Reviewing the Toyota RAV4 PHEV after 3 months of ownership and 6,000 miles 

My Rav 4 PHEV shows 53 miles on a full charge over the 2500 miles of ownership. Gentle smooth driving style greatly benefits long term battery range. Great channel and a very comprehensive review during your time with the car.

First video i watch from this channel. I'm spanish and i can understand every word you say easely. Btw, you look so similar to Pau Gasol, spanish NBA legend.

Fantastic video Peter and excellent review. I’m of the same thought using a PHEV, with the electric on small local journeys and no range anxiety for longer ones, that would always be my worry 😮 Absolutely love the new merchandise, will definitely be getting myself kitted out 😉👌🏻👍🏻

Great review Pete !! I think this might be my next suv just need to wrap my head around losing my V6 Rav which I love 👍🏻. 🍻from 🇨🇦and stay happy and healthy all.

I've now owned my Rav4 Prime for almost one year. We've only put 6,000 miles on the car, mostly local, as it's not the only car we own. That said, we've achieved 75% EV driving which means the gas engine has only done 1,500 miles! So wear-and-tear on the engine is extremely low. No issues that required dealer intervention and nothing has fallen off or given up. The combined figure is 70.4 MPGe but that's USA gallon equivalent so the UK would be over 80 MPGe. The price of gas/petrol reached an eye watering $5 a gallon recently so I suspect the effective MPGe is actually better than we're seeing on the car's readout. As the Prime is based on the same chassis base as the Corolla it should be no surprise it's maneuverable and doesn't feel super sized. For our purposes this vehicle has worked out extremely well. As you say, plenty of storage so 5 people plus luggage is very doable. Plus we have the roof rack. In cross-street driving (no freeway) I can get 47 miles in summer and 44 in winter. Yes, I agree, more range would be nice and certainly 80-100 miles would have advantages both in battery life (fewer recharges) as well as percentage of miles in pure EV. I can only hope that Toyota does something unusual like provide upgraded solid-state batteries when they become available (ha ha, fat chance of Toyota being that thoughtful!). I would never go back to a pure gas/diesel vehicle and look forward to the day I can go pure EV. However, until the batteries are sorted in terms of recharge time, density, cost and range, the Prime is almost perfectly suited to our requirements. I love NOT having range anxiety or having to 'take it easy' on the mountain climbs because I'm conserving range.

Excellent to see a true long term test like this and to hear your thoughts. So much better than most very short term reviews done by others. My own experience of the ‘self charge’ RAV4 hybrid matches your thoughts for the PHEV, a superb practical, comfortable and supremely efficient all round daily driver. Over 3mths of ownership I’ve averaged 50mpg and spent 49% of time 30% of distance in EV mode. For what is a practical family car I think that is excellent consumption and efficiency. Looking forward to seeing you on the Paris catwalks modelling your range of clothing! Lol 😆

Great review- I have owned a RAV4 Premium Dynamic for 10 months now and covered 10,000 miles including trips to Monte Carlo and Murcia in Spain. I live in Jersey and never put any petrol in the car as with careful driving I manage 59 miles on pure electric. When I do go off Island I return healthy mileage just over 60mpg. I love the extras such as moon roof, upgraded sound system and Heads Up Display and agree with you on the quality of the infotainment system - however like you I always use Apple Car Play and I have a wireless dongle so do not have to worry about plugging the phone in. I love 0-60 time of 6 seconds and that I get both my road bikes in the back without taking the wheels off. Previously I have owned Range Rovers and AMG GLC but find the RAV4 is perfect for my needs in 2022.

The thing I love about this car is that exactly no fear of range anxiety I hope more cars come out with this or more range.

Looking forward to seeing what's next!

Hi Ped Excellent final resume of this car. Love the styling and design. You have managed to cover a lot of the questions I would have asked. Perhaps if and when I no longer require a tow car I could be tempted.

I really enjoyed this review. You went from not being totally sure at the beginning to actually really liking the car and the gearbox. I'm still waiting for my Toyota to be delivered but I can confirm that the infotainment system for 2022 models has been updated to a much better working system. I look forward to having my new car soon.

A really good review. It makes a change to have the practicality of a car like this judged literally on the basis of how practical it is to use, rather than just on the volume of boot space. As a dog owner it's good to see a boot space that is relatively square, and light and airy. Looks like a good alrounder.

Great review. All of them you have on the RAV4 PHEV. Just got mine a few days ago. Pearl Red, Black Roof, Facelift headlights. Drives great. EV Mode is awesome. HV+Sport is a beast. I will have a longer trip this weekend, can't wait to cruise down Romanian Roads :D. Had a Ford Mondeo and a Toyota Corolla TS Hybrid before getting the RAV4. Gave my dad the Corolla, I want to know he is safe when driving :D. Keep it up Petrol Ped!

Bloody good review Peter, it answered all the things I was interested in so well done you!

Thank you for the positive video. I have a normal hybrid RAV4. For big dogs my Golden retriever is fine in the back, in fact I've had 2 retrievers in the back at one time. As the trip computer gets used to your driving and you get used to what is known as hyper mileing the ev mode can reach 45 miles. I'm on some RAV4 Facebook blogs and in the USA the RAV4 prime PHEV has been seen to achieve 50 miles on ev. If your test has been done over the winter then the ev miles drop. On my hybrid winter driving gives me 44 mpg and summer driving gives me 52 mpg. One last point you didn't point out the 0 to 60 time of 6 seconds which when I did a test drive certainly brings a smile on your face 🙂.

Evening buddy, really impressive car I think. The colour as you say suits it perfectly. A really good review thanks, loving the new Merchandise too. 👍👍

Nice review Pete, I like how you looked into the CVT gearbox. It is a smoother box than a double clutch. A plug in or a hybrid is the best if you don’t like range anxiety.

Great review PP. Good to see all the pro's and con's of the SUV. Agree, it does look like a Storm Trooper! The new merch looks ace, particulary the PP mugs. One of those will look ace on my desk.

Nice well rounded review. The RAV4 is looking lovely and clean for this piece but I've seen it muckier in the past! Merch looks good. Cheers Ped!

For those not affiliated to a marque or a brand snob, this looks an excellent all round package. Great long-term content and review Pete. Merch looks fantastic, a mug (or two) a must, plus a new and obligatory t-shirt of course. I just need to narrow down the design first. All the best.

very fair review, I liked the re think on the CVT that was honest and fair. I have bought one as a result of Petrol Ped's review

Just a note The slower speed of the tailgate is very handy when loading a wheelchair ♿️- when you might be a bit slower getting out of the way 😊

A really enjoyable & informative video good job. Always liked the Toyota RAV4 👍👍

I've got the Suzuki badged version and agree with all your comments. I am averaging 50 - 55 mpg in Hybrid mode but am seeing a real 40 - 50 miles EV running even in colder weather. I think both of these are great values for a large, practical car. I only find the revving engine an issue if you really accelerate hard, in general driving it is quiet and smooth.

Great video mate 👍

a bit late to the party but been away working most of the week. have to say some of your best work reviewing your everyday demo car reviews, love em. i too would like more range with the phev's, my disco p300e is circa 30 miles and needs to be double that. loving the merch.

These are my favourite videos. Reviews of cars that can be bought. Much prefer this to custom cars or track days.

Enjoyed this video. Our Rav4 PHEV in on order!🇨🇦

Fantastic Detailed review Pete , Toyota make some good cars but like you say ageing technology too .. ! 👍👍

Good review as always.Off to look at the merch.

Well balanced review. As always. Cheers Pedro

Hi Peter Hope you and the Mrs are all well mate I quite like the new Rav 4 I was looking on the internet this morning at them, I think they are lovely, in fact they are voted the best suv on the road at the moment…..and the colour range is amazing love some of the new colour’s out there As alway my mate great content 👍👍👍👍

Hi Sir Pete hope you and Mrs G are doing good! What a very well done review! So glad there’s a merch line again can’t wait to place a couple orders. Also I love the name for the car, stormtrooper. You should do a vote on names for the long termer cars you get. As always Sir Pete fantastic job!

Great long term review of living with and using the Rav Hybrid, great economy figures too, stuff that may actually influence us punters to bite the bullet and move brands. We finally collected my wifes Rav 4 baby brother the Yaris Cross Hybrid in the same white and black colour scheme, so far so good!

Not many downsides to having this car and Peter another very good and detailed video enjoyed it👍👍👍🚘🚘🚘

Great review, Just hopping over to the Merch site Shirts look very cool and those mugs 😎👍

Excellent video and very informative and interesting / necessary information

Great 3rd video in the series. I took delivery of my RAV4 HEV (not plug in) and must say its the best car that "does it all" I have owned, mine is in Excel trim and specced with the premium pack which adds JBL (great sound), pan roof and 360 degree camera system. I average 50mpg at the moment but it only has a shade over 700 miles on the clock, very impressive for the size, plus it doesn't look the most aerodynamic shape in the world. I agree with all you have said Pete, the infotainment is a little old school but like you I just plug my phone in and to be honest the menu system is far easier to use than the dreadful system produced by Honda, now that is a truly woeful, frustrating and somewhat dangerous system to use as it takes your eyes off the road far too often. Gearbox, I love it the more I use the car and don't find it intrusive at all. Its my first auto after being a die hard manual lover for years, not sure if I would go back again for our main car. Its very comfortable with a relaxed driving position and although we have not been on any long journeys yet I can imagine it will be a very comfortable place to be after 3 or 4 hours. It goes really well for what it is and overtaking is a breeze with plenty of shove from the powertrain. Cant wait to drive down to LeMans in it after 2 years of missing it. Thanks for the series of video's and all the others on your site, great piece of work, well done and keep it up fella.

Thanks for this review Very good 👍

Brilliant one as ever ped 👍🏼👏

Good looking car and I also like the colour scheme.

Great food for thought thanks😎

I find with my KIA Optima SW that if it is cold in the car then the petrol engine is used to heat the interior. My average mpg is in the high 60's. I have had over 100mpg in the summer when most of my journeys were in EV mode. On a different note I enjoyed the filming of your squash game!

I’ve just bought a second hand Lexus CT200H Premier. I love it This will be a great second hand buy.

Great review !!!

Great review as ever! New merch looks great, especially the simplified logo tee! Were you a freeman’s model? 😁

Hi, Very interesting review. Thanks. You mention the Hybrid Mode for longer runs. You mean “HV”or “AUTO EV/HV” ? Is is so that in HV the car keeps the battery charged to be used later , and in AUTO it will just use the battery in combination with petrol engine till battery is low? In which mode does the car go when the battery is empty as default? HV or AUTO EV/HV ? Thanks !!!

The speed on the tailgate is to protect youngsters who may find it fun to open/close and fail to move out of the way, An old friend of mine is an auto door engineer for the one of the big car makers here and did lots of studies on this very issue. It basically was a liability issue for the manufacturers that resulted in slow speeds. Where are the tshirts for the petrol pups?

I have a 320D touring and love the fact the glass opens which is super useful. The speed of that tailgate would be a blocker for me..

Great video well on the new merchandise

Great review Peter! Liking the new merch - very smart! I may indulge in a polo shirt! Great admirer of Toyota cars. I think they have led the way for a long time, having had two RAV4’s (both new, but a long time ago! 04&07!) but my other half has a 66 plate Auris Hybrid and absolutely loves it. She does the trip to work and to the supermarket all in EV mode. I get to drive it, too and am very impressed with it. For me, and ‘for now’, hybrid it the way to go. Full electric vehicles are out of my reach financially and practically, as I cant fit a charger and my concern is the damage we are doing to the planet in order to build the batteries ;hydrogen has to be the ultimate way forward as your review of the hydrogen-powered Toyota demonstrated so well recently. I am wondering what your next long-termer will be… 🤔 but it would be great if you could get hold of a Yaris Cross, as I have one of these in my sights as my next car. Ticks all the boxes for me. Best wishes from the Wirral, as ever.

We have had our rav4 prime for a year, 16k miles on it. Love this car. We've got the SE version, which gets slightly better range and mileage than the one with the black to and oversized wheels. We often get well over 50 miles EV-only range in the summer, even though Toyota's spec says only 42. We always keep it in "eco" mode.

I have a SCHB Black edition. Had it 3 month now and love it !

The new merch looks good, might have to treat myself.. Been looking at hybrid and full EV’s a lot lately, just the price is a sticking point for me at the moment. That being said, I paid the finance off on my I30N last week, so I’m kinda committed with that car for a while yet I think…

I’ve always thought that hybrids would make more sense with a range of over 50 miles - so agree with your thoughts

Very useful video. I used to manage a dealership for Toyota in Saudi Arabia in the late 70's and the locals called Toyota cars "Kleenex" I asked why and the said "one puff and they below away". Yes built to a price but with legendary reliability especially against US imports like Ford or GM which matched British Leyland for unreliability. One day we held an open day with canapes etc as we did in the UK. This was a novel idea in Saudi as I wanted to raise the profile of Toyota in a market then dominated by American cars like the Chevrolet Impala. The response was phenomenal the crowd outside eager to be let in . As soon as we opened the doors they all rushed like madmen to the canape table overturning it and fighting one another for the freebies scattered all over the floor.We did not repeat the exercise. My comment is that Toyota cars seem to be designed by the chief Designer for Tonka Toys unfortunately not to my taste but the RAV PHEV could tempt me its looks a great car.

Love the video. An interesting story about this plugin, a salesman at a Toyota dealership told me that they weren’t going to make this anymore. Toyota are turning towards full electric and cars like this won’t be in their future plans.

The challenge for private buyers is the £40k plus price tag for a well specced car. Annual car tax nearer the £500 mark is a killer. Not a problem if you lease as car tax is normally included. Great car though. Just hope they put in the newer Lexus infotainment system in the next facelift.

I think your photography was pretty good demonstrating the fleck in the paint because it looked pretty good on my device 👍

Had mine just over 6 months and 14000 miles, my ev only range is about 40-45 miles mixed and probably high 30's when on motorway (70mph). Starting on no charge and driving ~300 miles on motorways and fast A roads I got 50mpg. I find the build in sat nav more than adequate and have stopped using andriod auto altogether now, its even better if you enable internet sharing over bluetooth on phone. The paint seems abit weak in my experience with stone chips and light scratches being present. Auto wipers aren't very good. Auto boot is frustratingly slow but can be put in manual mode. I think the supplied tyres are abit naff especially in the wet resulting in frustrating wheel-spins cutting all power. Well worth a test drive if your after a phev suv. Lexus NX450 and Suzuki Across are pretty much the same car too.

New follower here. Very informative videos! Keep up the good work. Looking into buying an PHEV SUV myself. What would you choose if you had to choose between: Rav4, Sorento or Santa Fe ?

Great video! I’m thinking of this car but wonder if you really do recommend it? Also, are you impressed by the interior of it and how it compares to others in the class? Many thanks.

Another proper review Ped, but which is better overall the Sorento PHEV or this ?.

First!! Evening all! Hope everyone had a nice weekend and that those who watch the F1 enjoy it.

Mine is on order now. Your videos have been very useful in making the decision and learning more about how it works. Many thanks!

I enjoyed watching the Video. I also.don't the outdated Infotainment System

Nice video ped

The auto rear hatch open/close is slow, but you don’t have to wait for it to close to lock the car. You can lock the car even before you activate to close the hatch and the car will be locked.

Loving the new merchandise. Can you confirm where to put size details.

Is the sunroof a standard on the PHEV? I've been looking at the Toyota UK website for a new RAV4 and it only seems to be an option on the Self Charging Hybrid.

I got one of the first hybrid ( not phev) RAV4's in the UK in 2019 immediately took it to Britanny and loved it as a family 4x4 decent cruiser and fast ....down side is the sat nav and stereo is simply awful and they cannot upgrade it to android auto even though Toyota initially said they could. ..I also think 42mpg is the best i ever got from it. and no heated mirrors is bad...apart from that its's good and tows well. the black paint on mine is very scratchy also....it's ok off road ish also with twin motors

What exact trim level was this Rav4? Pearl white colour does look well but dealer is telling me android auto is wireless on RAV4plug in? Any other owners confirm?

On that RAV4 have you to drive on the electric side of it first and when the battery depletes its which over to the hybrid system then or can you turn off the electric side and drive on hybrid to save the ev for the city...🤔🤔

Peter...."STORM TROOPER" exactly and obviously correct. Being a hardened Honda owner, for well over 20+ Years, it was only right that I should have a close look at the 2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid to replace my fantastic 'sporty' CIVIC. Outstanding would be an understatement, I had a very close look at the "Trooper" but I do prefer a light interior, which only Honda appear to offer in the same price range....So I ended up with the CR-V HYBRID. Trip to the Isle of Wight...averaging 51/53 mpg....perhaps you would short list the 2023 Model, (when, and if, you can get your hands on one in Europe !)....Stay Safe G.A.R.

Great review - thanks Pete. I'm looking at getting a PHEV as have a shortish commute most days but do often need to do quite a few long journeys up and down the UK too so am focused on choosing a vehicle that is as fuel efficient as possible in non-EV mode. Do you know offhand what the mpg is on the RAV4 if you turned the EV mode off completely and ran purely on petrol on a long, motorway journey for example? Cheers

Hey Ped … question.. In your honest opinion if it was your own money which would you choose between the Kia Sorento and this Rav 4? I’m in the market and these are both at top of my list being as I’m a cyclist and got a largish dog (Weimaraner). I trust your opinion as you’ve lived with both the vehicles for sometime. Many thanks.

I wonder if the tailgate moves faster with the engine running. I've heard some hybrid owners complain about power window speed while parked, when its likely the vehicle is in battery mode. In regular ICE vehicles, power windows have two speeds, a slow, low power mode with the engine off to conserve the 12v battery.

I rented a Rav4 in Norway recently. I can confirm CarPlay is now wireless and the wireless phone charging does NOT overheat the phone. Range was amazing but Norwegian speed limit of 80KPH did play a part.

One big reason why I didn’t purchase the XLE is the slow liftgate..I really wanted one too.

Merch with a touch of class, how refreshing! Good one Pete, ps Rav 4 well on my radar so uber interested! Cheers.

The Panorama window takes up a lot of headroom. I am 6 feet 2, and had my head touch the roof.

I have mine already on 24000km ,only put gas up 6 times had cost me 300 CAD only so far within last one year ,such money saver

It seemed at the start of the video the RAV4 had round dials and a Bonnet looking a bit like an E-TYPE ! Hoot hoot ! Thats a thumbs up from me

We carry our Lab in the boot of our RAV, but now that she's getting a bit on the old side (the Lab that is; age 11), we also carry a ramp so she can get herself into the boot. The ramp is stored behind the front seats when we don't have passengers, but when we do, we strap the ramp to the back of the rear seats.

When closing the tail gate , walk away slowly, it closes quite quickly then 🙄, glad you've got to like the car, would be nice if you could show the off road qualities of the rav, which are good if you put off road tyres on it, we use total EV mode while on our farm and on nearby roads, the electric rear four wheel drive system is very good for sticky situations 👍, nice review and money spinning merchandise, you should be a farmer!!😁😁.

Do the math and the Prime is not worth it. It will take you well over 5 years to break even for the extra $8K spent to buy a Prime vs. the Limited Hybrid. And that’s calculated with gas @ $5/gallon, 46mpg, and 15K miles/year. And the Tax credit is just that and is NOT a tax deduction. Most buyers don’t see one penny of a tax credit. Dealerships do a piss poor job explaining the difference. Most buyers find out the hard way at the time they do their taxes. Our “regular” 2022 RAV4 Hybrid is attaining 46mpg. We couldn’t be happier 👍🏻

I am just curious as to why you chose the plug in hybrid rather than the self charging hybrid ?

How is the 55mpg calculated? Does it take into account the cost of charging the battery, or should that cost be added for an overall picture??

Now when I look at the car I also see a Storm Trooper. It’s the same color of white. The infotainment system looks like it’s from 2011. Thick and old. Hopefully this will be improved in 2023.

Good review. BTW - dog guards aren't just about a them climbing in the back. You wouldn't want even a 8 kg Schnauzer accelerating into the back of your head in a crash!

Absolutely, a 40kw battery married to a gas engine would be the sweet spot

Can you please tell me what rims are those.

Evening Mr P Hope all is well. Still don`t know why the Engine is so big....?

Hi. On the comment about the closing of the booth time. You can hit the Lock button on the key right away and the car will lock when the rear booth are closed. So no need to wait for it to close. 😀

Found this video when doing research on the rav4 phev. It's on my shortlist for my next car. Funny thing is, I've got 2 miniature schnauzers too so on that basis alone I'm sold on it 😂😂😂

Cute pooches. Really like the RAV. Great real-world review.

Nice video Ped! Any thoughts on the ventilated seats? Think I saw on the controls that it has them.

I do feel people need to seriously look at how they're using their cars. You want more range from your phev on local journeys and daily running, which you'd get from a ful bev, but want the practicality of ICE for longer journeys. You have the longer journey Clubman so having the full electric commuter car wouldn't be a problem and probably many other two car households. As a one car household, do it all vehicle the RAV 4 phev seems to hold up very well though as long as you don't include sporty driving.

Does the car use the electric more efficiently if you use the sat nav?

Ime chuffed the RAV4 finally seduced you in the end, enjoyed the reviews 😊.