New Toyota RAV4 GR Sport Graces the UK With Sharp Looks and 302 Horsepower

On the outside, it has black wheel arch trim, tailgate garnish, and side moldings. The fog lamp bezels up front have a black look, and so do the upper and lower grilles and other elements. It rides on 19-inch alloys with a dark finish, and the discreet GR logos decorate it.

Inside, it features front seats with additional side bolstering. Suede-effect dark gray and synthetic leather upholstery can be found here, stitched together with silver string. The latter is visible on the door card detailing, steering wheel, gearshift lever, and seats. The GR logo bedecks the steering wheel and floor mats and was also embossed on the headrests.

Equipment-wise, the Toyota RAV4 GR Sport comes with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 10.5-inch infotainment system. Electrically adjustable seats at the front with a memory setting for the driver, a head-up display, a wireless charging pad, paddle shifters, a heated steering wheel, and others are also included. Toyota also mentions the keyless entry and push-button start and the electric tailgate.

Like all versions of the RAV4 (and not only), it gets the Toyota Safety Sense bundle of driver assistance systems, featuring a panoramic view monitor, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, improved pre-collision, and emergency steering assist, alongside a reversing camera and parking sensors at both ends. Customers can further equip it with a panoramic roof or a bi-tone exterior finish.

It's not all-show with no extra-go either when it comes to the new RAV4 GR Sport, as it also boasts a revised chassis setup with stiffer springs and revised shock absorbers for quicker cornering at the expense of comfort. It builds on the RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, more specifically on the Design grade, so it gets the same gizmos.

With 38% more power compared to the RAV4 Hybrid, the GR Sport enjoys a combined 302 hp (306 ps/225 kW). It needs six seconds dead to hit 62 mph (100 kph), which makes it more than two seconds quicker than the Hybrid AWD-I specification, according to the Japanese automaker.

As we already told you, the RAV4 GR Sport is already on sale in the United Kingdom. What we haven't told you is how much it costs, and that would be £48,990 OTR (equaling $59,345). Customers who place their orders now can expect to take delivery of the electrified crossover with a sporty twist starting early next year.

Toyota hasn't said anything about launching the RAV4 GR Sport in the US, where the PHEV currently comes in two flavors, the SE and XSE, priced from $43,090 and $46,960, respectively.