Featured RAV4 Plug-in Coming In 2020 (Page 4 for deets)

It's a compact SUV. A third row would be for contortionists.

We could start a list of details that are not yet available. MPG after EV range is used up would be on that list as well as price.

 

I don't see any info on pack size (thus tax credit amount). Anyone?

I'm excited about this one! Our first "suv" was the new, original rav4 back in '96 when my wife said, "I'll take it" before even leaving the parking lot on the test drive. Since she's come to love plugging in and electric drive, I doubt it would take a lot of arm twisting on this one......

 

No, it would be for kids.

People say the same about the third row in our Mazda5, and yet I've filled it probably 50 times with kids.

 

Watch out, Kids grow fast! My first SUV was Gen1 Pathfinder. Not only it had no third rows, it came with only two doors. Needless to say, it had to go after kids were born. Traded to a 7 seater minivan.

 

thank goodness for the Advent of all around camera views. If not for those, the visibility in newer cars becomes hideous. Unlike some of those 1990s era compact SUV's, you could actually see out the windows with relative ease.
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The press release is all about features not pricing. Hmm, that generally doesn't bode well.

 

They never release pricing until about a month prior to release. It is clear, however, that they are positioning this as a very sporty model, more than just a fuel efficient vehicle, so the pricing will be interesting..

 

a traction pack in an SUV plug-in that's sized to get 39 miles ev, in a vehicle that would necessarily have to also support the extra weight of bigger braking wheels/tires, Motors & inverter - even if NOT rated for towing - much less a measly 1500 lb will necessarily HAVE to have liquid thermal management to prevent overheating during hot summer days, &/or pulling Hills. That is encouraging.
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Not in my family. As I posted above, almost every adult in my family is right around 5 feet. I'm the tallest at 5'6".

 

True dat unless pricing is a major selling point. Prius C for example: "When the Toyota Prius c debuted at the Detroit Auto Show last month they promised to keep pricing below $19K. " 2012 Prius c pricing starts at $18,950 [US]

I don't think pricing will be a selling point for the Prime......

 

Reading up, it seems there's a reasonable chance that the current Outlander PHEV will be replaced in the 2021 model year, and that there's a reasonable chance it will be a 7-seater with a rated range of 80-100km (50-62 miles) in electric mode.

 

The most interesting things about this will be that the battery back will be under the seats/car, which means 0 trunk space will be taken away. If they did this with the prime it would have been perfect.

 

The Adventure trim is rated for 3500lbs. I assume the fancy, upgraded mechanical AWD is part of the reason why.

The Mazda5, and other, smaller third row seats, have left the US market do to lack of interest. I think the Model Y's third row may end up being for markets outside the US.

 

And that's why I bought a used Mazda5 instead of any of the current new vehicles. So, by not offering me what I needed, they lost my business.

I did try out a 2012 Rav4 with third row before I bought the Mazda5. I ended up not buying it because it just such a poor vehicle to drive. Sluggish, rough, lousy. If not for that, I'd have bought it over the Mazda.

It's actually more likely I'll keep the Mazda for a few more years which will place it beyond the time frame where I'll need such a vehicle.

 

So I do love the look of this thing as we get more details about it. One of the questions I would pose to Toyota, this group of esteemed Toyota hybrid and fuel efficient fans is why does it need to have 300+ horsepower if it is a dedicated plug in hybrid and why is it only available as a sport trim in se and xse with larger wheels/tires? To me that slightly defeats the purpose. Would an LE version, with smaller tires have better drag efficiency and offer more than 39 ev miles?

I think Toyota may sell a bunch of these vehicles to people who miss the power of the rav 4 v6 model or who are looking for this kind of power, but kinda cuts into the people who are looking for an answer to an even more efficient automotive choice, a more dedicated hybrid to maximizing fuel efficiency and the least carbon footprint as possible for an SUV/cross over choice. (yes, I understand there are better choices out there for the least carbon footprint). Thanks.

 

It's ugly as sin. Good thing I don't care a bit about looks, but this is borderline.

 

Teslas are some of the most efficient EVs, but also some of the most powerful. Electric motors are pretty efficient no matter how they are operating (unlike internal combustion engines), so it almost doesn't matter how powerful it is.

Some of the power comes for free. Once you put in a big enough battery to get long range, it will probably be pretty powerful, in the case of Tesla. Toyota's Prime batteries are small enough that I think it's still a challenge to get enough power out of them. And 302 hp is almost certainly the combined rating. The electric motors by themselves need to be powerful enough to drive in EV mode, and I'm guessing the the EV mode power will be around 150hp, which is fine for a vehicle this size.

For example look at the current Rav4 hybrid. It's rated for 219hp combined from a 176hp gas engine and 118hp electric system. 118hp would be marginal for driving in EV mode, so they have to increase it to make EV mode usable under most conditions. The press release says they just changed the tuning on the engine slightly, so it's not like they are putting in a larger less efficient engine. It won't hurt efficiency to put in bigger motors, and it will probably help because regenerative braking can be more powerful.

I don't think wheels and tires make much difference. A lower trim level might get 39.5 miles range instead of 39, but who cares? Not every hybrid needs to be an economy car. That's the whole problem with the car industry and the reason hybrids like the Prius aren't more popular. People want cars that are fast, practical (large) and fancy looking (apparently). For most people, efficiency is a lesser concern, but if they can be made efficient too, that's a bonus. Anyone who wants the MOST efficient car can still buy a Prius.

They probably also go for the higher trim level to help justify the (likely) high price. Most of the added features over a base model have high profit margins. For example 18 inch wheels probably barely cost more than 16's, but they can charge more for them because they look fancy.



I'm still hoping for a 4Runner Prime (or even just a hybrid) with no loss of off road capability. But this is pretty tempting too.

 

You buy SUVs to see out of, not to be seen in.

 

That's really not the case.

That's true. Tesla's packs are so big they can use low-power high-energy batteries and still get a lot power.

That's not true, you just have to use high-power batteries which, by their design, will have less energy for the same mass. That's the trade-off. But it's pretty easy to make batteries far more powerful than those in the Prime.

Actually, that's entirely untrue. Wheel size and tire size and type can make a HUGE difference in rolling resistance - tens of percent up to a factor of about two.