@JeffKeryk i can understand your interest in the rav4 hybrid. We just bought one for my wife last weekend… I should probably write it up. It is far more impressive as a DD than it should be. It handles wonderfully - instant power, and is decently calm at doing so until you really dig the foot in and then it’s a little rowdy. The battery can handle straights at 40 mph for a bit … plenty enough for changing conditions. Handles great, reasonably quiet. Seats are good. As a drivers car, it actually has some fun in it. Manual shift mode is useful, though it does not sing a sweet song at 3000 rpm. AWD has a little bias to the rear off the line, as my wife actually spun the inside rear on takeoff this morning. I like that. Brake pedal is decent. Suspension eats potholes while has the playful willingness of down to clown.
Front to rear balance feels good - nimble enough.
The vehicle electronics seem to have some unpredictable patterns in the tug of war between wireless CarPlay and non-CarPlay modes. In addition, my wife gets confused with the depth of controls.
Why is there no tach. I know it doesn’t make sense for most people. It still makes sense to me. No tach or option to go on display. You get needles for fuel and “power/eco/off” but the speedo is a digital blurry-needled display. The lack of a tach could be enough to put this vehicle on hold for one of my own.
Drawbacks, and
@Torrid may have thoughts here. I *really* like this little SUV. No question I would enjoy commuting in it. However if it were mine and we sold the truck, a utility trailer would be a requirement. But towing is limited to 1750 pounds, and from what I’ve read, that’s a legitimate number for folks who have tried. The suspension is Camry-grade and is well-tuned for passengers, but there’s a fastly- approachable limit for cargo heft or tongue weight. Looking beneath it, there’s a lot of equipment mounted underneath that is protected only by plastic guards. While it’s down to clown on pavement, this is not a vehicle with any ruggedness at all off pavement, and even in sand. I’d be afraid to climb a curb and trundle across a rough field, something I do on occasion. The unibody frame rails are thin, and the stamped suspension parts look well-suited for carrying people but not for banging a curb with a trailer attached.
My wife is the perfect driver for this car, because she will carry herself, friends, groceries and sometimes suitcases. But for someone considering getting out of a truck, and a bare minimum I’ll need a flatbed trailer and would really prefer enclosed, and an enclosed trailer eats half of the towing capacity. I suppose I could consider a non-hybrid for myself, which doubles tow capability, at the expense of daily mpg.
Either way, for a daily runabout, it’s a great vehicle. And while FWD I generally find depressing, this one is tossable enough that I don’t really miss the purity of RWD. For what it is, I’ll call it 9 of 10 stars.
M
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