Toyota RAV4 2020 Review

The new Toyota RAV4 has arrived and with it comes a relatively broad range of hybrid models for the first time.

Gone is what would have been the go-to variant for towing, the diesel, leaving just the hybrid GX, GXL and Cruiser and petrol-only Edge with their maximum 1500kg towing capacity (and 150kg maximum towball download).

While you may scoff at the RAV4 Hybrid’s mere 1500kg towing maximum, it is more than enough to tow a camper trailer or small to medium caravan today and the RAV4’s hybrid technology is also what we’ll see in heavy-duty tow vehicles tomorrow.

For example, the LandCruiser 200 Series -- the caravan fraternity’s heavy-duty hero tow vehicle -- is going to be replaced in 2021 by the 300 Series, which must embrace new tech to meet tightening emissions standards.

While Toyota has not yet revealed exactly what will power the 300, it’s obvious that -- unless Toyota engineers comes up with a never-seen-before large, high-output diesel engine with super-low emissions -- hybrid must be in the mix.

Of course while we already have a relatively heavy-hauling pure-EV, the Tesla Model X, here and now (with its 2200kg maximum capacity), the reality is that it’s expensive and lacks the range, recharging infrastructure and recharge speed to be a realistic around-Australia towing tourer.

So back to the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Here we have the mid-grade GXL model in AWD form that starts at $41,140. The test vehicle had the $600 premium paint and $1121 (fitted) towing pack (towbar, towball and trailer wiring harness), making for $42,861 (plus on-road costs) as tested.

The new Toyota RAV4 comes with a raft of standard equipment. While you can read the full range spec overview here, the gist of it is that all models come with a full suite of safety equipment and driver aids.

This includes a pre-collision safety system comprising autonomous emergency braking, plus lane departure alert, active cruise control, road-sign assist (speed sign only), automatic high beam, seven airbags, front and rear parking sensors, blind spot monitor, rear-cross traffic alert and reversing camera.

There’s also an 8.0-inch infotainment screen with embedded satellite-navigation, dual-zone climate control, keyless start and entry, Bluetooth, digital radio and voice recognition. The GXL Hybrid also has 18-inch alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, wireless phone charging, five USB ports, leather steering wheel and gear shift, and auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

Towing-friendly features include reversing guidelines and hitch point marker on the camera screen and trailer-sway control.

The seats in the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid have a high hip point and so getting in and out is easy, and the seats themselves are supportive and comfortable.

The RAV4 has one of the biggest interiors in the class, and sure enough there is plenty of room inside for four adults to travel comfortably.

The fight over who gets to charge their device in the RAV4 is pretty much sorted with five USB ports (three at the front, two in the rear and one 12V port (and one auxiliary port) up front.

The cargo area is a large, squared-off space in which to store luggage and has four tie-down points and a cargo blind. If you’re running a portable fridge there’s also a 12V port on the right cargo wall.

The only hiccough in terms of spec for touring is that the RAV4 Hybrid only comes with a space-saver spare, fitted under the cargo floor – not ideal if you get a flat tyre out in the bush.

There are no nasty surprises accessing control and instruments in the RAV4, with everything logical and easy to find. The infotainment system could be a bit easier to work though; while the 8.0-inch screen is up high as easy to see, it’s a bit difficult to transition between some of the menus until you’ve spent some time with the system.

SUVs are not generally the sharpest-handling vehicles to drive, but the RAV4 is a lot better than you might expect. While the steering is not especially tactile and heavy cornering will see a fair bit of body roll, the RAV4 points nicely and grips quite well on its OE Bridgestone Alenza rubber.

Toyota seems to have got the ride really well sorted out when driving solo at least; it’s compliant while still being well controlled.

Performance is also very good; if you’re not accustomed to driving a hybrid you might find the electric whirring and petrol engine kicking in here and here a bit disconcerting at first.

But with its maximum 163kW/221Nm (petrol engine and electric motor combined) the RAV4 Hybrid is responsive and quick when you want it to be. While it’ll run on the electric motor up to 40km/h on a light throttle (if the battery has enough reserve) beyond that the petrol engine starts up.

In normal driving you hardly notice the petrol engine humming away, but under heavy acceleration it’s noisy. Speaking of noise, while driving at 100km/h there’s more wind noise from around the side mirrors than you’d expect, but otherwise the RAV4 is quiet.

Backing up to the 1220kg Caravelair Antares 496 caravan we borrowed from Caravelair in Toongabbie NSW, the Toyota’s rear-view camera had a nice, wide angle so you could see the hitching point easily (although the centre marker on the screen wasn’t quite on the money for lining up the towball with the hitch).

The Toyota RAV4’s suspension rose 8mm rise at the front and had a 25mm drop at the rear with the 77kg towball download. The RAV4’s side mirrors are not an awkward shape if you use clip-on towing mirrors.

Sitting on the freeway at 100km/h the RAV4 sits well, with no yawing and only slight fore-aft pitching. Delving down a particularly rough secondary road, however, saw the Toyota pitching fore-aft a bit more than you’d want. The pitching wasn’t the worst I’ve seen under such conditions, but it’s obvious that the suspension isn’t a perfect tune for towing.

Performance with the van behind was very good -- while there was some torque steering accelerating from low speeds, once underway the RAV4 was very planted and responsive.

Its hillclimb performance was excellent, maintaining 90km/h up the climb with half throttle applied. Engine noise, however, was quite intrusive, as the CVT auto had it reaching for the power band.

Engine braking down the test hill was equally impressive. Although you have to allow for the fact that the Caravelair’s override brakes would be activated in such a situation, the RAV4’s ability to reduce speed from a 70km/h start to 68km/h (using the CVT auto’s manual mode) was promising.

The great unknown with a hybrid like the Toyota RAV4 is how towing will affect fuel consumption. Would lugging a trailer along make it a thirsty, eco-unfriendly vehicle?

It seems not: the RAV4 achieved 11.8L/100km towing the Caravelair and subsequently while towing a Jayco J-Pod Outback (weighing 1000kg) it achieved 9.3L/100km.

While these figures are not earth-shatteringly good, they are similar to towing figures we’ve obtained from competitors the Nissan X-TRAIL and Volkswagen Tiguan -- both of which were fitted with fuel-efficient turbo-diesels.

With the 11.8L/100km fuel figure we obtained with the full-size Caravelair, you’re looking at an acceptable 416km touring range with a 50km safety margin out of the 55-litre tank.

Fuel figures without a van behind were a mixed bag: while the RAV4 sipped just 4.4L/100km mostly on the freeway, it drank 8.2L/100km over what was not admittedly very much (80km) of short urban runs.

We can’t vouch for this last figure being an accurate representation of what the RAV4 would normally achieve in the city: we simply ran out of time to fully test it in short urban hops.

The new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is a convincing tow vehicle, showing that hybrid can be a viable alternative to diesel for towing.

While it could do with a firmer ride when towing on rough roads (and a full-size spare for touring outback) with its good fuel economy, performance and towing stability, the RAV4 Hybrid would have to be on your shortlist for light to medium towing duties.

How much does the 2020 Toyota RAV4 GXL Hybrid cost?
Price: $41,140 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol/electric
Output: 163kW/221Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 4.8L/100km (ADR Combined); 11.8L/100km (as tested, see text)
CO2: 111g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP (2019)