Featured Gen 6 RAV4 PHEV is over $3,000 cheaper than Gen 5 RAV4 PHEV

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Gokhan, Mar 6, 2026 at 11:56 PM.

  1. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    Finally, the Gen 6 RAV4 PHEV, the PHEV version of Toyota’s first take on a software-defined vehicle (SDV), will start hitting dealer lots next month, in April. It is also the first Toyota to feature TSS 4.0, which will be further upgradeable through over-the-air software updates.

    It is over $3,000 cheaper than the Gen 5 RAV4 PHEV. It looks like Toyota has finally figured out how to make EV batteries that aren't astronomically expensive.

    The 2026 Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) is less expensive than before | Car and Driver
     
    #1 Gokhan, Mar 6, 2026 at 11:56 PM
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2026 at 12:04 AM
  2. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    A minor semantic suggestion:
    • “saves over $3,000”
    • Avoid “cheaper” as that has a quality context too
    There might be time to edit the title.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #2 bwilson4web, Mar 7, 2026 at 12:44 PM
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    That’s amazing, it’s too bad it now looks like a truck
     
    #3 bisco, Mar 7, 2026 at 1:05 PM
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  4. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    Yeah, that “hammerhead” design has now become a Toyota thing. Toyota thinks that’s what people want. I wouldn’t be surprised if even the Gen 6 Prius sports a hammerhead design. Aerodynamics and fuel economy take a back seat to unsubstantiated marketing choices. Trump’s CAFE rollback isn’t helping.

    As a result, 2026 RAV4 AWD SE PHEV gets 102 mpge vs. 138 mpge of 2026 Model Y Standard RWD BEV and 123 mpge of 2026 Model Y Long-Range AWD BEV. Day and night.
     
    #4 Gokhan, Mar 7, 2026 at 4:48 PM
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2026 at 6:53 PM
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    toyota sales reflect their design choices, so it must be me :cool:
     
    #5 bisco, Mar 7, 2026 at 9:25 PM
  6. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    Many people don’t even use the BEV mode in PHEVs. Others think mpge doesn’t matter because kWh is cheap. It will matter as energy prices increase. If RAV4 gets 40% worse fuel economy in the BEV mode than Model Y, Toyota is not doing their EVs right.
     
    #6 Gokhan, Mar 8, 2026 at 5:49 PM
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    agreed, but it's hard to compare Bev to phew. people buy them for a reason.
     
    #7 bisco, Mar 8, 2026 at 7:56 PM
  8. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    I'm not sure what your point is, but my two-generation-older PHEV gets 133 mpge. Toyota seems to be making backward progress. Moreover, it is more important for PHEVs than for BEVs to get a excellent mpge because of their small battery capacity, which results in a short BEV range.
     
    #8 Gokhan, Mar 9, 2026 at 2:20 AM
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Important to who? Not to Toyota apparently, or they wouldn’t have shaped it like a truck.
    But most people interested in a phev are only looking at range, both gas and electric, not mpge in my opinion.
    And very few will look at a bev as an alternative
     
    #9 bisco, Mar 9, 2026 at 2:19 PM
  10. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Most PHEVs have a worse EV efficiency rating compared to a comparable BEV. It's a trade off for having that ICE drive train on standby.
     
    #10 Trollbait, Mar 9, 2026 at 8:24 PM
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