Rav4 Prime: 2 years in, 5 likes and 5 dislikes!

I agree with you 100% ,phev is best of both worlds ! I have my second phev and love it! We use average maybe 1 tank of fuel per month and 90% is used with ev range. What an incredible fuel savings. NO RANGE anxiety like a Tesla ev for example. I can cruise any back roads I want and do not have to worry about can I make it to the next charging station or waiting for next in line charge on busy holidays

Nice review Josh .... I was looking at these but it was a little above my budget so I bought a 2023 Toyota Corolla LE AWD for $29,000 OTD .... I am hoping in the near future they make a Corolla Hybrid AWD PHEV some day ..... And after one year of ownership I can say it is one fantastic vehicle with outstanding MPG.

You did a good job. I just got a 2024 XSE and I completely match your "You should but if" list. Gotta love the immediate lease buyout option with the $6500 credit.

I am surprised dealer didn’t charge extra for rav4 2 years ago.

Any concerns with CVT vs Gears transmission. Longevity is not good for CVT in the long term. Any Feedback? The hybrid Highlander has the option of either CVT or Gears Transmission. I wish they gave the option to RAV4 as well/

So how often do you have to do oil changes if you hardly put any miles of the actual engine? Like if you put 5000 miles on the electric motors and 1000 on the gas engine - do you really need to change the oil?

Dude how many cars do you have?!? I was fighting between RAV4 Hybrid XSE loaded vs RAV4 XSE Prime. I really wanted the 3 or 4 othr features....but the plug in capability is iffy on me still....plus I like the more sportier look on the Hybrid.

Great video, you helped me make my buying decision. No need to watch anymore for Rav4 prime at least.

I can' t get the Toyota Rav 4 PHEV ..... waiting list for 3 years.

My 04 4runner is 20 years old. But she gets terrible mileage on a natural v6. I'm looking at a newer vehicle since I suspect she's near the end of her life. I was hoping for some better mileage and was looking at hybrids and EVs. I'm skeptical about Tesla's build quality. Most of my driving is within 50+ miles so I would probably be good with the ev use. But I like the idea of having the gas option.

Are there any hidden costs? Higher insurance/maintenance needs? Do they need to take the whole thing apart to do basic stuff and then charge you a ton extra?

Where do you live? Here in NJ , $$39k was the starting point for this vehicle. I ended up paying 43k for it. Tax credit I got was only up to $2500. Not the full $7500

Nice review

good review

Great video!!

Sorry, this is not a 40k plus car

You make excellent points!

Own a hybrid SE Toyota love it so smooth ride great on gas love my rav 4 Toyota rocks

I appreciate this review. One question is about the temperature control. We have dogs so I want to know can you have the ac on while not in the car? 1) can you do this. 2) is this a subscription based remote use capability?

Don't like the fact that if you don't have the 6,000 dollar option you don't get any front parking sensors ??? What's up with toyota???? Even on the XSE .

Super thorough revuew

If you like the acceleration in the Rav4 prime, you would love a Tesla.

Great video!!

28 months with a bought used 2021 RAV4 Prime XSE +$5400 Cdn performance package....is the best auto on the road Bar none! :):):

Literally only want it for the speed. Family hauler in the day, drag car doin low 14s on weekends and home in AC.

2023 & 2024: you’re not taking $6500 TFS lease rebate into account

Hi, you mention the purchase price of $30k. Would you be ok with elaborating on how you got that price? I cannot find any listed price below $48k for the XSE. Even accounting for any rebates available, that doesn't move the needle down near the $30k mark. Would love to afford this vehicle.

I was able to use the Level 2 Tesla charger in my garage (left over from my Model Y) by buying a little
Tesla-to-J1772 adapter on Amazon. I got the Zanch one for $76.99, but they had cheaper ones. It just fits on the end of my Tesla plug to make it a J1772 plug. It works great! Now my Tesla changer is a J1772 charger. It will charge to 100% in a little over 2 hours.

When the big battery runs out of charge, this car is going to act like a regular gas car or a regular hybrid car? If it is going to act like a regular hybrid car, does this mean there another battery inside the car for this purpose which automatically charges itself like a regular hybrid car?

It would be great if Rav4 Prime gave more range of battery instead of 40 miles

Good review, but as a Prius Prime owner for 7 years, I disagree with one detail. I would not advise any new PHEW owner from covering your entire commute with EV range, unless you do plenty of additional driving in hybrid mode. My own 100-mile round trip commute is 2/3 hybrid, 1/3 EV and I'm fine with that. I just treat it as 1/2 gallon coming out of the outlet every night. My gas never gets stale, I get actual full use out of my synthetic oil changes, and basically all systems get exercised and lubricated often enough. Then when I do a few days of EV only local driving, I don't have to worry if the engine has run enough over the last month.

Good job snapping up a bargain as an early adopter. I can identify with that. I paid $22,600 for a new Prius Prime in 2017, before subtracting off state and federal credits/incentives. I have 129K miles on it, and it's functionally as new. Just a bit scratched up from offroading out west (!!) squeezing between scratchy trees/bushes. I've done all maintenance myself, and nothing has broken, so it's not been to a dealer since I purchased it. I declined the free 25K miles of routine service, preferring that nobody but me work on it unless absolutely necessary. I let my tire guy put tires on it, that's about it.

#6 Dislike -it is very noisy if you compare it to a Toyota Camry!

Doesn't seem like we'll get a redesigned RAV4 in 2025.

Topgun video 👍

Redesign 2026 and announced this November. 🤔

Being at the end of lifecycle is actually better as all the bugs are worked out or at least known.
Of course if you're someone who just trade-in after 3 years the new shiny is better as you don't need to worry about any problems, if you keep a car long term then it's better getting a more mature product.

We've recently started looking at them. It's a shame the government has discontinued the incentive of 7,500 because the vehicle is mainly made in Japan. No-brainer if the incentive was available, but at 48000 SE, 53,000 xse, that's a hard pill to swallow when you're retired.

Tested a '24 SE today. I liked the drivetrain, but the interior quality, particularly the plastic center console that felt like it was going to come apart. In a brand new car!

We got lucky up here in canada. Just wandered on the local toyota dealership and found a 2024 Rav4 Prime XSE sitting on thier lot at the end of their day. Someone canceled thier order and it had just arrived! They let us take it out for a drive and we loved it. Kept it out for a couple days to try it out on our highway drive and it worked out we can drive our 60 km round trip to town and home on EV mode usually. We paid the MRSP minus $8,000 rebates and saved a lot in fuel since. This review helped us with our decision A LOT seeing its less biased than others. Our only concern is how much EV range we may lose in the winter here on the southern coast of Nova Scotia. Either way no regrets so far. One dislike we have is the auto hi beam headlights. Often doesnt notice oncoming cars and dimming them manually with auto dimming on still frustrates us. 😂

Very good review. Appreciate it. I am getting one soon

Thank you for the info! I have been on a waiting list for 2 years for my Prime and I am supposed to pick up my XSE Friday. There are like no incentives left and I know we will be paying big $$$ for it. I am justifying this cost in a couple ways. 1. I am in my 40's and this will be my 3rd car... I have been driving my Corolla for 16 years. So this RAV4 could very well be my last car, or second to last should I be so lucky to live that long. 2. And this is the thing I find MOST important but no one really talks about... it is the most flexible and future proof vehicle on the road. With climate change and wars and political unrest... should gas prices surge or gas even become hard to get... we have the EV to get us around. Should a major climate event take out the power grid for days at a time we can use the gas to get us around. And they make fold out solar charging pads for roof tops... should both become unavailable. So the uncertainty that lies before us during this time is the HUGE reason I decide on the prime and I will be forking out major $$$ in a couple days.

We have a 2021 SE and love it. We’re seniors so carrying around more than the two of us isn’t an issue. The 48 mile EV range covers 95% of our driving so we can go months without needing to get gas. So far it has been very reliable (oil, brakes and tires). They have gotten pricey. We were thinking about trading the 2021 for a new model but the 2024’s are $49K. We paid $33K-$35K (can’t remember exactly) and got a tax write off back in 2021 when we purchased the SE. Economic, fun to drive, a lot of features (drive assist, lane change warnings, rear camera, Bluetooth connectivity, etc.).

Nice job on the content and some info I really never thought about till you brought it up. Thanks

A great review about the Rav4 Prime. Glad it has worked out for you. We are an older couple so mostly just the 2 of us. We bought a 2023 Rav4 Hybrid for our daughter to replace the old Escape Hybrid we had for 14 years and 178,000 miles. At the time we paid 4000 over list and had to buy a Limited as it was the only one available. We just purchased a 2024 Rav4 XLE Prime for my wife. "Only" paid list price for it this time as we weren't in a hurry. Probably won't get any tax incentives though (still trying). We will sell our 2012 Fusion Hybrid 116,000 miles once the paperwork and licensing clears. Bought out of state, no Primes in the Chicago market anywhere near list price even if you can find one. I would say that is the biggest drawback to the Hybrids or Primes. This vehicle should be more available and $10,000 cheaper. We love the Prime and our daughter has driven hers to Utah and back twice. Wonderful road cars. I know the new model is coming out, but we don't care. I would rather buy one that has had years of upgrades and tweaks to make it better than buy the first year that isn't proven. Have been waiting to replace our 2014 4Runner with the new turbo hybrid model, but they keep pushing it back. Still won't buy the first year, so I guess we will have to wait until 2026. Toyota's are great, if they keep this sales model going they will lose their loyal customers as there are other makes that are a better value...

No one pedal drive regen 😢

When you buy one with the $6,500 lease incentive (lease then buyout of lease immediately) that has been available on all trims of the Rav4 Prime for the last year, it starts to make a lot more sense to buy the Prime (now called the 'Plug-In Hybrid' as of 2025 model) over the Hybrid. I did this deal and it is still available, plus dealer gave me thousands off MSRP which is not going to happen with the Hybrid. I got a loaded Rav4 Prime XSE with Premium Package for the exact same price you would pay for a loaded up Rav4 Hybrid XSE. You are getting a much more pleasurable (read faster, quieter) driving experience while paying just a few thousand dollars more. You are faster than almost every crossover on the road with this thing, save some luxury cars that cost 2-3x as much. And the City driving vs the hybrid there is no comparison....you are going to get like 27 mpgs with the hybrid in the winter (below freezing) in the City when the gas engine running more to heat the car vs like 75-90 miles per gallon if you are charging your Prime up and just using hybrid mode when cruising. The Prime has a heat pump, so no gas needed for heating unless it is bitterly cold. Currently getting 88 mpgs using a bunch of hybrid miles on the interstate around Boston in December. The vehicle is amazing and in a totally different ballpark than the hybrid in more than a few ways. Not to mention you can plug this thing into a normal household outlet (110 V) and charge it up overnight. No special plug needed to get it to charge up for the daily commute.

We purchased in October 2024 - Rav 4 Prime XSE and really love it. Appreciate your insights so much! We were also able to lease and immediately get the $6500 and an additional $500 credit. We want to copy your garage set up for the charger. It looks simple, easy to install and hoping you can send the links to the wall connector, etc... Thanks again!

Soon ill be in the market for a new vehicle. Love the current gen look but the images of the newest one looks terrible!

Interesting fact, the current rav4 is only like 2 inches smaller than the older highlanders!

Used to have an 04 rav4, gave it to family when it had 360k mile. Crazy to see how far the rav4 has come over the years

Can you hear the Michelin Cross Climate tires on the road? Thinking about getting those on my hybrid

I like the ash interior and I don't see them in the prime

Good