I’ve owned the RAV4 Prime XSE in Texas for 7 months. Here’s the real unique uses of the Prime that he doesn’t talk about “Charge Mode” so if your driving 20 miles and then 20 miles back home. It’s pure EV unless you want to put it in Auto EV/HV for the 5.3 (my testing) zero-60 power. But when I pick up my daughter that is 45 minutes away and bring her back which is another 45 minutes. I used the EV then I put it in “Charge Mode” on the highway which is using the gas engine to pretty quickly regenerate the battery. So I end up with an extra 25 miles of EV battery range from just doing that. The main reason why I sometimes forced to put around 10 gallons of gas a month in the the Prime is because I sometimes forget to plug it in when I’m at home a couple times a month. I’m not stranded like I would be in a full EV because the battery range is gone. I just get in the car and drive then let the good ole Charge Mode give me some EV juice so I can go back to stealth mode off the highway. The vehicle is very impressive. The premium package has a 1500 watt generator that during the Texas Winter Freeze Black Out I ran an extension cord from the car inside my house and got power to my Internet Router, TV, a Lamp and most importantly my space heater. I also have a fire place and gas stove so the experience wasn’t so bad. Once the battery died after using it for several hours straight, I open the garage door and good ole “Charge Mode” was used to keep charging everything. 3 days until the power fully came back on in the house and the Prime could of keep me powered up all week I think. It’s a do it all dolly. The Prime is also a moderate off-roader as well with almost 11 inches of ground clearance. There is already a 2 inch lift kit for it and tons of aftermarket goodies for the RAV4. Also in North Texas there isn’t a bug Tesla Super Charger network like the ZEV states so even more of a reason to go Prime. Toyota has perfected the hybrid tech better than anyone else. Yes I compared and drove the Model Y vs the Prime. Yes I almost got the performance Y, and it’s fast with a Elon’s view of the future. It is my opinion after tons of research that full EV cars are cool but this is just the start of its evolution. It’s the IPhone 1, The Windows 3.1 PC. The technology will evolve and someday in 5-10 years I might jump into a full EV once it checks off all the boxes. Right now and for the next 5-10 years. The RAV4 Prime does what I need it to do an then some. It is also far superior to the Toyota Hybrid. The power train has bigger beefier components due to the weight and it’s got a factory 1 inch lift compared to the Hybrid. The range and quickness is also superior.

"It's a weird mixture but apparently they did something right" Yeah, the 302hp@39mpg+storage space kind of right.

It is exactly the test I was looking for. Thank you for that, really good job. And IMHO Toyota did also good job with the prime. Thumb up and greetings from Poland for you.

Charlie....This was great information and the PSA was priceless... As a 16 Camry Hybrid owner looking to upgrade...Your trips provide me with good real world mpgs in the cold weather...Thank You!

Thanks for the video this is a really good way of testing plug-ins!

People do both highway and in-city driving. The RAV4 Prime enables EV on daily commutes and gas when an longer trips. Plus the added power compared to regular RAV4 models.

I use to own a Model Y now I a Rav4 Prime.

Charlie, 34 miles range in winter for me was norm and real world 32 miles of range

Very true statement at 9:40, if you're doing mostly highway driving you're better off in a hybrid vehicle, if you're doing mostly city driving you're better off in a BEV. Now how about those people with short weekday commutes, but long weekend road trips?

Mine got here yesterday. It’s at the auto salon getting the treatment at the moment. Hopefully I’ll get it back by the end of the week. I already love it more than I anticipated, and can’t wait for our first road trip.

Very good review and because of that, I’m a new subscriber.

Only 2 less than the Accord Hybrid!!! Thats crazy.. and awesome

You get a plugin hybrid if you want to do both, city driving and highway tripping.

That was the worst condition for PHEV's, more or less only highway driving and in cold weather. It is actually the worst condition for Hydrid also. 😉 But anyway, it is goos to know how much more the degradation of your expected fuel economy will be when you do a longer field trip! If/when you're buying a PHEV you need to know that they don't measures the EV range in highway speeds and the the speed of the vehicle has to do with a lot with how much it consumes. This is also true to petrol cars as well... Anyway nice and informative clip of what you should expect from a RAV4 prime, I liled it!

real review

To answer your question on the weird mixture and who it's for (I agree it's a niche group). I'm looking into it, because we live in the Bay Area of California. Regular use is driving and less than 30 (more like 20) miles on days we drive, only use the car 3-4 times a week. Then there are the hiking and skiing road trips to the mountains. Monterrey, Yosemite, and in the winter Lake Tahoe. All mountain driving, where there will be extended times of just downhill coasting.

What GPS/Speedometer app you use ?

toyotas for life!

Charlie, Cold weather and winter blend fuel will always impact mpg. I think the RAV4 Prime certainly ads positive attributes to the RAV4 range but tax policies aside, the cheaper trims of the regular RAV4 Hybrid remain an outstanding deal. With less hp and lower mpg, the regular gas RAV4 seems a bit pointless. In regard to those dreaded left lane hogs, do I really have to spell it out?

How cold was it? I was thinking about getting one but was wondering if 50 below would permanently damage the battery as I don’t have a heated garage

I get about 38 MPG in my 2015 Toyota Avalon Hybrid. This vehcile only makes sense for people who drive mostly short trips and/or have a charger at work.

You should do a fuel economy test on one of your motorcycle.

Can you charge an SE faster , I see the XSE Prime premium package has a built in 6.6kw charger for 2 1/2 hours to charge it Can the SE charge faster than 4 -/2 hours ?

I see what your saying about road tripping vs city.... gaz vs full electric... but this vehicle has a plus... 302 HP allows for 2500pounds of towing... but this is not advantageous everywhere... in my area we get 13k taxe credit so this vehicle is better bang for buck then gaz and non plug in hybrid.... thanks for the video

10:00 you have answered your question by asking it :) This car is for someone who is using car in city center (so EV is good for him) and on long trips (so ICE is good for him). For such customer PHEV is mixture of both cars he need :)

My primary takeaway is how obnoxious it is to show speeded up highway driving for minutes at a time. What are we supposed to learn from that? It’s unwatchable.

I see so many people have no idea how to use these cars.If its cold weather.And you are going distance and on highway.you drive hybrid and the car warms up.if you have no battery power.it runs as a gas engine only ,and uses a lot of gas.You then use the electric motor in town.You have drained the electric to heat the car.This car should get around 50mpg kept at 60mph in hybrid with fully charged battery.and then 40 miles in electric.

You said the modelY heated quicker. It also brings your range down. I've learned have the Toyota HP you should use your ICE to heat your car which will decrease your range as well. Godd Luck.

What was the tire inflation? You were definitely getting low milage numbers.

Is this really how you are supposed to use this car for better gas mileage overall : drive it on EV until the battery runs out and then drive it on hybrid mode, or you just use hybrid mode all the time? Does the hybrid mode still work if the battery is empty?

10:52 is that google pixel 5

Except that the fuel tank gauge is faulty so when you fill up does the fuel pump become the most inaccurate sensor in your video.

Snow in texas. Ok

Your logic in how this type of RAV4 would be used by it’s owners is flawed, in that your logic is in reverse. Because the battery alone on this model can take a person up to 40 miles before the gas engine has to kick in, most owners would drive it in the opposite way that you are presenting. They would commute daily on the 40 miles of electric range, and only once the car would run out of battery range, they would switch to gas motor thereafter. Meaning? If someone does less than 40 miles per day of driving, and if they come home and charge it (or even charge it at work wherever they work), they would almost never have to turn on the gas engine to help them meet their daily mileage needs. Thus, almost never having to go to the gas station throughout an entire year of ownership. Your assessment is that owners would drive the car immediately in Hybrid mode, instead of electric only mode. This is the entire point of this model above all other RAV4 models, that you wouldn’t have the gas motor kick in, unless the battery is completely drained. Not the other way around.

terrible, 34 mpg, the hybrid gets 38 gas only mpg. In the other three seasons I get 42 city and hwy combined

That’s horrible for a car that will cost you on the road in Ontario 70k.

WOW. thats Really Crappy RANGE! Esp only 40 to 50 miles for a battery and then your on gas anyways. I get 400 miles in my 2010 v6 rav4.

Must be Spring. Our Rav. 4 Prime is back to 40 miles range. All winter 34 miles of range was the norm The heat pump is a battery hog.

. ❤️💣❤️ Rav4 ❤️💣❤️ . 👁️🗿👁️ 🏁 . . 🕳️ 💯 🕺🏻 .