Toyota RAV4 Review & Prices

It may have started life as a simple, rugged little off-roader, but the Toyota RAV4 has evolved into a sensible, spacious plug-in hybrid SUV that’s designed to be an ideal family car. It’s spacious, features a sensible interior design and the peace of mind that comes with a Toyota badge on the bonnet, but the RAV4 is expensive and the interior feels quite cheap.

Though it does have a very impressive resume, considering the RAV4 was the world’s best-selling car in 2025. Yes, really, meaning the big Toyota is a bit like an iPhone. There may be cheaper and more interesting alternatives coming over from China, but familiarity and ease-of-use means people keep buying what they’re used to.

Where it used to be available as a petrol or a self-charging hybrid, the RAV4 can only be had as a PHEV now. That means it’s up against some serious competition in the Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and the Citroen C5 Aircross. Those aforementioned Chinese alternatives include the Omoda 7, Chery Tiggo 8 and the Geely Starray.

None look quite as chunky or upright as the RAV4, which in this case is a good thing. It’s not the most striking or the most interesting choice of SUV (the Peugeot 3008 and Renault Austral are more attractive), but the big Toyota’s clean lines and futuristic lights are rather smart. Top-spec GR Sport models are a bit more interesting to behold, thanks to the large, blacked-out wheels and more aggressive bumpers.

Hoist yourself up into the high driver’s seat and you’ll be greeted by a very straight-laced dashboard which, in classic Toyota fashion, is really quite dark and gloomy. You won’t find any interesting curves or funky material choices, with a few too many hard plastics in easy to reach places for a car that costs north of £40,000.

At least Toyota hasn’t lost its common sense. Rather than relegating all of the car’s controls to the infotainment display, Toyota has left in an abundance of buttons for the climate and audio controls, as well as the pleasantly clicky steering wheel buttons. This avoids a touchscreen-only interface nightmare (here’s looking at you, Chery and Changan).

The cabin is very spacious, too, with plenty of space for five people to sit in comfort, but at 446 litres the boot capacity is smaller than you get in a Sportage, Tiggo 8 or Tiguan - all in PHEV guise, of course.

You can choose from front- or four-wheel drive, with the former having 272hp and the latter bumping that up to 309hp. What’s most impressive is the electric-only driving range, between 83 to 85 miles on a single charge, with a rapid (for a PHEV) 50kW charging speed.

It’s easy to manoeuvre the RAV4 around narrow city streets and tight carparks thanks to its light steering and good visibility, while the powerful engine and motor combo makes getting up to motorway speeds a piece of cake. Don’t expect any thrills on twisty lanes, unless you enjoy the giddy feeling of body lean around a corner, but at least the RAV4’s soft suspension absorbs bumps well. It’ll tackle reasonably rough terrain off-road, too.

Verdict

The Toyota RAV4 doesn’t rock the boat too much, but the brilliant electric range is a real selling point and the easygoing driving manners will appeal to lots of people. It’s a shame that the interior feels so cheap and nasty considering the car’s price. It’s easy to look at a much cheaper Chery Tiggo 8 and think it is better value than the Toyota.

You can find the best deals on a Toyota RAV4 right here on Carwow, and make sure to check out Toyota RAV4 leasing deals too. You can search for a used RAV4 for sale, or browse other used Toyotas for sale. And remember Carwow can even help you to sell your old car when the time comes.

The RAV4 kicks off at nearly £44,000 for the base ‘Icon’ trim. There’s a £1,900 jump to Design trim, and then a big leap of more than £4,000 up to Excel. GR Sport sits at the top, costing just over £52,000. This does mean all models pay the expensive car supplement on their yearly road tax, and makes the RAV4 a fair bit pricier than a Kia Sportage PHEV, a Ford Kuga PHEV or a Chery Tiggo 8 - all of which can be had for less than £40,000.

Icon trim gets 18-inch alloy wheels, a powered tailgate, the large 12.9-inch infotainment screen and 12.3-inch driver display, plus all the usual safety features you’d expect. Design adds 20-inch alloy wheels, two-tone paint, synthetic leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats and a wireless phone charger - it’s the sweet spot of the range, though it’s a shame it doesn’t have fast-charging.

The Excel trim can be had with all-wheel drive as an option and also adds full leather seats, some more assisted driving features, a 360-degree camera, panoramic roof, head-up display and fast-charging capability. GR Sport gets unique design and interior styling features and an opening sunroof.