“Toyota RAV4 PHV” released on June 8, 2020.
The front grill and lower mall are designed exclusively for PHVs.
The powertrain is the “THS II Plug-in,” a plug-in hybrid based on a 2.5-liter straight-four engine.
RAV4 Hybrid vs RAV4 PHV:
This article covers a comparison of Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid vs RAV 4 PHV, probably the best-selling SUVs in Japan.
What is interesting about the RAV4 PHV released the other day is that the “not” part of the original features of plug-in hybrid vehicles such as environmental performance and economy is being talked about. In this car, Toyota itself has a sign that is appealing for parts other than environmental performance.
The biggest topic on the RAV4 PHV will be price. There are three grades, but even the cheapest “G” costs 4.69 million yen. Compared to the RAV4 (4WD of “Hybrid G”), which has almost the same conditions except for the plug-in, the main unit price is about 800,000 yen higher. This is clearly larger than the price difference (about 650,000 yen) between the equivalent grades of the “Prius PHV” and “Prius”, which can be said to be the predecessors.
Moreover, the RAV4 PHV’s superlative “black tone” costs 5.39 million yen. According to online information, it seems to be more expensive than the highest grade of the new “Harrier”. Generally, Toyota’s domestic passenger cars with price tags exceeding 5 million yen are “Century” and “Mirai”, as well as “Crown”, “Alphard / Vellfire“, “Land Cruiser” series, “Supra“, etc. There is only a part model. The RAV4 PHV is a very bold product.
Even if the price is a topic like this, it does not mean that the RAV4 PHV is inferior in eco-friendliness. On the contrary, even when compared with the Prius PHV, the evolution of environmental performance with a new design can be felt accordingly.
For example, by making the capacity of the lithium-ion battery for driving more than twice that of the Prius PHV, the EV cruising range that runs only on electricity has been greatly extended. According to the catalog value, the RAV4 PHV is 95km and the Prius PHV is 68.2km. Although it is a heavier SUV with higher air resistance, it has increased by nearly 30%, but strictly speaking, the former is the latest WLTC mode and the latter is the JC08 mode. In other words, the lead of the RAV4 PHV in actual driving should be further expanded.
In addition, when a plug-in hybrid and a normal hybrid are prepared for the same car, there are many cases where clear merit cannot be obtained with pure “hybrid fuel efficiency” that omits the amount of external power consumption. Even with the current Prius, hybrid fuel efficiency is the same for PHVs and non-PHVs. However, the RAV4 PHV this time has been improved (20.6 → 22.2 km/liter) in terms of hybrid fuel efficiency compared to the same 2.5-liter hybrid RAV4. This point should be evaluated frankly.
