TOYOTA is often credited with creating the leisure-focused compact SUV, with the original RAV4 of 1994. Suzuki might argue, because its Vitara was launched six years earlier, but the RAV4 brought car-like construction methods and road manners to the affordable SUV segment, while the Vitara had an 'old-school' chassis.
That first RAV4 was a big success in the UK as well as around the world; by 2020 Toyota had sold 20 million examples globally, including 220,000 in the UK.
It was initially sold only as a three-door model with a petrol engine, but five-door cars, diesels and a hybrid came later. By the time the latest model (as covered here) was launched, it had a hybrid powertrain, with a plug-in hybrid added later.
History
THE RAV4 Mk5 reached UK showrooms in April 2019, in front-wheel-drive form only. Within a month there were all-wheel-drive cars available though.
All were fitted with a 2.5-litre petrol engine and self-charging hybrid tech; front-drive models had 215bhp whereas all-wheel-drive editions got 219bhp.
Altogether more powerful though, was the 302bhp RAV4 plug-in hybrid which arrived in spring 2021. It was also capable of 46 miles on a charge, and could do up to 84mph in electric mode.
An upgraded RAV4 was supplied from August 2022. This brought with it an improved infotainment system with a 10.5-inch display, customisable digital instruments, and extra driver-assistance systems for Toyota's Safety Sense package. These were Pre-Collision System, and Emergency Steering Assist.
Which one?
DIRECTLY compare a RAV4 PHEV with its all-wheel-drive hybrid counterpart, and you'll see that you're not necessarily paying a huge premium for the former, even though it's a significantly better car.
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