History/Overview
For more than 25 years, the Toyota RAV4 has been one of Canada’s most popular vehicles, and its appeal has only broadened with the country’s growing appetite for compact crossovers and SUVs. New last year, the RAV4 Prime is a plug-in hybrid model that combines some electric driving range with the convenience of gas-electric hybrid power.
What’s New/Key Changes From Last Year
For 2022, the RAV4 Prime gets a styling refresh shared with the rest of the RAV4 lineup (which is covered in a separate buyer’s guide entry).
Available Trims
Toyota offers the RAV4 Prime in SE and XSE trim. Both use a 2.5L gas engine that works with electric motors to generate the most power of any RAV4 variant. A continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) directs power to the front wheels, while a rear-mounted electric motor is responsible for the RAV4’s AWD traction.
Standard Features
RAV4 Prime SE comes standard with passive keyless entry, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, heated front seats, a power driver’s seat, dual-zone A/C, a heated steering wheel, digital gauges, a front wiper de-icer, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and 18-inch alloy wheels.
Standard safety items include blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision mitigation, lane tracing assist, radar cruise control, lane departure alert, rain-sensing wipers, and automatic high beams.
XSE adds wireless phone charging, a power tailgate, a 9.0-inch touchscreen, heated rear seats, a sunroof, and 19-inch wheels.
Key Options
The RAV4 Prime’s sole option is an XSE tech package, which adds ventilated front seats with power passenger adjustments, head-up display, a panoramic roof, hands-free tailgate, rear cross-traffic braking, softex upholstery, bird’s-eye-view cameras, a digital rearview mirror, navigation, a 110-volt power outlet, and an 11-speaker stereo.
Fuel Economy
Toyota rates the RAV4 Prime’s fuel consumption at 5.7/6.4 L/100 km (city/highway) when running as a gas-electric hybrid, and 2.5 Le/100 km in electric mode, where Toyota also promises 68 km of electric driving range.
Competition
This year, the RAV4 Prime’s direct competitors include an all-new Hyundai Tucson PHEV, as well as the carried-forward Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Soon, Kia will join this niche with a PHEV version of its Sportage compact crossover.
