- 2 days ago
The Toyota RAV4 debuted over 30 years ago, and this is the all-new sixth generation. Does the most popular SUV from the Japanese giant still have what it takes to compete with the increasingly bold (and cheaper) rivals from China? In this video, I’m testing what’s new in the RAV4 and whether these subtle Japanese improvements actually translate into a better driving experience.
Toyota took a very disciplined approach to this project – a stiffer body, improved suspension mounting points, and new insulation for the A-pillars are just some of the changes you can't see, but you can certainly feel behind the wheel. I’m diving into the interior with the new Arene infotainment system, checking the real-world fuel economy of the AWD hybrid, and performing my diagonal approach AWD test.
In this video:
Design & Dimensions: Why the new RAV4 looks bigger even though its dimensions remain almost identical.
The Boot Mystery: Where did those 7 cm of boot depth go, and how does Toyota justify the smaller capacity?
Interior 2.0: A massive display mounted 4 cm lower (for better visibility!), a square steering wheel, and the end of the traditional gear lever.
The New Arene System: How the infot
Toyota took a very disciplined approach to this project – a stiffer body, improved suspension mounting points, and new insulation for the A-pillars are just some of the changes you can't see, but you can certainly feel behind the wheel. I’m diving into the interior with the new Arene infotainment system, checking the real-world fuel economy of the AWD hybrid, and performing my diagonal approach AWD test.
In this video:
Design & Dimensions: Why the new RAV4 looks bigger even though its dimensions remain almost identical.
The Boot Mystery: Where did those 7 cm of boot depth go, and how does Toyota justify the smaller capacity?
Interior 2.0: A massive display mounted 4 cm lower (for better visibility!), a square steering wheel, and the end of the traditional gear lever.
The New Arene System: How the infot
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00this is the new toyota rav4 and right off the bat i can tell you that this car doesn't okay
00:05i can't
00:06tell you now because a youtube might demonetize this video and b i don't want to spoil it for you
00:12so stick around until the end i'll just say that the price toyota is charging for this car makes
00:18it a very tough sell with all the new chinese competition lurking around and why are there these
00:27um aftermarket looking struts under the bonnet that's all coming up in this review let's go
00:40what's new toyota took a very japanese approach to the project and introduced a multitude of
00:45very subtle improvements that aren't immediately visible so the body is stiffer and lighter
00:51stiffer by exactly 9.7 percent compared to the previous generation couldn't they make it an even
00:5810 percent changes to the suspension mounting points increase the chassis stability by 31 percent in the
01:05front and 27 percent in the rear and that translates into improved handling when was the last time you
01:12heard something like that from a chinese car maker or changes to the mounting points and the a-pillar
01:18design combined with high damping adhesive in the floor tunnel effectively reduce unwanted vibrations
01:26also new sliding elements in the shock absorbers smooth out the ride at low speeds while softer
01:32bushings further reduce vibrations transmitted from the road the optimized shape of the new wing mirrors
01:39and the a-pillar profile as well as improved door seals have reduced wind noise we'll talk about the
01:46wing mirrors in a moment in the context of visibility the toyota rav4 debuted in 1994 and is now in
01:54its
01:55sixth generation over 30 years the rav4 has sold 15 million cars worldwide including two and a half
02:01million in europe this makes it toyota's most popular suv visible changes include a new front end with
02:08headlights reminiscent of those in the pre-facelift igor cross unfortunately from a distance the new
02:14rav4 fascia looks somewhat generic like another one of those anonymous chinese imports from the side
02:21there's a distinct line which together with the black seal trims visually slims the car the roof line is
02:29now extended making the rav4 appear larger from the side at the rear there are new tail lights a new
02:37rav4
02:37logo on the black strip connecting the tail lights and the rear window stretches lower which has certain
02:44implications which i'll discuss in a moment the new rav4's dimensions are virtually identical to the
02:51model it replaces so it's still 460 centimeters long and the wheelbase is 269 centimeters and the only
02:58difference are five millimeter longer front overhangs and five millimeter shorter rear overhangs the car is
03:05also five millimeters lower standing in 168 centimeters the width remains unchanged at 185 and a half centimeters
03:14and the emergency exits are located in the front and in the back and please remain seated until the
03:22fasten seat belt sign is off thank you for your cooperation the exterior dimensions are the same but
03:30the boot is a few liters smaller why toyota claims it's because of the rear window reaching lower and
03:37consequently lower mounted cargo cover but based on my measurements the cargo cover is roughly at the same
03:43height as in the previous generation which is about 40 centimeters from the floor the boot however is 7
03:49centimeters shallower it's now 93 centimeters deep by the floor from the sill to the rear seat backrest
03:56the width at its narrowest point is still 100 centimeters the floor can be lowered a few centimeters
04:04toyota lists the boot capacity in five seat configuration to the cargo cover which is 514 liters
04:11and to the roof which is 749 liters however there is no information on the boot capacity with the second
04:18row
04:19backrest folded down there is a 12 volt outlet in the boot and that's about it the cargo cover can
04:26be stored
04:27under the floor i don't know what toyota did with the 7 centimeters which it took from the boot but
04:33sitting
04:34in the rear behind the driver's seat set to my driving position i still have about 17 centimeters between my
04:42knees
04:43and the front seat the rear backrest splits 4060 the backrest angle is adjustable there are door pockets
04:53and pockets in the backs of the front seats the seats are heated and there are air vents as well
04:58as usb-c ports somehow the floor still isn't flat despite the rear wheels being powered by an electric
05:05motor so there is no need for a drive shaft doors cover the sills big changes in the front first
05:13of all
05:13the steering wheel has a square-ish rectangular-ish center and the buttons are grouped in these kind
05:20of square clusters behind the steering wheel is a rectangular display no analog gauges as in the
05:28previous generation pre-facelift then there's this huge central display which as toyota's pr department
05:34elegantly put it has been mounted four centimeters lower to improve visibility yes because the screen
05:39is so large that if it was mounted four centimeters higher like in the previous generation it would
05:45cover half the windshield i'll talk about what's on the screen namely the new arena infotainment system
05:51in a moment but first let me finish the physical changes around the cockpit two climate control knobs
05:58have been replaced with four buttons for drive modes between them are shelves with wireless chargers and
06:04storage cubby on the sides are usb-c ports and buttons for cameras park assist hill descent and esp
06:11depending on the trim level there are one or two wireless chargers and usb-c ports with a power output
06:18of 15 or even 45 watts here i have the top of the line trim which comes with two wireless
06:24pads and more
06:25powerful usb-c ports furthermore there are cup holders and a ball shaver drive selector
06:33this is shift by wire so no need for big shifters
06:38the armrest lid can open either towards the driver or towards the passenger you can also flip it and
06:44turn it into a small table from which you'll knock things off with your elbow beneath the armrest
06:49is a deep storage compartment which houses the fifth usb-c port and a 12 volt outlet the glove box
06:56is
06:57medium size above the glove box there is still a shelf the door pockets are large in many places the
07:05cockpit is finished with soft materials ensuring a quiet interior which isn't to say it's quiet at
07:11higher speeds but more on that later now for the new arena infotainment system
07:17the new infotainment system looks like an evolution of the old one but the highlights are
07:23faster processor more memory and more sensitive screen there are customizable shortcuts as well
07:30as a new drive recorder features also include things like remote immobilizer or digital key
07:36and the drive recorder as well as these digital services may require a subscription and may be available
07:45in the future rather than at launch
07:49as for other features i was unable to test them yet the car is new not everything works at launch
07:55and the press office isn't sure how to make certain features available to the media without
08:00a logistical nightmare of later looking who's logged into what car welcome to 2026
08:06of course everything is now an over-the-air update
08:09the satnav features better points of interest and speed camera information as well as low emission zones
08:14ph evs will get geofencing if you are legally required to drive in electric mode in certain areas
08:21crucially disabling isa is easy a button in the upper right corner of the screen and if wireless
08:28android auto launches before you click the isa button you can easily exit android auto using an arrow
08:34in the upper left corner of the screen disable isa and return to google navigation one more thing
08:40while some of the climate control settings have been moved to the display the climate control bar
08:46is always visible at the bottom of the screen and just as you used to be able to turn on
08:51the seat and
08:51steering wheel heating with a physical button in the fall and turn it off with a physical button in the
08:56spring now once activated on the screen the heating remains on until you turn it off next year or never
09:05of course you can also set it to turn on and off automatically depending on the outside temperature
09:11and the steering wheel heater now works all around the steering wheel not just at quarter to three position
09:36the toyota rav4 comes in several flavors there's the regular hybrid or the plug-in hybrid both with the
09:42choice of front wheel or all-wheel drive power ranges from 185 to 309 horsepower all have a top speed
09:50electronically governed at 180 kilometers per hour all have a 55 liter fuel tank front wheel drive
09:56versions can tow up to 800 kilograms while the all-wheel drive versions can tow up to two tons
10:05the regular hybrid has a 1.09 kilowatt hour battery while the phev has roughly 25 more capacity nearly 23
10:13kilowatt hours which should give it 120 to 130 kilometers of zero emissions range the battery in the
10:20regular hybrid is 86 millimeters narrower and 11 millimeters shorter it also has fewer components
10:27this is an all-wheel drive hybrid the claimed 0 to 100 kilometers per hour time is 7.7 seconds
10:33i checked
10:34and achieved 7.8 seconds in sport mode and 8.1 seconds in normal mode the promised fuel consumption for
10:42this version is around five and a half liters per 100 kilometers in city traffic i've even seen it go
10:48below five liters per 100 kilometers and on expressways it's around six liters per 100 kilometers
10:58the car is set up for comfort but it's not too soft the steering is precise and like in other
11:04toyota
11:04models over the last several years and you can feel it could do much more in the corners if it
11:09weren't
11:10for the hybrid powertrain which takes away steering by adding or removing throttle however the improved
11:17hybrid system is better in everyday use than in the previous version the car runs on electric power
11:23a lot more often and when you accelerate the sound only becomes unpleasant when you press the accelerator
11:31really hard let's say that for two-thirds of the pedals travel the engine revving kind of matches
11:38acceleration only when you floor it then it winds without the sense of how fast you're going
11:45unfortunately the car is still noisy on highways the cabin soundproofing could be better
11:55but the brakes are good and the driver aids aren't annoying okay the driver attention
12:00monitoring system can be a nuisance but i noticed it's possible to tape the camera and the system
12:05doesn't keep beeping that the view is obstructed like it was the case in older versions of the system
12:10perhaps someone read the regulations thoroughly and interpreted them in favor of the driver
12:20it's a shame toyota still hasn't paired the low beams with a rain sensor you can tell a toyota or
12:26a
12:26lexus from a mile away in the rain because they are using their daytime running lights
12:33also for the first few days i complained about visibility around the a pillars you know the
12:39optimized wing mirrors and the a pillar profile and then i picked up a chinese suv for the next review
12:46and it turns out that toyota rav4 has actually great visibility but that chinese suv set the bar very low
13:01since this is an all-wheel drive version i'll do my diagonal approach test i stop halfway up the incline
13:07so that the wheels on the diagonal have limited traction and then i try to get going again
13:14the rav4 does well enough regardless of the mode it is in the only noticeable difference is in snow mode
13:20where the system allows for a bit more wheel spin and as the rear axle is powered by an electric
13:26motor
13:27disabling the esp means the car doesn't know what's going on and refuses to climb
13:44while filming beauty shots i noticed gas struts under the bonnet that's unusual for toyota i thought
13:50and i asked the pr department what the actual it turns out it's a 150 euro polish market specific
13:56dealer installed option for those who like to look at their engine bay but do not accept a simple rod
14:02when even dacia has gas struts
14:12it's a hybrid you know self-charging
14:19and it's got things
14:25price of the new toyota rav4 started 43 990 euro for the base trim in front wheel drive
14:32toyota is of course renowned for its reliability high residuals and you can be certain it won't
14:37disappear from the market next year however when you have chinese competition starting 15 000 euro
14:43below the base rav4 and bigger better equipped phevs cost less than toyota's phevs it'll be a hard sell
14:51for toyota and for other legacy automakers
14:54this is the highest non-gr sport version all-wheel drive regular hybrid with options it costs 56 580 euro
15:07the toyota rav4 doesn't piss me off if you like driving and don't treat cars as a chore
15:13there's no way you won't see the rav4 is a better car than whatever chinese suv is available in europe
15:21today however is it 15 000 euro better it'll take more than a free set of floor mats to sweeten
15:29the
15:29deal and how about you are you taking chinese cars into consideration when looking for a new ride or
15:35maybe you rather stick to what you know what speaks in favor of one or the other option let me
15:41know in
15:41the comment section below if you like my sarcastic down-to-earth and possibly mildly amusing car reviews
15:50join me every friday at 3 p.m central european time and don't forget to subscribe and like this video
15:56as it helps me with the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will see you in the next one