This just in from the car company that invented the green car: Toyota will launch a hybrid version of the RAV4 compact SUV at the New York Auto Show in a few days.
This is definitely good news for anybody who wants a clean SUV that gets great city miles. Of course, Toyota is milking the debut for all it's got and declined to officially release any information, but based on the teaser photo and the fact that this is a 2016 model year, we can tell you that the hybrid is based on the existing RAV4, not an all-new architecture.
All things considered, making a RAV4 Hybrid probably wasn't a very difficult thing to do. They have the right powertrains already and have even made a dedicated RAV4 EV with Tesla.
Although Toyota doesn't yet have any hybrid competition from the Honda CR-V and Volkswagen Tiguan, that's likely to change soon. The Tiguan II is coming out within a year and should adopt the GTE plug-in system used by the Golf, since the two are based on the same platform. As for Honda, they've just added a more efficient twin-turbo 1.5-liter diesel in Europe.
We've been told by Toyota dealers that this new RAV4 Hybrid model will also be sold in Europe and Asia. The powertrain is likely to consist of a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor.. The combined output will come to around 200 horsepower and it's routed to the wheels through a specially designed continuously variable transmission (CVT).
All things considered, making a RAV4 Hybrid probably wasn't a very difficult thing to do. They have the right powertrains already and have even made a dedicated RAV4 EV with Tesla.
Although Toyota doesn't yet have any hybrid competition from the Honda CR-V and Volkswagen Tiguan, that's likely to change soon. The Tiguan II is coming out within a year and should adopt the GTE plug-in system used by the Golf, since the two are based on the same platform. As for Honda, they've just added a more efficient twin-turbo 1.5-liter diesel in Europe.
We've been told by Toyota dealers that this new RAV4 Hybrid model will also be sold in Europe and Asia. The powertrain is likely to consist of a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor.. The combined output will come to around 200 horsepower and it's routed to the wheels through a specially designed continuously variable transmission (CVT).