The all-new sixth-generation RAV4 GXL HEV looks tougher, gets a big step up inside, and it’s still very much a RAV4, but beware, Toyota has put a 201kW PHEV in the same showroom.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is an idiom that applies to plenty of things in life (my favourite coffee order, the family’s Sunday roast, the lawnmower that starts first pull every other time), and it’s a saying that Toyota seems to have taken to heart for well over a decade. Why else would the RAV4 be such a constant on Kiwi driveways, supermarket carparks up and down the country and the tip of the sales charts? So when an all-new, sixth-generation model rolls up, the obvious question is: did Toyota go and break something that didn’t need fixing?
Well, to find out, Toyota New Zealand let me take a look at the new RAV4 GXL HEV, the self-charging hybrid that sits right in the middle of the Core range and comes in both FWD and AWD, I had the latter.
Let’s get the looks out of the way first, because this is where the new RAV4 makes its biggest statement. The sixth-gen styling gives it considerably more presence than before. It’s squarer, chunkier and more purposeful, and looks like it means business even when the business is mundanely domestic. The good news is that Toyota hasn’t gone radically weird with it. The upright, useful proportions that made the previous model so popular are all still there, and that’s what makes it easy to park, easy to load and easy to see out of.
Around the profile, the GXL gets its own 18in dark-grey alloys, a nice touch that sets it apart from the entry GX and adds a bit of attitude to the stance without going overboard. It’s a design that feels confident, evolved even, and it’s certainly more handsome, but (thankfully) you’d never mistake it for anything else.
Under the bonnet sits Toyota’s fifth-generation 2.5L hybrid system, delivering 143kW of total system output. Now here’s the thing that may raise a few eyebrows: that’s actually less than the previous-generation RAV4 HEV. Before anyone starts writing letters, Toyota says the lower output is linked to Euro 6D emissions requirements and the emissions-control technology that goes with them. In other words, newer doesn’t automatically mean more powerful. It also now needs 95-octane or higher (the old one was happy on 91), again down to NZ’s newer emissions rules and the addition of a gasoline particulate filter. It’s easy to miss and it’s not catastrophic, but it’s worth factoring into your running costs (especially right now).
For those that like to venture off the black stuff, AWD versions use Toyota’s intelligent AWD along with the relevant traction-control systems, adding some welcome security on wet roads, gravel and slippery surfaces. What’s more, the hybrid range can tow up to 1,500kg braked (depending on configuration), and that makes it considerably more versatile than your typical urban hybrid SUV.
Step inside and the cabin has taken a big step forward. The interior has been redesigned from the ground up, there’s a new multimedia system and Toyota Connected Services, and Toyota is calling the new RAV4 its first software-defined vehicle in NZ, complete with over-the-air updates and expanded driver-assistance functionality. So yes, your car can now get smarter while it’s parked in the garage. The GXL also adds Qi wireless phone charging and rain-sensing wipers over the GX, which are the kinds of useful, everyday things you quickly wonder how you lived without.
Safety tech is extensive and has been significantly upgraded, with improved detection capability, the Emergency Driving Stop System and enhanced acceleration control, so there are more digital guardian angels watching over you than you can shake a stick at (although I’m still not sure why you’d be shaking a stick – isn’t that dangerous?).
However, and this is just me being picky, the GXL isn’t the technology flagship. It’s tempting to look at all the clever stuff in the new RAV4 and assume the GXL gets the lot, but it doesn’t. The Limited adds things such as the Panoramic View Monitor, JBL audio, leather-accented upholstery, a panoramic moonroof and adaptive high beam, among other equipment. So the GXL is nicely equipped, but Toyota has deliberately left some of the toys for the more expensive grades.
During my time with the RAV4, what struck me most is that it still does the RAV4 thing extremely well: it’s a practical, easy-to-live-with family SUV. The hybrid system remains the star of the show. At 143kW it’s not a performance SUV (by any stretch of the imagination), but it offers the kind of smooth, effortless response that makes Toyota hybrids so good around town. Perfectly adequate, but don’t go expecting anything remotely sporty.
And the biggest advantage? You don’t have to plug it in. There’s no charging routine and no hunting for a spare socket, you just drive it and let the hybrid system manage itself. For anyone who wants lower fuel use without changing their habits, that’s compelling.
Which brings me to the elephant in the RAV4 showroom, the GXL PHEV. With 201kW, EV-only driving and an 11kW onboard charger, all while keeping the flexibility of a petrol hybrid, it makes the HEV look a little old-school, the conservative choice on technology and performance.
Sure it costs more and it isn’t right for everyone, but put simply, the HEV is the sensible one and the PHEV is the one with the fireworks. Toyota has effectively created two very different interpretations of the same SUV, and that’s where the new range gets particularly interesting.
Personally, I think the GXL HEV is probably the RAV4 that makes the most conventional sense. You get the new styling, the new cabin, Toyota’s hybrid system, useful equipment and the option of AWD, without paying for the PHEV’s considerably more sophisticated powertrain.
The slightly awkward question is whether, if you’re prepared to spend more, the PHEV is worth the jump. For the plug-averse, I’d say the HEV is the answer, and it’s good, very good.
So, did Toyota break something that didn’t need fixing? Not at all. It has refined the RAV4 rather than reinvented it, and that’s both good and bad. If you want a mid-sized SUV that’s easy to understand, easy to drive and easy to live with, it’s brilliant. If you’re after a technological spaceship, this isn’t it. The design and interface are newer, but the thinking underneath is still very Toyota. It’s essentially a RAVolution, and for most Kiwi families that’s exactly the point.
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