The Toyota RAV4 may be a relatively modest seller in the UK, but it is a model of global significance. Back in 2017, before the last generation started to be phased out, it was the fourth best-selling car on the planet - and the best-selling SUV of them all. Over the 25 years since the original RAV4’s debut, though, a plethora of similar vehicles has arrived - to the point where Toyota’s offering has risked becoming ‘just another SUV’, swamped by dozens of rivals. No. But that’s the point; this is a car that will excite some and repel others, and that, for Toyota, is better than to provoke no reaction at all. This individuality doesn’t stop at the styling either, because in the UK at least, the RAV4 is being offered as a hybrid only. Specifically, it’s called a ‘self-charging hybrid’, which is marketing-speak for an electrified vehicle that you can’t plug into a wall socket.
And CO2 emissions range from 102g/km to 105g/km - no higher. Toyota is launching the car with four trim levels - although the cheapest of them, Icon, is only available with the front-wheel drive layout. Still, standard specs look decent enough. That entry model brings dual-zone air conditioning, rear parking sensors and camera, automatic headlights and wipers, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system and 17-inch alloy wheels. Step up to Design and along with the option of four-wheel drive, you get navigation built into the infotainment system, keyless entry and ignition, a powered tailgate, front parking sensors and 18-inch wheels. Excel is next up, with leather upholstery, heated front seats with electric adjustment on the driver’s seat, a heated steering wheel, ambient cabin lighting and headlight washers. And then there’s Dynamic, which is roughly the same spec as Excel but gets styling add-ons including a different design of 18-inch alloys, a contrast gloss-black roof colour, sports seats and projection LED headlights.
All RAV4s, incidentally, get Toyota Safety Sense 2 as standard. It brings adaptive cruise control with lane departure warning and steering assist, a pre-collision system including pedestrian detection, automatic high beam headlights and road sign recognition. On the road, the RAV4 is a curious mix. This generation’s body is 57 percent more rigid than the outgoing model’s, and this - coupled with the TNGA underpinnings - makes it a surprisingly capable performer on twisty roads. It shirks the worst body roll excesses that you find with SUVs, and the front end turns in crisply, with steering that’s direct and nicely weighted. Barring the worst hooliganism, it doesn’t suffer much from understeer, and it is admirably amenable to sudden changes of direction. It’s comfortable, too. Our Dynamic test car was on the larger wheels but there’s more than enough compliancy on pock-marked roads. Indeed, we’d go as far as to say that the RAV4 has every bit as much sophistication to its ride as, say, the Skoda Kodiaq or VW Tiguan, and probably more than a SEAT Ateca or Ford Kuga.
