This Angular Lifestyle Machine Is The New Toyota Rav4

What the hell is going on at Toyota right now? Only a few years ago, the GT86 was the only ray of hope in a dreary line-up of cars like the Auris and Avensis, but the Japanese company seems determined to kick boring to the kerb in a rather daring shake-up.

We have current and incoming performance cars like the Yaris GRMN and GR Supra, boldly-styled cars for normals like the C—HR and the new Auris, and now there’s this: the new Rav4.

Granted, a Rav4 isn’t exactly prime CT fodder, but we were taken aback by its angular, almost utilitarian aesthetic. It’s a vastly different approach to the anonymous model it replaces, which I genuinely had to Google just to remind myself how it looks.

The new version looks a lot bigger and more imposing than the current model, but in reality it’s only slightly larger, growing 10mm in width, with the wheelbase extended by 30mm. The overhangs are shorter, too.

There’ll be a 2.0-litre petrol engine available, plus a 2.5-litre hybrid powertrain. The 2.0-litre has a conventional mechanical all-wheel drive system that’s able to decouple the rear axle (when fitted with an automatic transmission), while the hybrid version powers the rear wheels using an electric motor. There won’t be a diesel option, owing to Toyota’s decision to phase out oil burners in its range.

We don’t have any stats for the engines, and there’s a general lack of technical detail from Toyota at this stage - probably because the car won’t go on sale until early 2019. It’s on display at the New York Auto Show from today.