Browse over 9,000 car reviews

Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid confirmed! Will be "most powerful model yet"

Toyota will reveal a plug-in hybrid RAV4 at the LA Auto Show in November

Toyota has at last confirmed it will launch a plug-in hybrid version of its popular RAV4 SUV, with the new and eco-friendly model to be officially unveiled at the LA Auto Show next month.

But frugal fuel use is just one piece of the puzzle here, with Toyota also promising its plug-in hybrid will be "the most powerful RAV4 yet".

Yep, frugal and fun. Toyota goes on to promise the PHEV version will be "celebrated by its spirited acceleration, nimble handling and impeccable style". 

Unfortunately, that's about all we know for now, with Toyota keeping its cards close to its chest until the vehicle's official reveal at the LA show on November 20.

Still, we'd expect the new model to use the 2.5-litre, four-cylinder engine currently at work in the RAV4 Hybrid. We'd then expect a bigger battery and more powerful electric motor, providing a pure-electric range of up to 50kms.

The Japanese giant could keep the news secret no longer, though, given a PHEV version of the RAV4 had already been spied testing (as reported here earlier), confirming Toyota would soon have a true rival to the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in Australia.

In Australia, demand for hybrid versions of the brand's popular SUV have already proved  "unprecedented" in Australia.

“We’re only two weeks into taking orders, but the current order intake is at 65 per cent hybrid,” Toyota Australia's vice-president of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, told CarsGuide in May.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
About Author

Comments