Toyota switches its popular mid-sized SUV onto a new platform and hybrid-only tack
With a strong reliability record, pleasing on-road dynamics and a 50-mile electric range in plug-in hybrid form, it's small wonder that the fifth-generation Toyota RAV4 is one of the bestselling cars of the last few years.More than a million examples were sold worldwide in 2024 alone. And plenty have made their way to Britain over the past seven years, so the classifieds are now littered with Mk5 RAV4s of varying ages, conditions and mileages, some costing as little as £13,000.The cheapest examples are leggy and often wearing plenty of knocks and bruises, so we would aim to pay closer to £18,000 for a clean car with around 65,000 miles on the clock.Several trims are available: Icon, Design, Excel and Dynamic, plus the PHEV also comes in Dynamic Premium and GR Sport. Sounds confusing, but it's all fairly simple once you know the options list.Icon is decent value (reversing camera, 8.0in touchscreen, phone mirroring), but Design trim, with its larger alloys, built-in sat-nav and electric tailgate, is the smarter buy. We saw a tidy, 56,000-mile example with a full Toyota service history for £18,990- good value, especially when Icon models aren't a lot cheaper. Excel, with its leather seats, and Dynamic, with its dual-tone paint, add a dash of luxury, but be prepared to pay more than £20,000 for a well-maintained car.If you want to maximise your comfort, opt for a lower trim and 18in wheels; the 19s can erode some of the car's ride quality when dealing with sharper edges.There's oodles of space, too, with lots of room for taller passengers in the back, plus a 500-litre boot that swells to 1600 litres with the seats down. Even five-up and full of luggage, the RAV4 is a pleasant thing in which to cover miles.The standard RAV4 has a full-hybrid powertrain that pairs a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and drives the front wheels through a CVT. The front-wheel-drive version makes 215bhp, while the four-wheel-drive one (which has an extra electric motor on the rear axle) has 219bhp. Both are punchy and smooth, with good throttle response and plenty of overtaking grunt.The CVT does have a detrimental impact on mechanical refinement, but both drivetrains are pretty frugal and can manage around 40-45mpg day to day or closer to 50mpg on longer runs.Both versions of the full-hybrid RAV4 are highly capable and well-rounded, but if you can fit a charger at your home and do a lot of urban driving, it could be worth spending an extra £2000-£3000 on the plug-in hybrid version, which makes 302bhp and can travel up to 46 miles with the engine off. That's good enough for a 0-62mph sprint of 6.0sec, which is only 0.3sec adrift of a Ford Focus ST.Beyond its impressive turn of pace in all guises, the RAV4 is a comfortable and refined family SUV that delivers a controlled ride and good body control. The steering is accurate and intuitive, the additional bulk of the electrified drivetrains doesn't compromise its dynamic capabilities and it's well balanced through corners.
