!

 

The Rav4 Prime has those really cool paddle shifters that make it go faster.

 

The Rav4 Prime look appealing but you can't get them. And when you do there will be other choices that also look good. Its getting very competitive for auto makers.

 

Yeah..I understand. I have no doubts that both can beat estimates if driven properly. However, the implication is that the Rav4 Prime could 'come close' to the Prius Prime in HV mode. Frankly, 38MPG is pretty darn poor in HV mode...I was expecting better. However, it does absolutely make sense. Like you said...the RAV4 Prime is a bigger vehicle that seems tuned for 'horsepower'. Like I said...I don't like that...but if it puts butts in the seats...so be it.

I'm coming from a place where I own a Gen3 liftback and a Prius v (wagon) and I drive both on the same roads and in the same conditions, etc...I can 'feel' the difference in the weight. There is no way the v is going to be more efficient on average than the liftback. However, some people have debated that here on PriusChat. This just makes me naturally skeptical when I hear claims that are FAR above the EPA estimates...In the real world, it just doesn't hold water.

Edit: The above is another reason why I'm a bit miffed that Toyota won't release the Yaris Cross in the USA. I would have liked to see how the base hybrid Cross would do. I won't even mention a Yaris Cross Prime..that is apparently far too much to ask for.

 

Its a sweet looking car

 

The biggest difference between 2021 PP and RP is the price tag.

Prius Prime $28,220 Starting MSRP
Rav4 Prime $38,100 Starting MSRP

Add $5,000 cashback for PP but none for RP, even with larger $7,500 tax credit for RP, the price difference is huge. For someone who can not utilize the full tax credit, the difference is even larger.

Prius Prime $18,720 based on starting MSRP ($28,220 Starting MSRP -$5K rebate -$4.5K tax credit)
Rav4 Prime $30,600 based on starting MSRP ($38,100 Starting MSRP-$7.5K tax credit)

They are not in the same category of classes to be compared.

 

Why does one need that much power in a vehicle like that? Someone mentioned the weight, but the aerodynamics probably aren't that good as well.

 

I was thinking about getting one. But in my case in Calif there was another $3k in State and APCD rebates and $18k trade-in for my 2017PP made a new PP almost free. On top of that every dealer I could find that had the Rav available was adding $5k as a premium.

 

It looked to me that it was built to be reasonably well powered in both EV mode and ICE mode. And the architecture ended up allowing it to nearly add those two mode powers together.

 

And towing capability.

 

That much power makes it easy to slip in a product with less. A smaller crossover hybrid with a plug...

 

I disagree for two reasons.
1) Comparing Limited trims is much closer. Rav4 Prime is $41,425 - 7500 credit = 33,925, while Prius Prime is $34,000 - 4500 = 29,500. Under $5000 is close enough, and not every state has rebates. Also, to get Blind Spot monitoring you need a Prius Prime limited but only a Rav4 Prime base. That's under $2000 difference.
In a model where one sells after 3 years, the difference between Prius Prime Limited and Rav4 Prime Limited is about $6000 - $5000 of that is the buy-in-Maryland rebate. An Oklahoma Prius Prime limited at MSRP has slightly higher 3-year cost than a Rav4 Prime base.

2) Some people have wide spreads. We compared HEV and PHEV sedans and small SUVs, from the Prius Prime LE and Ioniq PHEV up through the BMW 330e and Volvo S60 T8, MSRP from $25,000 to $52,000. The Rav4 Prime was on the list.

 

Maybe true for your state. However, since not everyone qualifies for a $7500 tax credit, in most cases, the real price difference between PP and RP is still huge IMHO. If someone value-oriented is shopping for a new car at a sub $20K total cost, then Rav4 Prime will not be on his/her shopping list.