The dealer estimates I was given have ranged from a low of 400 (yes, just 400) RAV4 Primes in the USA for calendar year 2020 to a high of 1,500. Hopefully we will know more soon.
That’s outrageous! Mark ups will be spectacular! Let’s hope toyota responds to the demand, this might be the greatest modern all-around vehicle so far.
@@GaryKetchum808 I think the problem is battery supply. Internationally, companies are having trouble meeting ev demand because they simply cant make enough ev batteries
Skye Higa lithium issue Australia and Chile. China is getting more stake from Australia Galaxy Resources. However, I don’t have much hope in Australian politics and Japanese sourcing raw materials they may depend on the Mexico and US factories ability to procure from Chilean mines.
This is why the argument about PHEVs using “scarce”” batteries is complete BS. VW sells more e-Golfs. Please drop this dumb argument. BEVs are the ONLY solution. Tesla Model 3 sales, anyone?
Great info, Alex! I didn't know about the liquid cooled battery pack... I believe that's how the cooling is done on the ux300e with a mix of chilled air and coolant if needed...My video on updated features and more importantly, availability, is hitting tomorrow...
Hi Alex, thank you for your wonderful videos. I was going to get the the Model Y, but after weighing my options the RAV4 Prime seems a better fit for my growing family. I am so excited to see Part 2 of the review next month.
The skeptic in me can't help but think the dealers are exaggerating the amount of RAV4 Primes available as a ploy to get customers to pay exorbitant markups.
@@fcex558 sorry that's your opinion lol, but I personally feel it's the best looking and I'm not even a Toyota fan, but the CRV is old and ugly looks like it was designed by a grandma, the Rogue is just so unimpressive, but this is all my opinion. Cheers mate
phatcowboy76 i hope it doesn't drive like the vanilla rav4, i've drove a 2016 and a 2019 and every time i pushed it through a corner, it was so uninspiring and the new ones recently had a problem with flipping during a moose test
@@damariuseaton6678 oh they have fixed the moose test, it was just some sensors and it didn't flip over it just didn't turn precisely and yeah the 2016 one was quite boring but not this one,, trust me I've driven it and it's actually really fun on the backroad
“ Mazda and now new Nissan Rogue are better looking, Mazda drives much better, Nissan is more comfortable and even Honda CR-V is more comfortable. ”. All of what you just said is pure subjective opinion, I drove all of this cars and even had an Nissan but I am going with a rav4 now, last time I could not decide but now I am definitely going to try the plug in version.
With the federal tax credit, RAV4 Prime will be at least 10k cheaper than Model Y, it has good enough 42-mile all electric range for most people, 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, who cares if you can't find a charging station because it's a Phev, and it'll have much better build quality and long term reliability than any Tesla. Toyota wont be able to build enough for a while.
I was hoping for 3500, but 2500lbs of rated towing capacity is easier for me to stomach than the 1750 of the Rav4 hybrid...or the zero lbs of the Pacifica hybrid. I'd love to see hybrids get towing ratings closer to their gas counterparts.
I plan to buy a Model Y, but I still hope that the Rav4 Prime sells well. Ultimately I see them as on the same team, in that they're both vehicles that makes people less reliant on gas, with its constant fluctuating prices. Yes, EV's have issues too, and won't work for everyone, but plug-in hybrids should be usable by anyone since you can drive it on electric or gas, so best of both worlds. And once you start getting addicted to that electric driving, it'll be tough to go back to a gas-only car.
Watching this again since I’ve committed with a deposit to buying a RAV4 Prime SE…Supposed to arrive in June, but with the chip shortage, who knows. But, that would be spot on from this video which is almost a year old! Gold star for Alex!!! Luckily, I found a dealer not marking it up.
Yessssss! Let's get it in a highlander with a big honking mg3/emr whatever they are calling it. If this is successful, what do you think Alex? 2022/2023 for the highlander?Just take my money Toyota!
Some ppl are talking about a 5k bump. What a load of crap. THIIIIIISS is why ppl hate dealers. If we all bought from the manufacture this shiza would never happen. I hate dealers and this is an excellent example of how screwed up our car buying experience is in this country.
Aurora Jones agreed, if u can order one directly from the factory then it saves so much time and money, but again, dealers need to make money, it’s all profits and business decisions
the SM Stealership conspiracy mindset coming from the cult of Elon is all simpleminded BS.., since direct seller change their pricing structure up and down more than dealers do.... but it rationalized that is for fair if it comes from the manufacture???? and ofc dealer will try to add a mark-up if Toyota does not supply enough... so blame Toyota.... and capitalism... and dealer have to mark down model that do not sell well, so we should blame them for dealing with supply and demand capitalism I guess??
On your last video, I saw that your Rav4 Prime had 506 miles of range on a full tank (yes, I spotted the dashboard behind the steering wheel). With the EV range of 42 miles, the full combined range is 548 miles.
I still think Toyota is going to be floored by the demand for this vehicle, however I don’t know what the game plan is for decreasing the delta between the regular Hybrid and the unsubsidized Prime. I guess they’ll stretch out sales by constricting supply until they figure out how to do that, but this will prove the popularity of performance PHEVs.
Until the tax credit dries up for Toyota (1-2 years), you can get an SE Prime for cheaper than a similarly spec'd Hybrid (or pretty close), considering tax credit and state rebates, and with that ability to plug in and save trips to gas stations (and about $1200 in gas for me annually), it's hard to justify buying the Hybrid over the Prime
Jeff A I requested this from my dealer November last year. They said I was number 4 on the list and this particular dealer stated it does not do ADM. I too will not pay ADM.
i wish toyota could reduce all the stupid options on this rav4 prime and make it easier for purchase, instead of making different charging capacities.......
Alex, first, I like you t-shirt. But having watched your April's Fool video on the 4 wheel drive electric wheel barrel, you do have on. I enjoy watching your videos along with Doug DeMuro videos. Whereas you cover the car mostly from a user's perspective, Doug covers the various quirks and features, so together we get a full picture of the same vehicle, that is when Doug covers the mainstream vehicles and not the other types.
Agree, except I'm concerned about the "affordable" part if dealers get too greedy. Where I live, in February, the local Kia dealer wanted $10,000 ADM for a loaded Telluride, and $7,500 for a loaded Palisade.
Perhaps Toyota has this strategy -- get people really into their PHEVs that are actually useful and good-looking (unlike the Prius, unless you're a single person who doesn't care what your car looks like) will help propel people towards BEVs in the next decade.
Mark Brand you cannot charge anywhere, so this is why plug in will sell like hot cake. Personnally i don’t want a full ev. I don’t want to plan my trip. I want to refill anywhere even in the deepest part of the contry. Plug in is the best for me. Not ev.
cba tiau it is not sure bev will succeed. I think there is 99% of gas vehicle in my region. And people prefer to buy hybrid, and now plug in because they start to be good. I don’t want a full ev. I want to refill anywhere in less than 3 min. And ver look if i have enough battery for my trip. This is stupid. I want plug in hybrid.
@@CC-gt3ro Oh, it'll succeed alright, for numerous reasons (including that the world is moving toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels). Most Americans can plug in at home at night, meaning zero visits to a gas station (BEV) or many fewer visits to gas stations (PHEV). Priceless. And the tech will continue to improve so that fill-ups will get closer to gasoline fill-ups in terms of time spent, and battery capacity will surpass most gas tanks in cars today -- in a decade or two. And if you care at all about acceleration, and if you care at all about lowering the pricetag on lifetime maintenance in a vehicle, you'll like that BEVs blow ICEVs away in both categories. Most people who can plug in at home at night spend 98% of their drive time within a hundred miles of home, so range and fill-up times are moot for most cases. Most BEV owners also have a second car with an ICE in it, anyway, for longer road trips.
I am currently happy with my 2020 Rav4 XSE Hybrid. I will wait a bit and test drive the Prime when available. I want the fully loaded XSE trim in red or white so we will see how different it drives and feels compared to my XSE.
Don’t really see a use case for the bigger charger. At least not for me. I would charge it during the night or at work. A little faster charge time don’t matter then.
I agree with you. It is useful for people who use timed commercial chargers on a regular basis. Or work lots where total charge time is limited. That’s really it.
Not everyone needs the more powerful charger, but we do. We take our son to school, 25 miles round trip. Then we go to the gym and some other activities. We need the 6.6kWh charger to fully recharge for the trip to pick him up. Summer isn't the problem but EV range can drop by 1/3 in the winter. I'm not willing to spend the extra $10K to get the 6.6when charger. Sadly the rav4 is off my list.
@@someguy2135 Yes. This is a higher speed level 2 charger. It reduces the charge time from empty to full from ~4-5 hours on a level 2 charger to 2-2.5 hours. It is not a DC fast charger like a Tesla supercharger or similar where it will add 100+ miles in 30 minutes or so. Stopping every 42 miles to recharge for 2 hours would not be very feasible for a road-trip, so yes, you'd use gas in that circumstance.
2 questions: - I am surprised at the 135 feet long stopping distance. Does this car have more than one regen setting? If so, what if you put it in the most aggressive regen setting? - The 2.5L 4 cylinder engine on an Atkinson cycle (for fuel efficiency) . Is the Atkinson cycle permanent or can it be switch to a normal cycle either manually or automatically when I want more power? Great 5 videos. Watched each one twice. Thanks in advance.
I want one & most likely will get one BUT I will not get ripped off. If it means waiting for several months, so be it. I have a '16 Prius Prime & I love it, I run 95+% of the time on electric. My MPG gauge 199.9 that is as hi as it goes. Today is 06/23/202 I last brought gas 02/05/2020. I also love my '15 Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 (3.5 V-6) getting 23-24 mpg running around town...
Hi Alex, I'm on the list for the prime. I have a 19' RDX u reviewed and I've had issues like others, I've never owned a toyota product, how are you liking your rav4 hybrid with all the recalls u have faced? Expectjg the same issues with the prime? Gas tank, etc?
Is the battery from Ford Escape PHEV the same size with RAV4 Prime and the range? What is different in Lincoln Corsair PHEV battery and range vs Escape? Are all 3 liquid cooled? Are Ford vehicles in very short supply like Toyota? Are all 3 vehicles sold nationwide or only in zev states? Ford vehicles have both less horsepower so maybe better range and mpg when battery is depleted? Thanks.
Escape has a smaller battery (14.4kWh, but it’s also liquid cooled). All electric range on the escape is 30miles/48km (so that’s less than RAV4) but it’s economy is 100 MPGe (better than the RAV4). Escape has 221 horsepower (FWD) compared to RAV4 with 302 horsepower (AWD). although i don’t know about how many Ford will make, the escape is significantly less expensive than the RAV4 is going to be.
@@Canadianwithacat As I wrote Escape has a better pure EV range per kW of battery and better MPG when battery is depleted then RAV4 Prime. Less power means more fuel frugality.
*QUESTION: What happens if you spill liquid on the backseats, or accidentally leave the windows open. Will it fry electronic components?? Also, how come No Temperature gauge on the instrument panel???* thanks
5.7 seconds!? That’s identical to the v6 Camry you drove 😃. Although admittedly I’d prefer the v6 for its sound. I’m also curious on how you got 5.7 in your v6 Camry review because most 0-60 runs I’ve seen range around low 6s.
When you upgrade to a 6.6kw charger does that mean you will receive a stand-alone Level 2 charger to plug in? Or does it mean internally the R4P can accept 6.6kw and you still need to buy and install your own separate charger.
I believe it means the latter. I wouldn’t recommend spending money for faster charging. as long as you plug it in every night you will be fine. This is coming from a current i3, former volt owner.
Dude Bro thanks yeah I was going to see if we need it. Round trip commute is 65 miles. So I’m wondering set in Auto EV/HV mode, what we will make it home with. Primary motivation to get the Prime is the carpool access.
It isn't that I would love to buy this vehicle, but dealing with the high markups at dealers and stupid attitudes just never allows me to go into a toyota dealership. I wish all car companies follow the tesla model and let us but direct at me reasonable prices and not have to deal with sale guys.
Do you know If you can run the 1500 watt AC inverter on the HV/lithium battery alone with the motor off? That would be great for emergencies if it has the duty cycle for extended use
How does the pure ev mode behave? Like a Chevy volt or like Honda clarity? In volt the engine does not kick in even if you floor the accelerator, whereas in Clarity the engine turns on to assist the acceleration in high demand scenarios.
The Honda Clarity (EV range 48 miles) is an excellent vehicle but was a sales disaster for Honda so it is understandable that Toyota will want to build a small number to gauge the market. Just because there is a small number of enthusiasts willing to pay a dealer mark up at the beginning (e.g., Kia Stinger), it doesn't mean it won't be a sales disaster once they start producing large numbers. Nonetheless, the RAV4 Prime should sell well just because it's an SUV.
A phev fits my needs far better than a bev. Early adopters of the RAV4 Prime will pay a premium, though, as Toyota is pricing the RAV4 Prime like a Lexus. I will wait for the second gen Prime, and by that time competition may bring down the prices. Or maybe the competition will be very attractive. Meanwhile, I am happy with my regular hybrid, especially given today's fuel prices.
I've noticed that unsold RAV4 hybrids have been piling up on Southern California dealer lots during the slowdown. For instance, one dealer I'm familiar with used to list 3 - 5 RAV4 hybrids in their inventory before March, but a few days ago they listed 46 RAV4 hybrids for sale. If people get tired of waiting on the Prime, they might get a good deal on a RAV4 hybrid.
If you have a way to charge at night, non-plugin hybrids are a joke... I assume that everybody is here watching this video and commenting because they can plug in at night...
I was at the dealer yesterday returning my lease and they wouldn’t take my money for a RAV4 Prime. Can’t really trust dealers anyways as they’re the ones that offer you a “lifetime paint protection” package
Excellent information! Thanks, Alex. In calculating the usable battery capacity, remember that the bottom ~1KWh is reserved for hybrid operation. Did you find out what precisely the paddles behind the steering wheel do?
@@mr88cet If it's anything like the paddle shifters on my crosstrek, it changes between a number of different preset (fixed) gear ratios for the CVT. In essence the CVT simulates having fixed gears. According to the RAV4 Prime owner's manual (www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM42C52U/pdf/OM42C52U.pdf) there are six different 'gears' to change between.
Is it right that the 302 hp rating is combined gas engine power and electric motor power? If it’s in ev only or its battery is so low, it wouldn’t be 302hp?
Regardless of how many, I have a feeling Toyota is going to be selling these as fast as they can make them until that federal tax credit runs out. After that, I can only see this being a hit in states with big incentives. As nice as I'm sure this performs I wouldn't pay a big dealer markup for one of these. Hopefully Toyota is able to ramp up RAV4 Prime production before the Prius Primes eat up all the tax credit.
Toyota may have troubles after they reach the 200k limit, yes. But we'd probably buy it anyway because of the all-electric range -- a huge convenience aspect, to avoid going to gas stations much when driving locally (priceless to me).
Alex, I just put a deposit on this XSE trim but am freaking out to have discovered it may not have driver seat memory. Can you confirm? Thanks in advance.
I think Alex isn't considering the markups (of at least 5k) which will put the rav4 prime much closer to the model Y in price. Tesla is now talking about a rwd (long range) that will be priced between 45-48k. This is not far from what the rav4 will really cost
Heard your comparison of relative green benefit between 1 Tesla and 4 Corollas vs. 5 Prius Primes. Can I equate a RAV4 Prime benefit with a Prius Prime?
The odds are high, unless the government eliminates it. It begins to phase out after it is claimed on 200,000 vehicles for any given manufacturer. As of March 2020, Toyota had sold about 117,000 vehicles under the credit program, mostly Prius Primes. They have another ~80,000 vehicles to sell until the phaseout begins, and it does not sound like they will be producing the RAV4 Prime in any significant numbers to endanger their credit eligibility for 2021.
Will the Rav4 Prime have the same gas tank issues that the Rav4 Hybrids have or has that problem been solved ? Also, my dealership offered to put me on their wait list if I put down a deposit. But if some dealerships will be getting more inventory than others, how can you be sure you're not waiting for stock that another dealership may have gotten earlier and you're stuck where you are because you put down a deposit ?
Can you say if the 3.3kw charger could possibly be upgraded to the 6.6kw charger after market? Is it more than just a part, are there software differences too, and is it accessible? I have an XSE base but live in a very hot climate and didn’t want the premium package with heated seats all around, heated steering wheel, de-icing wipers, and panoramic glass roof (hot) , and also a big subwoofer in the trunk. .
I won't pay the premium for a rare vehicle that dealers are going to charge MSRP for or more - right now, the RAV4 Hybrid in my area is selling for a decent amount off MSRP and that is where I would put my money. I love the idea of the plug-in hybrid, I love the idea of how fast this could be in 0-60 but I can wait until there is a deal to be made. If the federal tax credit expires and Toyota doesn't lower the price to compensate, I would continue to wait.
I'm still pumped on this car. But, the towing capacity is kind of a bummer. I was hoping to see 3500 lbs on it. Anyone have any recommendations of a compact SUV with 3500 lbs towing capacity?
I was interested in the RAV4 prime until I saw that my state is charging $200 in addition to the regular registration for plug in vehicles. With that being the case I’m not willing to risk that price going up substantial over time. Ohio is what I’m referring to. They say it’s to offset the cost of the fuel tax you won’t be paying. In any case politicians are making it less appealing to buy all electronic vehicles.
No, I won’t wait. I really like it and appears that it will be a great all around daily driver, commuter but I’m not a fan of “ get me interested and then tell me I can’t have one” so that dealers can’t jack the price to the moon
The car comes with a charger for a regular outlet (120v/12A =12h charging) can I charge a SE with a 3.3Kw built in charger on a 240v/40A outlet? if yes what is the charging time
@@AAutoBuyersGuide Wow! 7500 tax credit for the plug-in hybrid hmmm I might need to rethink about my rear-wheel drive Model Y reservation. Thanks for the info!
I understand it’s a plug-in. Can you run it on gas without plugging in? An will running it on gas fully charge the battery? I have a tandem garage. A pain to shuffle cars to get to to the outlet way in the back. Thanks for the great review.
This is the only year we are going to qualify for the federal tax credit . We visited our dealership and got on a preorder list the weekend the price was released. Is there anything we can do?
i sure hope were seeing more in 2021 i want a fully loaded one so bad, dealer near me has an SE coming in soon that i could get but they want 3000$ over msrp and i want an xse fully loaded, ill wait.
