Drivesouth - Best Motor Buys: August 12, 2022

NEW CAR REVIEW
Get adventurous in a RAV4 hybrid
By Ross Kiddie
• Price – Toyota RAV4
Adventure hybrid, $57,990
• Dimensions – Length,
4610mm; width, 1855mm;
height, 1690mm
• Configuration – Four-cylinder,
four-wheel-drive, 2487cc,
131kW, 221Nm, continuously
variable automatic
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 8.1sec
• Fuel usage – 5.3l/100km
TOYOTA RAV4 ADVENTURE: Choice of conventional or hybrid driveline.
If ever there was indication of the
direction the automotive world is
heading in terms of electrification, it has
to be the decision of one of my good
friends.
You see, he’s long been a Holden
owner, and while he still owns a classic
Brougham, he has just sold his pride and
joy – a 2017 Walkinshaw Commodore
SSV – a car claimed to be Holden’s most
powerful.
Not only did that surprise me, but his
big V8 has been replaced by a Tesla and a
Toyota RAV4 hybrid.
I know my friend is sorry to see the
Holden go, but he says that with changing
times and being in the professional field
he felt he needed to set an example
and drive something less taxing on the
environment.
Now, I’m not knocking his choice of new
transport and, as it turns out, the RAV4
hybrid is on a shortlist of models my wife
and I are considering as we contemplate
the purchase of a new car. But the point
I’m making is that the buying public is
well aware electric vehicles and hybrids
are taking control of the new car market.
Toyota claims the RAV4 hybrid as one
of its best selling models, often selling
second to Hilux on a month by month
basis.
Bear in mind too, that you don’t have
to buy the RAV4 with Toyota’s hybrid
synergy drive system, conventional
driveline variants are included.
The RAV4 hybrid line-up has just been
extended. Two new models have been
added – Adventure and XSE. Just like its
non-hybrid stablemate, the Adventure
gets a body kit and interior treatment that
makes it stand out markedly from the rest
of the range. If you like bold and brash it is
the car for you, large fenders, aggressive
bumper and grille, and big wheels are
there to tempt. Inside, there is also bright
orange detailing.
The Adventure is in the line-up as a
point of difference, and after a week in the
car I can certainly see its appeal, it looks
a little bit rugged and it has appeal in that
way. It is also the model that my friend
now owns.
I also genuinely believe the Adventure
model could be used as a vehicle that
would take you off-road and into the
backblocks. You see, the RAV4 has had a
fairly good reputation for cross-country
work and just because it is a hybrid that
doesn’t change anything. The fourwheel-drive
network, along with a slight
suspension elevation, is such that it will
cope well with a bit of a pounding on
those gnarly tracks.
More importantly, I suspect it will be the
model of choice if you are a winter sport
enthusiast, I can see many sitting in the Mt
Hutt ski field car park.
There are no surprises under the
bonnet, Toyota’s 2.5-litre hybrid system
is well proven and has become an
established part of the fuel-saving
drivelines that are now so important in a
vehicle. Without delving too deep into the
intricacies of the system it works simply
like this – the four-cylinder petrol engine
drives much like conventional power;
however, it also charges the batteries
that, in turn, power an electric motor
that works in tandem with the engine
to supply drive through a continuously
variable transmission. The whole system
cycles constantly, the benefit being less of
a load on the engine and, consequently,
lower fuel usage.
The RAV4 as a series has a fairly
respectable fuel usage figure, the
non-hybrid claimed to return 6.7-litres
per 100km. All hybrids are listed at
5.3l/100km, which, by my reckoning, is a
fairly healthy figure and quite achievable.
The fuel usage readout was sitting
constantly at a respectable 6.5l/100km
during the 280km I drove in the evaluation
model. At 100km/h on the open road the
instantaneous figure is around a thrifty
4l/100km.
I didn’t venture off-road during my
time in the evaluation car, the weather
was filthy across the plains and I don’t
like returning media evaluation cars
untidy. However, I can report that it is a
fabulous open road tourer. It sits tightly
and quietly on the road, and when those
long Canterbury straights run out and
tight corners present themselves the
RAV4 steers directly into a bend and the
complexity of the suspension quickly sits
composed and controls body movement.
I mentioned big wheels before, the
Adventure model gets Yokohama tyres at
235/55 x 19in. They are a new compound
to me but they equip themselves well with
solid feedback towards the steering wheel
and quiet coarse chip seal movement.
All factors considered, the RAV4
hybrid is a comfortable touring car,
well it’s a comfortable car at all speeds
and circumstances, and I guess with its
$57,990 figure for the Adventure model
it is stretching towards the luxury car
market. Bear in mind, though, the RAV4
range starts at $38,990, the hybrid
models starting at $46,990. All RAV4
hybrids are eligible for a Clean Car
Programme rebate of over $2000, the
Adventure amounting to $2335.69.
If you want all the bells and whistles
along with in-your-face adornments, then
the Adventure is there for those who like
to be seen, or who like bold colours and
designs. In terms of fitment, it is a model
that wants for nothing, although I could
do without the video screen that acts
as the interior rear view mirror, I found it
confused my senses a little. Other than
that, the RAV4 is laid out with ease of use
and it has an intuitive layout.
Toyota has made good use of the
RAV4’s generous proportions, there are
a host of storage pockets and cubby
holes that will easily take care of those
loose items that we generally travel with,
including a tray for your mobile phone
that will charge it as you drive.
While I’ve long considered the 2.5-litre
Toyota driveline as being the best hybrid
system in the market, so must many
others, delivery of a new RAV4 hybrid is
pushed out to around 12 months. How
that affects the decision my wife and I are
making hasn’t quite yet come into focus,
but I’m sure if we do head in that direction
the RAV4 would be well worth the wait.
Page 26