Toyota says the new plug-in variant of its top-selling nameplate, the RAV4, won't only be the most efficient version of the crossover, it will be the most powerful one.
The all-wheel-drive RAV4 Prime, which debuted last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show and is due to arrive in showrooms in the summer as a 2021 model, will come equipped with a 176-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine teamed with electric motors, a high-capacity lithium ion battery and a booster converter, for a total of 302 hp. That is an 83-hp jump compared with the RAV4 Hybrid.
Toyota says the RAV4 Prime can go from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds — making it the second-fastest vehicle in the brand's lineup behind the Supra sport coupe. The RAV4 Hybrid, in comparison, has a 0 to 60 mph time of 7.8 seconds.
The automaker has estimated that the crossover can drive 39 miles on battery power alone, and it will achieve about 90 MPGe.
The RAV4 Prime will come with Toyota's expanded battery warranty, which for the 2020 model year has grown to 10 years/150,000 miles from 8 years/100,000 miles.
Pricing will be announced closer to the release date.
Through October, Toyota sold 362,121 RAV4s, a 2.5 percent increase over the same period last year.
