The New Toyota RAV4 Is Here With Up To 300bhp

The sixth generation of the Toyota RAV4 has arrived! No, this news didn’t have us scrambling to pop a bottle of Champagne (or, more realistically, on our budget, French-style sparkling wine) either.

The RAV4 is quite an important car, though. It’s important for Toyota because of how wildly successful it is – last year, it was the best-selling car (as opposed to pickup truck) in the US. And that means it’s important for us enthusiasts, too, because that success doubtless helps Toyota keep doing cool stuff like building the GR Yaris and entering every motorsport under the sun.

There’s another reason to be at least mildly interested in the new RAV4 too, which in the UK comes exclusively in plug-in hybrid guise. Powertrain specifics are yet to be divulged, but the range-topping all-wheel drive version now gets 300bhp with both power sources working in unison. Nothing to sniff at, especially when it leads to a Golf GTI-beating 0-62mph time of 5.8 seconds. There’s also a front-wheel drive version producing a combined 264bhp.

Up to 62 miles of electric-only range is quoted, with the car using geofencing tech and real-time traffic data to decide on when’s best to deploy it. The battery pack, meanwhile, sits beneath the floor, improving rigidity and centre of gravity. Some other markets will get a duo of ‘self-charging’ hybrids, making 188bhp in all-wheel drive form and 181bhp as a front-wheel drive car.

If you want some looks to complement that GR Yaris-exceeding power output of the top PHEV, there’s now a GR Sport trim level available. This not only brings the standard sporty makeover inside and out, but some genuine chassis changes: a 20mm wider track, ‘high-performance’ dampers, a strengthened rear suspension design, and tweaks to the damping and power steering setup.

Overall, the new RAV4 adopts a taller, boxier stance than ever, with the C-shaped headlights Toyota’s rather fond of at the moment sitting up front. On the inside, meanwhile, there’s a new 12.9-inch central infotainment system running Toyota’s new Arene software programme, which also powers the car’s safety and driver assist systems.

Frankly, with the world’s current voracious appetite for all things hybrid-powered and crossover-shaped, there’s very little reason to think the latest RAV4 won’t be just as big a success as the ones that have come before. There’s no confirmation of when it’s set to arrive in Britain, but expect every supermarket car park and suburban driveway up and down the land to be occupied by one of these before too long.