The sixth-generation RAV4 Limited HEV is the most sensible and most ‘RAV4’ of the new RAV4s, but at $65,990 two cheaper or similarly priced plug-in RAV4s make the choice harder.
Say the word “Limited” to anyone of a certain vintage and there’s a fair chance they’ll sing 2 Unlimited’s 1993 Eurodance anthem straight back at you: “No no, no no no no, there’s no limit!” (Sorry, it’s now stuck in your head too.) It’s a fitting soundtrack for the new RAV4 Limited. For a car whose badge means “restricted”, Toyota hasn’t held back on the kit. It does have limits, mind you, and that’s where things get interesting.
Not only is the RAV4 NZ best selling vehicle, but it has been NZ and Toyota’s default family SUV for longer than most of us care to remember, and it’s now into its sixth generation. Toyota New Zealand let me take a look at the plush RAV4 Limited HEV AWD, of course it’s great but it did leave me with a question or two.
Hey good looking
Let’s get the looks out of the way first, because this is a properly new RAV4. Toyota’s idea of a “new” model can sometimes be a new bumper, new headlights, job done. Not this time. The front end is sharper, the body is more squared-off and the new grille gives it far more presence on the road. It’s still clearly a RAV4, but one that looks considerably more expensive.
The Limited stands out from the lesser grades with 20-inch black/machined alloys that fill the arches nicely, plus adaptive high beam up front and a panoramic roof overhead. The new styling also gives the RAV4 quite a chunky footprint. It looks the part, but it matters when you’re parking. Hold that thought.
Power to the people
Under the bonnet sits a 2.5L hybrid (143kW), with Toyota’s E-Four system taking care of the all-wheel drive. Claimed economy is around 4.8L/100km, which is very attractive for a medium-sized AWD SUV. Just quietly though, it needs 95-octane rather than the 91 some buyers might expect from a family Toyota. It doesn’t wreck the fuel-cost argument, but it takes a little shine off those numbers. AND this is a conventional hybrid only, so there’s no plugging it in at night.
Comfort, tech and safety
Inside is probably where the new RAV4 has made its biggest leap. The dashboard is cleaner and more modern, and the multimedia system has a larger screen and a much more up-to-date interface. Better still, Toyota has kept plenty of physical controls rather than putting everything on the touchscreen. Praise the lord.
Add leather-accented seats, a head-up display, a digital rear-view mirror, a JBL 9-speaker premium sound system, dual wireless phone chargers, shift-by-wire and Toyota Connected Services, and it’s clear this isn’t one of those “Limited” badges where half the goodies turn out to be optional extras. That’s a serious equipment list. Oh and remember that chunky footprint? The 360-degree Panoramic View Monitor is the answer. Seeing all the way round the car when parking, reversing or squeezing into tight spaces is a big plus.
Safety tech has been seriously upgraded too. The latest Toyota Safety Sense includes an improved pre-collision system, front cross-traffic alert, Proactive Driving Assist, better lane-change assistance and driver monitoring. The standout is the Emergency Driving Stop System. If the driver becomes unresponsive, it slows and stops the vehicle and makes an emergency call. That’s clever stuff, and hopefully the kind you never actually use.
Under all the polish, it’s still a very practical family SUV though, with good passenger space, useful storage, a practical boot and comfortable rear seats. It’ll do the domestics Monday to Friday, the airport on Wednesday, the bach on Saturday and a mountain-bike expedition on Sunday without needing to change personality.
Behind the wheel
During my time with the Limited, the hybrid system was (kind of) the star of the show. It’s not a performance SUV, but it has enough shove for normal Kiwi driving and feels especially at home around town and in the suburbs. It also makes stop-start traffic almost boringly efficient, and I mean that as a compliment.
Ride and refinement are much better than before. It’s more comfortable and quieter, which matters because the RAV4 isn’t trying to be a sports SUV. It’s trying to make everything from a 10-minute commute to a five-hour road trip as painless as possible, and it does.
There are a few quirks though. Around town the CVT is beautifully smooth, but lean hard on the accelerator and the petrol engine can go from whispering to quite the yell rather quickly with that familiar CVT drone. The 143kW output is adequate rather than exciting. That’s fine until you remember you’ve spent almost $66K. Those 20-inch wheels look fantastic, but bigger wheels and lower-profile tyres usually mean pricier replacement tyres, more risk of pothole damage, a bit more road noise and less give over rough roads. For a comfortable family SUV, the smaller wheels on lesser grades may make more sense, even if the Limited’s 20s look considerably cooler.
The AWD is useful rather than hardcore. If your weekends involve gravel roads, ski fields, camping tracks and generally questionable decisions involving mud, the RAV4 Adventure, with its trail/snow modes and more rugged setup, is the better fit. The Limited is more “nice restaurant in town” than “restaurant is 14km down that forestry track”.
The Cons
That brings us to the price, which is the biggest question mark. The Limited HEV AWD costs $65,990. That’s only about $1,000 less than the $66,990 RAV4 GR Sport PHEV AWD, which has a 227kW plug-in powertrain, a huge step up in performance. At the other end, the XSE PHEV AWD starts at $61,990. It isn’t equipped exactly like the Limited, but if you can charge at home, genuine EV driving for daily trips with hybrid backup for longer journeys is a compelling argument.
Chinese brands are also loading similarly priced SUVs with enormous screens, fancy cameras, ambient lighting, electrically adjustable everything and enough driver assistance to make you wonder whether the car has its own university degree. By comparison, the Limited’s cabin is premium rather than flashy, and it could seem almost conservative if you’re coming from one of those boutique-hotel-lobby interiors.
Toyota’s answer is that you don’t need all that to make a good car, and there’s merit to that. The ownership side is also hard to measure in a normal road test. Toyota has a huge NZ dealer network, a well-proven hybrid system and a strong reputation for durability and resale. For private buyers, and especially fleet users, that can matter as much as an extra 10kW or a fancy interior trick.
Tarmac Takeaway
So, is the Limited HEV the RAV4 to have? It’s probably the most “RAV4” of the new RAV4s. It’s not the fastest, the wildest or the most tech-heavy, but it’s comfortable, economical, practical, well equipped and reassuringly familiar. The Limited does have its limits though, and at $65,990 its plug-in siblings make the decision more complicated.
For buyers who want the sensible premium RAV4, though, it’s good, very good. No no, no no no no… there’s no Limit(ed) on that.
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