Off-road themed makeover and model year updates make hybrid SUV mainstay rather expensive
Along with the Adventure grade, the 2022 RAV4 gains redesigned LED projector headlights, electric adjustment for the passenger seat on some trims and… drum roll… four USB-C ports in the interior. All good things, but just a tad half-hearted.
The current RAV4 has been around since 2018, so we would have liked to see a more full-featured facelift bringing proper matrix LED headlights and an update for the badly dated, slow infotainment system. The latter now has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but Toyota has a more modern interface in the latest Corolla and some US-market models, so now would have been a great time to introduce it to the RAV4 as well.Adventure is the most expensive trim on the RAV4, at £42,750.
To drive, it’s much the same as any other RAV4, other than perhaps the plug-in hybrid RAV4, whose greater kerb weight may have prompted some suspension changes that improve the ride comfort. The regular hybrid RAV4’s chassis feels quite soft but underdamped, meaning it’s neither particularly dynamic in the corners nor perfectly comfortable. At least the cabin is quiet on the motorway.
Toyota knows how to do hybrids by now, though. Sure, it has the typical CVT drone under hard acceleration, but the two electric motors in this four-wheel drive version – 118bhp working with the engine in the front and 54bhp electric motor on the rear axle – give plenty of torque to make the powertrain perfectly relaxed and quiet in most scenarios, while also returning an easy 43mpg.