2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime Review: Almost Silently Perfect

The 2022 Toyota RAV4 life up to its meat-and-potatoes buzz, but the Primary serves up green-automobile red meat. With the RAV4, Toyota hits a bulls-eye for compact crossover SUV styling and characteristics, while inside house misses some key marks by mere inches. Its Key plug-in is a gem, and that tends to make it a rival for the Ford Escape as nicely as the Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester.

Toyota has tweaked the crossover’s exterior and inside. Most notably, it now sells an SE Hybrid with cloth upholstery and a 7.-inch touchscreen and 6-speaker audio it can be optioned with heated front seats, a sunroof, a ability tailgate, and a 9.-inch touchscreen. Current headlights on all types at or higher than the XLE grade could aid its protection score, as well.

The RAV4 faucets rugged facts and angles for a all set-to-rumble look. It hits a lot of higher notes and usually takes tons of angular chances and it all functions. With hints of 4Runner and Tacoma in its profile, the stylish RAV4 has a squat stance and an abundance of angles that all cling alongside one another. The adventurous physique has slender windows and a small-wanting roofline, with swole fenders that get positively chunky in Experience and TRD Off-Highway spec. It can be complicated and awkward to spec out a single silhouette with luxurious aspects like a mesh grille and, in yet another variation, with black fender trim and a black-painted roof, but Toyota’s performed so with the RAV4. Even Primes get their individual grille and gloss-black bumper, for a contact of visual difference.

Exceedingly uncommon on dealer heaps, the Primary receives a massive 18.1-kwh battery pack with electric powered motors to generate 302 hp. Right up until the Supra arrived together, that made the Key the quickest Toyota car or truck, period. With a -60 mph time of 5.7 seconds, and a tauter sport suspension, the RAV4 Primary launches with authority, handles with aplomb, and can be toggled into an EV-only manner for up to 42 miles of battery-electric driving. The battery adds about 500 lb to control excess weight, and that demonstrates up in extra understeer in tightly kinked roadways, but it’s a hushed drive however, a eco-friendly thrill to be sought out. We generally observed all electric array all-around 50 miles.

Get the RAV4 Key for max effectiveness f you can discover just one. The RAV4 Primary gets scored at up to 42 miles of electric-only driving, and at 94 MPGe for overall efficiency, or 38 mpg combined with gasoline economy estimates of 41/38/40 mpg with conventional all-wheel drive.

The IIHS gave the RAV4 a Top Security Decide on award in the past model 12 months for the Hybrid Constrained with its fancy adaptive headlights. Most other types have sported LED headlights rated “Marginal” Hybrids’ headlights have been rated “Poor.” Toyota has upgraded the headlights this yr on the XLE and all styles above it, so we’ll update the benefits in this article when new details is printed.

The NHTSA, in the meantime, provides the RAV4 5 stars total, but that arrives with a 4-star score for front-impression safety. Together with computerized emergency braking, all RAV4s come with adaptive cruise handle,  active lane control, and computerized higher beams. Blind-place displays can be fitted, and they’re advisable because thick roof pillars blot out some of the see to the rear.

The cabin could increase upon some of its tougher plastics, but what functions listed here is the simplicity of its design. A horizontal line throughout the sprint offers the RAV4 a calmness that’s brightened up by metallic trim all-around the vents and the change lever. Spendy variations can use artificial leather and contrast-colour stitching, even a massive 9.-inch touchscreen, but the look remains the identical: thoughtful and restrained, without having staying dull.

The RAV4’s adventurous form trims again some utility. Cargo fares very well in the most current RAV4. It athletics a great deal of little bins and cabinets for things like smartphones and h2o bottles. The back again seat folds down, too, which boosts its 31 cubic toes of cargo room to about 63 cubic ft considering that the Primes shed about 6 cubic ft to more substantial battery packs. The cargo floor sits at a very good peak for loading, and many versions have or supply a electric power tailgate.

The optional sunroof cuts into what’s presently slim head room for 6-footers, while at 6’1” yours certainly fits just barely. The driving place suits lots of entire body varieties, while, and Toyota adds heating and artificial leather upholstery to some versions. In back again, the RAV4’s 37 inches of leg home match tall travellers wonderful, but head space even now checks in on the trim aspect. Shoulder house comes at a quality: A 3rd passenger can elbow their way into the center seat, but no one particular will want to journey that way for extensive.

The RAV4 provides first rate price but the Prime tends to make us splurge. We extremely propose the RAV4 Prime with its plug-in 302-hp drivetrain, but it is definitely tricky to obtain on supplier plenty and at current, arrives with significant markup in excess of its sticker cost of just underneath $40,000. It receives a sport suspension, cosmetic add-ons, an offered 9.-inch touchscreen, an audio subwoofer, a sunroof, and synthetic leather upholstery with purple accents.

With the RAV4, Toyota has caught the veritable sweet-place of the modest SUV class. The 2022 Toyota RAV4 is a terrific competitor in the compact crossover class, a person that the Primary just helps make superior. It does every thing you’d want with Toyota refinement and reliability, and in Hybrid and Key versions, good fuel financial system. The 2022 Toyota RAV4 Key is an remarkable crossover, almost certainly the best one particular that Toyota builds.