ONCE UPON a time, the RAV4 was a bit of a rebel. With its surfer-dude vibe and fun-to-drive attitude, it shook off Toyota’s grey cardigan image, appealing to younger drivers who viewed conventional hatchbacks and saloons with the same sort of disdain they’d show for their parents’ record collections. That was way back in 1994, when Blur and Oasis were getting into verbal spats, Sony launched the PlayStation, Loaded lads mag stirred up controversy and the Channel Tunnel gave rise to that cultural high point in continental travel, the booze cruise. Much like the drivers that buy SUVs these days, who have probably got married, had children and taken several steps up the property ladder, the latest 2016 RAV4 range has grown up. It’s larger, plusher and can now be bought with Toyota’s signature tech: hybrid. Full Article
I noticed the Lexus hybrids do pretty well in EU and Musk said in the Model 3 release that the his cars would not be 'lame'. But recent metrics with our Gen-3 and the ad hoc Gen-4 maximum acceleration strongly suggest Toyota may have left seconds 'on the table' 0-60 mph. The data suggests it wouldn't take much to get Prius acceleration down to the 8 second range. Bob Wilson
"Progress is made at a snail’s pace, at which point you shove the accelerator into the carpet and wait for something to happen. " How many mainstream car buyers stop reading right about here?
