At first glance, this is an ordinary RAV4. On the second and third, it is seriously different from all other versions. Not only does it get serious mileage on electricity alone, but it has acceleration worthy of a sports car
When the new generation Toyota RAV4 appeared, the version with hybrid drive and front-wheel drive first arrived in the editorial office of Auto magazine for testing. It surprised us with the great performance provided by the combination of a 2.5 liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine and an electric motor with a total system power of 218 “horses”. Then a clean 2.0-liter gasoline engine with 175 HP, CVT transmission and 4×4 drive appeared on the test, and then a hybrid with an additional electric motor that drives the rear wheels arrived. That’s how the hybrid got four-wheel drive and a total system power of 222 HP. Consumption was only slightly higher than the front-wheel drive version, which means that if you’re careful you can easily drop the consumption average below 6.0L/100km in the city. Now it’s the turn of the fourth version…
The Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid looks the same at first glance, but in reality it’s a seriously different car when it comes to power and economy. Two electric motors are also installed here. The rear remained the same – with 54 horsepower, but the front is much more powerful. Instead of 120, it has 182 horsepower, while the total power of the system has increased from 222 to even 306 horsepower! All this made it possible for the RAV4 Plug-In hybrid to be faster than the Golf GTI up to “100” and consume far less!
Compared to other versions, it differs from the outside only in the additional opening for filling. The tank cap is traditionally on the left, and the power socket is on the right. Additional batteries are in the same place as in the classic hybrid – under the rear seats. However, the trunk has 520 liters of usable volume instead of 580. The bottom line is that there is less space under the partition of the double bottom. There is also a spare wheel of reduced dimensions, while there is definitely no battery in the trunk, except for the accumulator which is in the traditional place in the right corner of the trunk.
We are also eager to see how different the driver’s workplace is. There is only one but important difference on the instruments – instead of the coolant temperature indicator, there is now an analog indicator of the remaining amount of current in the battery. It is interesting that in the digital display of the operation scheme of the drive, it is possible to choose the display of the state of charge of the battery, either in percentage or in the form of remaining mileage.
The next big difference concerns the buttons next to the shifter. The round “sport” and “eco” mode switch is retained, but the function of the buttons around it is different. While the “classic” hybrid versions here have a “trail” button for off-road driving and “EV” for the car to drive only on electricity (no more than three kilometers), with the “plug-in” variant the situation is a bit more complex. Here you can choose for the car to run only on electricity (of course, if the battery charge allows it), to behave like a classic hybrid, saving the battery for situations when you have to drive exclusively on electricity, while the third variant is intended for charging the battery while driving. Of course, the Trail option is also available here, which allows the car to be pulled out if some of the drive wheels do not grip the ground.
To start the test, we decided to try driving on electricity only. We took over the car with a full gas tank and a full battery. The trip computer showed that we could travel 88 kilometers on electricity alone, as well as an additional 676 kilometers in hybrid mode. So, now we go to electricity until the part of the battery that enables it is used up, and after that it will automatically switch to classic hybrid mode. Given the inclusion of a stronger front electric motor, the RAV4 behaves like any other purely electric car. It enables lightning-fast intermediate accelerations that nail the seat. At first, we were afraid that the “pathos” of the gas would not cause the activation of the hybrid mode. As it is, we are glad that Toyota has remained consistent, so the car always remains in “EV” mode. The maximum speed on electricity is about 150 km/h, which is quite enough for our conditions.
We did most of the test drive around the city. The air temperature was very pleasant so we did not use the “air conditioner”. We were interested in what would happen to the displayed range on the trip computer if we turned it on, and the result was a reduction of autonomy by only two to three kilometers. We have reset the daily mileage counter so that we can monitor whether the predicted range corresponds to the actual kilometers driven. It turns out that Toyota is not lying, and that what is written on the display is really reality. We traveled 88 kilometers without using the “climate”, and in case it is on, we should count on some 77, which is a great result compared to some other plug-in hybrids. Despite all that, we were surprised by the power consumption. It is a parameter that we are slowly getting used to. So far we have learned that anything under 20 kilowatt hours per hundred kilometers is quite economical, and our RAV4 showed only 15.8 kWh/100 km on the trip computer!
In any case, the indicator of the amount of electricity remaining in the battery has reached the mark when the car automatically switches to hybrid mode. Now “RAV4” has started to display the average consumption in liters per 100 kilometers. When driving, it behaves like a standard hybrid version in terms of the intensity of acceleration and the moment of ignition of the gasoline engine. There were no advantages due to the fact that it has a stronger front electric motor. Up to a certain pressure on the gas, it accelerates only on electricity, and after about forty per hour it switches to gasoline. If we were to frequently use recuperation, for example on downhills, the ignition of the gasoline engine would be slightly delayed, just like with standard hybrid versions. It is interesting that in hybrid mode the trip computer shows the average consumption per 100 kilometers, which also includes driving in purely electric mode, hence the extremely low declared factory consumption. Of course, we reset the on-board computer to see the correct values. It turns out that it is similar to standard hybrids in this respect too – we achieved an average of 5.2 l/100 km without air conditioning with acceleration and up to 7.0 l/100 with sudden accelerations and air conditioning. And sudden accelerations are one of the main specialties of the Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid…
Believe it or not, it has better acceleration to “100” than the “Golf GTI”! It takes around 6.0 seconds for this task, and the feeling in the cabin is such that we watch with disbelief what is happening and how hard the electronics are trying to prevent the wheels from slipping. We activated the “sport” mode and went full throttle. “RAV4” catapulted us from the state of rest! The fact that even at 70 km/h the wheels slipped for a moment shows how strong the acceleration is! Despite all this, there was no understeering and steering wheel snatching, but it kept the given direction without any problems. This sporty side of the character seriously surprised us, especially since the car is among the most economical on the market in general, let alone in its class. Thus, the “RAV4 plug-in” hybrid proved to combine the incompatible – exceptional performance and very low consumption when operating in hybrid mode. Its 80 kilometers in “EV” mode around town is just icing on the cake. Finally, we would add very low maintenance costs.
The only drawback is the price. The Plag-in hybrid version is much more expensive than the standard version. Compared to the AWD hybrid, the plug-in is more expensive by more than 14,000 euros, depending on the equipment package and the current promotional prices. The test sample with the best equipment in the most expensive version costs 62,590 euros, while the cheapest classic hybrid has a price of 40,990 euros. Unfortunately, the subsidy for buying a new vehicle with this type of drive is no longer available.
Aleksandar Bursać
Economical even on the highway
The Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid is not only economical in the city. At 130 km/h, it consumes only 6.2 l/100 km, which is a really great figure if you consider that it runs exclusively on gasoline at that speed.
By the way, intermediate accelerations are also phenomenal on the highway. If you go full throttle at 130 km/h, the car will reach 200 km/h on the speedometer with incredible ease, after which it will slow you down to around 190 km/h. The point is that the maximum is limited to 180 km/h.
What is the charging situation?
In current practice, we are used to plug-in hybrids charging relatively slowly. Toyota has doubled the charging power compared to the average, so with 6.6 kWh, in practice, it takes about two hours and 50 minutes to fully charge an empty battery.
There is no possibility of DC charging here, but only AC and on the household, Shuko socket. This means that the chargers in our shopping centers proved to be quite sufficient. Admittedly, it is increasingly difficult to find a free place, so we had to give up a few times because all the chargers were taken. By the way, charging in shopping centers is still free, but parking is paid. It’s free only for the first hour, and after that it’s usually 100 dinars an hour. In 51 minutes of charging, we managed to recharge the battery for 32 kilometers of pure electric driving.
The good news is that the car comes with both cables, both for the charger and for the AC charger, which is a real rarity in the auto industry.
Subsidies and registration
When shopping, there are no more subsidies. But that’s why there are privileges during registration. Regardless of the fact that the gasoline engine has a volume of 2.5 liters, no tax is paid on the use of a motor vehicle, so a saving of about 500 euros is achieved per year. Practically, the registration is only slightly more expensive compared to the Yaris.
Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid Style
Gasoline engine: volume 2487 ccm, power 136 kW (185 hp) at 6000 rpm, max. Fr. torque 227 Nm at 3200-3700 rpm, gearbox automatic, planetary
Electric motors: synchronous, with permanent magnet, 650 V, front 134 kW (182 HP), 270 Nm, rear 40 kW (54 HP), 121 Nm
Total system power: 225 kW (306 KS)
Batteries: Lithium-ion, 96 cells, 355.2 V, capacity 18.1 kWh, charging power 6.6 kW, range 75-98 km
Dimensions: L/W/H 4600/1855/1690 mm, intermediate axle. distance 2690 mm, clearance 190 mm, trunk 520/1604 l, tires 235/55 R19, angle of attack 17.5°, exit angle 20°
Performance: max. speed 180 km/h, acceleration 0-100 km/h 6.0 s, consumption 1.0 l/100 km, CO2 emission 22 g/km
Equipment
Standard: 19-inch alloy wheels, two-tone body, JBL sound system, automatic front seat heating, front seat cooling, memory for the driver, el. adjustable passenger seat, trailer stability control, blind spot control, steering wheel heater, front and rear parking sensors with automatic reverse braking, wireless charger, head-up display, el. trunk opening, 4 cameras with 360 degrees, rear-view mirror with camera in the fin, windshield heater and nozzle, automatic braking with automatic pedestrian avoidance, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, sign recognition, bi-LED headlights, navigation, automatic climate control with 2 zones, multimedia 10.5 inches, heated rear seats, shuko cable, AC cable
Source: www.magazinauto.com
