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
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