NEW RIDE R.I.P. to my Roadkill life. 2021 Rav4 Hybrid

[v6buicks]

We had enough.

The 240 tried to go half phoenix on me, completely destroying my trust in it as a daily driver. The next day we decided to go shopping. We had known for months that a Rav4 Hybrid was going to be our next car. However, we never expected to get one this quickly. There were only five available in the entire Indianapolis area, and Toyota just announced that they were halting production until October! In other words, we got super lucky to find one this nice in our price range.

It's a 2021 Rav4 Hybrid XLE Premium. Pearl white, black leather, sunroof, heated seats/steering wheel/windshield, floor and cargo trays, premium wheel package, and some fun gadgets. It was delivered the day was looked at it and hadn't even been PDId yet, so our first real test drive was when we were bringing it home the next day! Supposedly three of the five other Rav4s on the truck already had names on them. The car market is wild.

Click to read more...

 

[EmersonHart13]

Bob Hope

Also Congrats

 

[Mook]

Congrats!

 

[Bob Kazamakis]

Bob Hope

Also Congrats

I need some prime in my life.

 

[Blood on Blood]

Congrats

 

[v6buicks]

Thanks! The 2010 Volvo C30 with 199k mile on it finally feels like trash. I think a race between it and the Rav would be close, but the fuel savings of the Rav over the C30 would be no contest.

 

[IceCreamAssassin]

Congrats

 

[Shawn1112]

Congrats

 

[BS ISF]

Congrats

 

[FESTER665]

Congrats!

If I were in the market right now a RAV4 Prime would be right up there.

 

[v6buicks]

Couple notes from a guy who never gave two shits about "new" cars.

The start/stop feature in this car actually works really nicely. The Hybrid motor makes for smooth seamless engine starts and doesn't even do it until you've already gotten up to about 15 mph. Pretty cool. The best part that I love telling start/stop naysayers is "NO! This car does NOT start up right after it shuts off due to low AC pressure" This sucker has electric AC.

The only negative thing we noticed so far is that it seems to do a lot better on gas around town than it does on the interstate. Oh well. I suppose it makes sense since the engine has to run all the time at those speeds. We still had an average of over 37mpg on the display when we hit half a tank.

 

[Dan00Hawk]

I looked at the Rav4s when shopping recently, but couldn't find any of the Prime Hybrids in stock. That $7500 tax credit because it's a plug in makes it quite reasonable. And the acceleration level in the Prime is quite stunning. The Hybrid is still a solid choice and should give you a reliable ownership experience. Toyota does hybrids quite well.

 

[Yaj Yak]

I looked at the Rav4s when shopping recently, but couldn't find any of the Prime Hybrids in stock. That $7500 tax credit because it's a plug in makes it quite reasonable. And the acceleration level in the Prime is quite stunning. The Hybrid is still a solid choice and should give you a reliable ownership experience. Toyota does hybrids quite well.

(crosses fingers that tundra hybrid arrives and is solid)

 

[v6buicks]

(crosses fingers that tundra hybrid arrives and is solid)

I'd so love a Hybrid truck. Gimme a Hybrid Taco with respectable towing capabilities and 30+ mpg please.

 

[Yaj Yak]

I'd so love a Hybrid truck. Gimme a Hybrid Taco with respectable towing capabilities and 30+ mpg please.

taco?

fullsizeerrrbussst

 

[Dan00Hawk]

I'd so love a Hybrid truck. Gimme a Hybrid Taco with respectable towing capabilities and 30+ mpg please.

The Maverick might fit your needs. 4k lb towing packing on the 2.0 turbo should hit close ot 30 mpg on the highway, less in town of course. For now the hybrid only is 2wd and tows just 2k. I'd expect an AWD version of the hybrid in the next year or so, but the tow capacity probably won't increase.

 

[v6buicks]

My garage and driveway are too small for a full sized anything.

 

[v6buicks]

The Maverick might fit your needs. 4k lb towing packing on the 2.0 turbo should hit close ot 30 mpg on the highway, less in town of course. For now the hybrid only is 2wd and tows just 2k. I'd expect an AWD version of the hybrid in the next year or so, but the tow capacity probably won't increase.

That's not enough unfortunately. I at least need to be able to tow a car on an open trailer. I think a Maverick Hybrid would be a sweet daily, but even the 2.0L won't quite cover my bases.

 

[Yaj Yak]

My garage and driveway are too small for a full sized anything.
View attachment 98111

sum up "what kinda rides is TCG about in one photo"

 

[Blood on Blood]

Couple notes from a guy who never gave two shits about "new" cars.

The start/stop feature in this car actually works really nicely. The Hybrid motor makes for smooth seamless engine starts and doesn't even do it until you've already gotten up to about 15 mph. Pretty cool. The best part that I love telling start/stop naysayers is "NO! This car does NOT start up right after it shuts off due to low AC pressure" This sucker has electric AC.

The only negative thing we noticed so far is that it seems to do a lot better on gas around town than it does on the interstate. Oh well. I suppose it makes sense since the engine has to run all the time at those speeds. We still had an average of over 37mpg on the display when we hit half a tank.

Is you new Rav a plug in or not?

If not, be cautious of long hwy drives at 75+ mph as this may cause the electric motors to constantly run to maintain the higher speeds, hence drawing down the battery.

$$$$$ to have a dealer recharge the battery.

 

[v6buicks]

Is you new Rav a plug in or not?

If not, be cautious of long hwy drives at 75+ mph as this may cause the electric motors to constantly run to maintain the higher speeds, hence drawing down the battery.

$$$$$ to have a dealer recharge the battery.

It is not a plug-in. Shouldn't the engine be recharging it though?

 

[Blood on Blood]

It is not a plug-in. Shouldn't the engine be recharging it though?

A Toyota Mechanic in the northern Chicago suburbs has a successful YT channel “The Car Care Nut”. He has some videos that walks you through everything you would like to know about the Toyota Hybrids.

My understanding is if the electric motors are constantly running it will eventually still drain down the battery but check out his videos on the hybrids (some things are common knowledge, others are…. Didn’t know that, good to know).

 

[v6buicks]

A Toyota Mechanic in the northern Chicago suburbs has a successful YT channel “The Car Care Nut”. He has some videos that walks you through everything you would like to know about the Toyota Hybrids.

My understanding is if the electric motors are constantly running it will eventually still drain down the battery but check out his videos on the hybrids (some things are common knowledge, others are…. Didn’t know that, good to know).

I just read into it a bit more since I haven't even bother to pop the hood on this thing yet. I did just find out that the motor and engine are in no way connected. Maybe this thing does have a starter motor. ?‍

Thanks for the channel suggestion. I've never had a vehicle this new nor one with virtually zero hot-rodder appeal, so searching for real tech information on google isn't yielding much.

 

[Blood on Blood]

I just read into it a bit more since I haven't even bother to pop the hood on this thing yet. I did just find out that the motor and engine are in no way connected. Maybe this thing does have a starter motor. ?‍

Thanks for the channel suggestion. I've never had a vehicle this new nor one with virtually zero hot-rodder appeal, so searching for real tech information on google isn't yielding much.

NP - he walks through everything / anything on these vehicles

 

[Bru]

Hybrids are rated lower highway mpg than city mpg. Don’t need a YouTuber to demystify that - it’s right on the EPA label and is almost always the case for a full two-mode hybrid with traction motor vs a mild hybrid with starter/generator assist motor.

A two-mode hybrid that runs on electric-only mostly does so at low speeds versus at high speeds because you’re not using regenerative braking at highway speeds to replenish the battery, which is a big part in how it recharges the battery, along with using the engine as a generator. So the battery won’t have much juice to power the EV system at highway speeds because of its small size versus a full EV.

Oh, and congrats. The RAV4 hybrid and Prime are the only RAV4s I’d recommend. My wife is in line for a company car and a RAV4 Hybrid is one I’m considering from the list.