Toyota RAV4 Review

Introduction

Toyota has made quite a few SUVs over the years, and last year celebrated the 30th anniversary of its RAV4.

It's a car credited with starting the first ripples in the water many years ago, which later led to the huge wave of SUVs and crossovers that now populate our roads.

A lot has changed over the years, though – and the RAV4 will undergo another shift later this year when its sixth-generation model goes into production. That's good news for anyone wanting to lease a current model, though, as you can possibly expect reductions galore.

And, even if you're the type to experience FOMO ('fear of missing out') by not having the latest model, there are many good reasons to consider the current RAV 4.

While it’s available globally in numerous configurations, over here it’s exclusively a plug-in hybrid – and a very economical one at that. That makes it attractive to people who might otherwise be put off by the assumption that a reasonably sized SUV can only equal poor fuel economy and high emissions.

But how good is the RAV4, really? After all, in an era where premium brands are rolling off SUVs by the bucketload, and Kia appears to have plunged itself into the future with its striking (and very large) EV9, Toyota has been a little on the quiet side.

Given its sixth-generation model looks markedly different, it seems Toyota is on the way to addressing that. However, the fifth-generation model isn't exactly bad-looking – and it’s arguably still got some fight left in it.

We're not here to make the case for the RAV4, though – it has to do that itself on its own merit. So, we’ve taken one for a spin to see if it’s truly made of enough rough stuff.

At A Glance

Previous generations of the RAV4 have looked a little restrained. Not this one – in fact, it looks quite aggressive and athletic, without losing its family-friendliness.

At the front, the grille resembles a moustache, curving slightly at the bottom, above an even more imposing trapezoidal lower grille, flanked by thick cladding underneath. The headlights complement the upper grille, too, portraying an angry frown. Out to the sides, there’s more aggression, with lights housed in carved-out cheekbones, like air intakes.

Around the sides, the RAV4's off-roading credentials are emphasised by huge, blackened bodywork surrounding the wheel arches. There's also additional cladding that runs along the bottom of the doors, as well as a strip of black bodywork that accentuates the roof spoiler.

Around the back, the taillights sit modestly at either side – they’re not connected by a light bar, as in so many cars today, but instead by a piece of silver trim running underneath them. There’s a massively thick black bumper, too, as well as a couple of tailpipes, one at each side, underneath.

Overall, it’s not bad. Yes, it's probably due for an upgrade, which will come when the next generation model launches. But it's a vehicle that retains the essence of a family car without going over the top with jagged edges and sporting aggression.

Key Features

Keeping things simple, the RAV4 is available in two trim levels.

Entry-level Design comes with 18-inch alloys, a 10.5-inch Toyota Smart Connect+ infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, DAB radio, satellite navigation, and a 12.3-inch digital instrument display.

You also get heated front and outer rear seats, with power adjustment in the driver's seat, power-folding door mirrors, automatic LED projector headlights, a powered tailgate, dual-zone air conditioning, keyless entry/start, and a reversing camera. Rain-sensing wipers are also included as standard.

The range-topping GR Sport upgrades to 19-inch black alloys, adding sports seats with a memory function, a sportier mesh grille, a heated steering wheel with paddle shifters, a head-up display, wireless phone charger and a 360-degree panoramic view monitor. Toyota also throws in suede and synthetic leather upholstery and an armrest that folds out from the rear seat.

In terms of power, there’s only one form offered – a plug-in hybrid. It consists of a surprisingly large (for modern times) 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, connected to an electric motor, offering up an impressive 306PS. It also comes with all-wheel drive.

Range & Batteries

Both versions of the RAV4 come equipped with an 18.1kWh battery. That's good enough for a claimed range of 46 miles of all-electric driving, which is competitive, albeit not class-leading, against its rivals.

You’ll struggle to achieve this in practice, though, as the actual real-world figure depends on any number of factors, including ambient temperature and driving style. During our test drive, we were on track to achieve about two-thirds of this figure, which seems about right. Want to know more about plug-in hybrids? Check out our guide to Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV).

Performance & Drive

We're test-driving the GR Sport model, but the performance is identical to the entry-level Design trim.

With 306PS on tap, you’re probably wondering if the RAV4 is quick to get from 0-62mph.

It is – certainly for an SUV. It'll take you just 6.0 seconds – which is rip-roaringly quick – and more than adequate for a family car like this.

In fact, it makes us wonder why a less powerful version isn't offered at a lower price. Still, we’re not complaining, as it’s considerably quicker than plenty of its main opponents.

It can start up and pull away well just on electric power, which means you won’t need to worry about disturbing the neighbours if you’re an early starter at work.

In fact, it can do just about any road-legal speed without using the engine, so if you’re doing a short school run or popping to the local shops, you may not need to use the engine at all. When the lump does burst into life, you’ll barely notice, as it’s fairly hushed.

Admittedly, the use of a CVT (continuously variable transmission) can ruin it when you push down far on the throttle – a simple explanation is that CVTs have only one gear, which adjusts itself accordingly.

As a result, it can sound a little raucous under hard acceleration, although this quickly fades away once you settle at a constant speed. Getting up to motorway speeds is effortless, with the RAV4 having plenty of performance available at any given moment.

In terms of ride comfort, it performs better at lower speeds, offering more comfort around town and providing ample absorption. At higher speeds, the body feels a bit wobblier, taking time to settle down after going over lumps and bumps.

It’s not bad, but many rivals feel more adept at smoothing out potholes and creases in the road surface. It’s likely not helped by its kerb weight, which is getting on for two tonnes. Speaking of which, adding batteries and an electric motor equals a lot of weight, and this rarely helps the handling – and the end result is about what we expected.

Chuck it fast into a bend and it’ll be leaning all over the place, not helped by the light steering which doesn’t weight up sufficiently to inspire any confidence in your cornering. It’s not bad, though – there’s a reasonable amount of grip from the tyres and, as long as you’re driving sensibly, body lean is better controlled than some rivals. If you want something that's more fun to drive, though, a Ford Kuga and Seat Ateca are likely better alternatives.

The engine may sound nicely refined when you’re not burying the throttle, but the RAV4 produces slightly more wind and tyre noise than competitors at higher speeds.

Regenerative braking helps put some charge back into the batteries under deceleration, but it can take some getting used to and feels a little bit like the brakes are ‘on’ or ‘off’.

Charging

The RAV4 can be charged up at a maximum speed of 6.6kW. That's not great – in fact it's many times slower than fully electric cars, while some plug-in hybrids are capable of charging speeds several times faster.

Nevertheless, it’ll still get you a full 0-100% top-up of the batteries in two-and-a-half hours if you use a dedicated 7kW wall box. Check out our guide to learn all about EV charging costs.

Running Costs & Emissions

Regardless of which model you choose, the RAV4 can manage 282.5mpg, emitting 22g/km of CO2. Those are impressive figures for a hefty SUV – and ones that only make the RAV4 more appealing; it's among the most economical cars of its type.

Achieving such a fuel-efficient figure largely depends on keeping the battery charged, though – if you drain the battery, you'll likely see the miles-per-gallon figure drop into the 40s, which is still not bad.

As a plug-in hybrid, it’ll be reasonably attractive as a company car, as it falls within a low band for Benefit In Kind tax. However, some rivals offer even more generous savings, as they have a superior all-electric range.

Don’t expect many favours from the tax man elsewhere, though. Granted, you'll only pay £110 for the first year's road tax, but it'll be the standard £ 195 per year thereafter.

At least reliability won’t be a concern, as the RAV4 is highly rated, while Toyota as a whole tends to do very well, coming near the top of plenty of customer surveys for dependability.

Interior & Technology

The RAV4's cabin is pleasant enough to look at, although it seems a bit short on luxuries and lacks the wow-factor of some foes.

The steering wheel appears chunky, while there are some nice bits of silver trim on the doors and around the centre console, including where it connects to the dashboard, as well as on the dashboard itself, where it snakes around the air vents.

Its 10.5-inch infotainment screen sits on top of the dash, but this is where the RAV4 starts to show its age.

Firstly, there's a huge, thick, black border around the outside of the unit, robbing it of valuable screen space.

While the graphics look okay, it lacks the modern touch of rival systems, isn't the most intuitive to use, and is not as responsive to inputs as many competitors.

At least physical controls are retained for the air conditioning, which sits between the infotainment screen and the gear lever.

There’s plenty of soft-to-the-touch materials on display in the RAV4, and everything seems ultra-sturdy, as if it's been built to withstand rougher treatment than you'd typically expose a family car to.

It lacks in terms of the overall aesthetic, though – cabin design has come a long way in recent years, with even middling brands able to produce very attractive, appealing interiors.

The RAV4 is now lagging behind, and this might be one reason to wait for the sixth-generation model.

Practicality & Boot Space

The seats are very comfortable in the Toyota RAV4, and adjustable lumbar support is offered as standard.

Finding a good driving position is easy, too, as powered adjustment is offered as standard on both models in the driver’s seat, as well as a memory function to save your seating position in the top GR Sport model that we’re testing.

Only manual adjustment is offered for the front seat passenger; however, regardless of which model you pick.

Forward visibility is reasonably good, as Toyota has kept the front pillars relatively thin, and your driving position is suitably raised to give you a commanding view of the road ahead.

The pillars are much thicker at the back, though, not helped by tapering rear windows, acute-angled bodywork and thick black borders around the rear windscreen.

Thankfully, front and rear parking sensors are included as standard, along with a rear-view camera in the Design model and, in our GR Sport test car, a 360-degree panoramic view monitor.

There’s lots of headroom and legroom in the front seats, so there’s plenty of room in which to get comfortable, while the cabin is sufficiently wide enough to prevent you competing for elbow room with a fellow front seat occupant.

Rear seat passengers won’t be complaining either, with a competitive amount of legroom on offer, and more than sufficient headroom – and the back seats can recline, too.

In terms of boot space, there's 520 litres on offer, expanding to 1,604 litres with the rear seats down.

They only fold in a 60:40 split, rather than the even more versatile 40:20:40 configuration of some rivals. Furthermore, there are no levers in the boot for you to pull, so you can fold them away – they're only accessible via the side doors, which is inconvenient.

The floor isn’t completely flat once the back seats are down, but it’s a big, usable space that should fit just about anything you wouldn’t need a van for.

There's also some underfloor storage to keep the RAV4's charging cables.

You won’t be short of storage space inside the cabin, with decent-sized door bins, a spacious cubby under the centre console, cupholders, and a tray in the dashboard.

Safety

The Toyota RAV4 earned a five-star score when it was assessed by Euro NCAP in 2019.

It scored an impressive 93% for adult occupants, 87% for children and 77% for safety assists.

The RAV4 comes with a long list of safety equipment and gadgetry, including automatic emergency braking, adjustable speed limiter, automatic high beam, driver attention alert, hill start assist control, and lane departure alert with steering control.

You also get lane trace assist, a pre-collision system with cyclist and pedestrian detection, trailer sway control, tyre pressure monitoring, vehicle stability control, and intelligent adaptive cruise control.

Parking sensors and a rear-view camera are included as standard. As we said earlier, the GR Sport model upgrades the latter to a 360-degree panoramic surround view monitor, as well as adding blind spot monitoring.

Options

There are several ways to part with extra money on the RAV4.

Our GR Sport model was fitted with Bi-Tone paint, which gives you a black roof regardless of body colour.

Both RAV4 models can also opt for the Essential Protection Pack, which includes protection plates, a boot liner, and mud flaps. The Protection Pack Plus includes all this, plus rubber floor mats.

There’s also a Chrome Pack, which adds chrome detailing to the exterior in various places, as well as side steps.

What’s more, the GR Sport model can have black door mirrors and a body-coloured shark fin antenna, if you wish.

Rival Cars

There are a number of competitors to the Toyota RAV4.

In plug-in hybrid form, you’ve got the Ford Kuga, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage.

There are also the Peugeot 3008, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Honda CR-V.

MG has the HS, while two new Chinese brands are also worth looking at: the BYD Seal U and the Jaecoo 7.

Verdict & Next Steps

The Toyota RAV4 certainly ticks plenty of boxes.

As a mid-size SUV, it’s superbly economical thanks to its high miles-per-gallon and low carbon emissions figures. Add that to a generous equipment list, even at entry level, and you’re on to a winner.

Reliability-wise, it's great, too. It's quite expensive, though – and for that reason, we'd stick with the Design trim to save you some money.

Additionally, there are other downsides. It's unexciting to drive, the cabin design is dated, and the infotainment system needs an overhaul, which will undoubtedly come when the sixth-generation model hits the road.

But, because of that, there could be leasing bargains soon as the stock of existing RAV4s is wound down.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Toyota RAV4

**Correct as of 27/08/2025. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 36 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £3,415.32 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.