Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Review & Prices

The Toyota RAV4 has evolved from its cute and cuddly 1990s original version to this chunky and glowering modern version, which looks and feels almost more like a shrunken Land Cruiser. The original 1990s RAV4 was more like Barbie’s Dream Car. In that sense, the RAV4 is rather like a Pokemon — starting out as small, fluffy, and friendly and evolving into musclebound and hulking.

Or perhaps it’s more like a ‘smart sneaker’ — outwardly sporty and outdoorsy, but under the skin it’s much more sensible and comfortable.

The RAV4 has competition ranging from the affordable Dacia Bigster to the pricey Skoda Kodiaq, alongside the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Volkswagen Tiguan, Nissan X-Trail and many, many more.

Up top, the RAV4 gets really quite distinctive styling. It’s blockier and chunkier than most alternatives and doesn’t bother pretending to be just a tall hatchback. The glowering headlights and massive grille give the RAV4 almost an aggressive look at the front. The styling won’t be to all tastes, but at least it stands out more than previous RAV4s, which could be positively anonymous.

The cabin also has a very rugged 4x4 look and feel to it with chunky buttons that have grippy rubber coatings. It’s almost like a downsized Land Rover Discovery in that respect, and thankfully this RAV4 comes from a time before touchscreens took over, so there are easy-to-use heating and ventilation controls. That’s a big yes from us.

There is a touchscreen, of course, and it got a major upgrade in 2023, which brought along a much slicker system with better software and faster responses, but it remains one of the more fiddly screens to use. There is wireless Apple CarPlay, and while earlier models needed a plug to use Android Auto, a 2023 update saw wireless Android Auto introduced.

It’s a very spacious car, with a notably large back seat that allows you to get three people sitting in comfort. The boot, at 520 litres, isn’t class-leading anymore but it’s still decent.

The 4x4-ish chunkiness extends to how the RAV4 drives. It’s no sports car, and it will scramble for grip if you push it too hard, certainly in front-wheel drive form. The more powerful plug-in hybrid, with its four-wheel drive, feels a bit sportier, but the RAV4 is a car that prefers to cruise rather than go attacking twisty back-roads.

You can choose from either a self-charging or plug-in hybrid with lots of power, four-wheel drive, and a 40-mile electric range. Around town, pick the plug-in hybrid, though to be fair the RAV4 is much less thirsty on a long run when your plug-in battery runs out than most alternatives.

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Prices for the Toyota RAV4 start at just over £35,000, which puts it almost exactly half-way between a Skoda Karoq and a Skoda Kodiaq, and that’s about where the RAV4 sits in terms of size.

It’s competitively priced, especially when you consider that you’re getting a hybrid engine as standard, instead of the simpler petrol or diesel engines that most others offer as entry-level models, and standard equipment is healthy too.

Just beware higher-spec models which peep above the £50,000 barrier, which still feels quite expensive for a car with a Toyota badge, even now. If you’re looking at a higher-spec RAV4, you might be better off considering a Lexus NX, which uses all of the same hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines, but which is surprisingly sharply priced.

Quiet, refined and comfortable, but not much fun on a twisty road and alternatives have more all-electric range

In town

In the RAV4 you ride quite high, even by SUV standards, and this combined with relatively thin windscreen pillars and a big rear window means that visibility out is great. The car’s square corners are quite easy to judge, and there are all-round parking sensors and a reversing camera as standard to help with slow-speed manoeuvres.

Running on electric power alone, the RAV4 is as hushed as you could hope for, but the CVT transmission means that even when the engine kicks in you don’t really notice it from a smoothness perspective - you just hear it start up.

Big wheels and soft suspension mean that the RAV4 soaks up most bumps pretty effectively, too. It’s a great car to drive around town.

On the motorway

The RAV4’s engine feels a little bit more strained on the motorway, thanks to the CVT transmission - if you put your foot down to perform an overtake or to merge on a fast sliproad the revs instantly spike and you’re left with what sounds like a mooing cow beneath the bonnet.

It’s better once you’ve settled down to a constant speed, where it’s relatively hushed. It’s worth noting that a hybrid car is rarely as efficient on the motorway as a diesel or even a pure petrol, prioritising economy round town instead, but the RAV4 plug-in is unusual in that it returns genuinely impressive economy on long runs — no matter how hard we drove it, we couldn’t get it to do worse than 53mpg.

The RAV4’s seats are very comfortable for a long trip and the driver assistance systems work quite well - though even set to its closest distance, the standard adaptive cruise control does seem rather a scaredy-cat and keeps you miles away from the car in front.

On a twisty road

This is not the vehicle for you if an engaging driving experience is a top priority. Few SUVs are, but the RAV4 feels competent enough around corners exhibiting minimal body lean and offering decent grip levels. The Ford Kuga is more fun on a winding road, but the RAV4 is more composed over bumpy roads – arguably the better compromise for a car like this. The more powerful 300hp plug-in hybrid is a touch sportier, and its four-wheel drive gives you more options on give-and-take roads.

The boot is generously proportioned, but only higher specs get electric seat adjustment and lumbar support

The front seats in the RAV4 are comfortable and offer tonnes of adjustment and head and leg room are impressive, too. The steering wheel adjusts for rake and reach on all trims.

There’s plenty of storage for personal effects, the front door bins will take large water bottles without a problem, and the central armrest opens up to reveal a further storage area. A wireless charging tray is situated just ahead of the gear lever, with a pair of cupholders just behind it. A little slot below the driver’s side air vent is the perfect spot for wallets, and a little tray in the centre console will take loose keys and coins.

Space in the back seats

The rear seats offer above-average space for taller passengers, and the rear seat backs can tilt backwards – even if only a little. The two outer seats are comfortable and supportive, although the central pew is narrower and not as comfortable for longer trips. It’s wide enough back there so that three adults won’t have to rub shoulders the whole time, and there’s plenty of space for bulky baby seats, too. The ISOFIX mounting points are hidden behind some fabric padding, so it can be a fiddle to clip them in, though.

Boot space

Luggage capacity is great for the class. The RAV4 offers 520 litres of space, which is good for a plug-in SUV which has to accommodate batteries under the boot floor, although it has been superseded more recently..

To put things into perspective, the Volkswagen Tiguan offers 652 litres in diesel form, although as a plug-in hybrid it actually holds less than the Toyota, at 490 litres. Meanwhile, the Skoda Kodiaq has a mammoth 745 litres of space as a plug-in hybrid. 

Aside from the decent luggage space, the RAV4’s boot is flat and wide, with an adjustable boot floor and a handy flippable floor section that can be wiped clean. Shopping hooks and an elasticated net let you secure smaller items, too. You don’t get a ski hatch and the rear seats only offer a 60:40 split, but those are about the only negative points here.

Chunky styling, fantastic build quality and plenty of buttons - but it’s a bit dark and gloomy and the tech could be better

The RAV4’s interior feels very solidly put-together, a feature common to all Toyotas. It feels a bit old-school in that you get loads of physical switchgear, but frankly that’s a good thing. Not only is there a full panel of climate controls with fantastically chunky, rubberised adjustment knobs - easy to use on the move - but you get a proper switch for changing driving modes and even a big lever-style automatic gear selector.

That may not feel particularly modern compared to something like the Volkswagen Tiguan with its minimalist controls, huge touchscreen and dash-mounted gear selector, but it’s much friendlier if you’re upgrading from an older car, and to be honest is a better way to do things, full stop.

The seats are comfortable and heated as standard, plus it’s easy to find a good driving position regardless of your size.

There are two screens. The first is a 12.3-inch driver information display, which is clear enough with swish graphics. There’s also a 10.5-inch touchscreen, which does feel a bit small compared to some more modern alternatives.

However, it’s reasonably responsive, and set high up on the dashboard where it’s easy to see. Apple CarPlay is available wirelessly. Early on, you had to plug your Android phone in with a physical cable to get Android Auto, but a recent update brought with it a wireless connection for that too.

You also have to dive through a few menus to access some basic functions, such as turning off the driver assistance features. A quick shortcut would make this easier.

The RAV4 plug-in’s official fuel consumption figures are, like most PHEVs, rather a fantasy for most people. Still, 22g/km of CO2 emissions means low company car tax and an affordable first-year road tax bill, while 282.4mpg looks impressive on paper even if you’re unlikely to see that in reality.

The RAV4 plug-in gets 46 miles of electric range, which is around 35 miles in the real world. While that’s not up to the standards of something like the Skoda Kodiaq, which can do over 70 miles on a charge, it’s still a useful figure that will do for the majority of commutes or short errands around town. The more you make use of this electric range by plugging in regularly at home, the less fuel you’ll use.

You can expect an easy 45mpg in mixed mileage with the PHEV, closer to 50mpg if you have a very light foot on a long journey. The ‘self-charging’ hybrid will do a little better than that, but obviously is less flexible and has only a tiny electric range at any one time.

Just remember that higher-spec RAV4s sit above the £40,000 barrier so you’ll have to pay extra VED road tax in years two to six, and even when that barrier is lifted to £50,000 in April 2026, there are still a couple of models that will be above that price.

A self-charging RAV4 hybrid will cost more than a plug-in hybrid for company car choosers.

The RAV4 was awarded a full five-star Euro NCAP rating in 2019. It received a 93% adult occupant rating, and 87% for child safety. 

Safety assists were rated at 77% and every trim gets the Toyota Safety Sense 2 system which includes adaptive cruise control, lane trace assist and a pre-collision system. A rear-view camera and rear parking sensors are standard too, with front parking sensors and keyless entry fitted to the higher three trim levels.

The Toyota RAV4 should provide many miles of problem-free driving. Most owner reviews have scored it highly on reliability and commented favourably on its low running costs. There have been three recalls on the RAV4, these have been for potential issues with the brake booster pump, emergency calling system and front suspension arms.

Toyota offers a standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty for the RAV4, and a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty for the hybrid components. If you service your car each year or 12,000 miles (whichever occurs soonest) at a Toyota authorised repairer, you will get an additional 12-month/10,000-mile warranty up to a maximum of 10 years or 100,000 miles.

The RAV4 finished in 31st place in the 2025 Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, with a very solid rating for reliability and quality. As a brand, Toyota finished in 14th place overall, out of 31, in the Driver Power owner satisfaction survey.