Do you have to charge a hybrid rav4

I wouldn't say that Toyota invented the crossover. But in 1994, the company debuted the first RAV4, an SUV with off-road-capable four-wheel drive—yet built on a unibody chassis, just like a Corolla. And its bold styling and decent on-road performance did a lot to popularize this new vehicle segment.

In the years since, the RAV4 has grown. Today's RAV4 is much larger than the original two-door model from the '90s, and it's now far and away Toyota's most popular offering. Here in the US, the RAV4 has outsold the Camry and Corolla—as well as the entire Lexus brand—by tens of thousands of units this year already.

That popularity is why it has taken a surprisingly long time to arrange this review. When Toyota announced it was making a plug-in hybrid version of its bestseller, demand was so great that the company prioritized getting cars into the hands of its customers rather than the media.

The plug-in hybrid powertrain builds off Toyota's long experience with making parallel hybrids. Under the hood of the RAV4 Prime, you'll find the same 2.5 L, four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine as in the RAV4 Hybrid, albeit with different engine mapping for this new application. It generates 177 hp (132 kW) and 165 lb-ft (224 Nm) and drives the front wheels together with a pair of the RAV4 Prime's permanent magnet synchronous motors.

Enlarge / When the RAV4 first appeared in 1994, its bold styling caught the public's attention. In recent years, the design became very boring, but this latest generation is a little more confident of its looks.

Toyota

There are three electric motors in total. The pair at the front axle work together to deliver 179 hp (134 kW) and 199 lb-ft (270 Nm), with the third motor driving the rear axle when needed at a maximum output of 53 hp (40 kW) and 89 lb-ft (121 Nm).

As usual, the total combined output of the hybrid powertrain is not as simple as just adding up all the numbers. The gasoline engine and electric motors won't reach peak output at the same time, for instance, and there's a limit to the amount of power the 18.1 kWh lithium-ion traction battery can supply. Net power is still a very respectable 302 hp (225 kW), which makes the RAV4 Prime the most powerful and fastest-accelerating RAV4 yet (0-60 mph takes ~5.7 seconds, which is about as quick as a mid-2000s Subaru WRX).

That's a useful stat if you're bench-racing, but buying a RAV4 Prime because it's the quickest RAV4 is missing the point. It's a plug-in hybrid, so the truly vital statistics relate to its fuel efficiency and plug-in range.

If you read almost any other review of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime, it will most likely talk about how quick the car is and that it’s the most powerful crossover hybrid on the market. While both of these claims are true, there’s more to this plug-in crossover than performance numbers and a curious “wow” factor.

I’ve spent some time with the RAV4 Prime and so far, my main takeaway is that if you’re able to plug it in at night or charge it fully during the day, then you’ll be able to reap the benefits of its performance and stellar fuel economy. But if you can’t charge it regularly, then you might want to look elsewhere.

The 2021 RAV4 Prime is a confident performer

Getting the 2021 RAV4 Prime as a press car was serendipitous for me considering I recently drove the regular RAV4 Hybrid, so it’s easy for me to compare the two. To be honest, they feel largely the same, considering that they both accelerate smoothly from a stop and get everything and everyone moving with enough heft, but the RAV4 Prime feels like has just a little more.

And I would expect nothing less, since the RAV4 Prime is up by 89 horsepower over its non-plug-in Hybrid little brother, thanks to a newer lithium-ion battery pack and more powerful electric motors that sit between the front and rear axles. And I could definitely feel those electric drive motors get to work since the first 40 miles that I drove was on electric power only.

When testing out the car’s “EV Only” drive mode, I couldn’t help but think that it would be perfect for anyone that lives within 20 miles from work and could charge the car at each location, negating the need to fill up fuel, possibly ever. But alas, I live in an apartment, which meant that I had nowhere to plug the car in when the battery depleted after a few drives.

Charging the Toyota RAV4 Prime Level 2 charger is easy, but takes time

Having no place to charge the Toyota RAV4 Prime, I downloaded the ChargePoint app on my phone to look up the nearest station. Fortunately, there was a charging station down the street from me at a Whole Foods parking garage, so I made a plan to charge it there and walk around the outdoor mall nearby as if I were shopping, in order to simulate how much of a charge you can expect during a normal shopping trip.

Once I was at the charger, I followed the prompts on the screen and plugged the charger into the RAV4 charge port. It’s easier than filling up a car with gas and best of all, it’s free!

I proceeded to walk around the adjacent mall and buy things that I really don’t need in my life, all while keeping an eye on the ChargePoint app on my phone to check on the car’s charging status. Toyota says that it will take about 4.5 hours to fully charge the battery using a 3.3-kW 240-Volt charger and 2.5 hours with a stronger 6.6-kW Level 2 charger.

The charger that I was using was charging at a rate of 5.8 kW, so it’s no surprise that it added about 10 miles onto the battery in the 49 minutes that I charged it, which is what you can typically expect in a normal shopping trip. Charging completely would have taken around 3.2 hours using that specific charger.

Related

The 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime Has Annoying Features

Buy the RAV4 Prime if you can charge it at home

Ultimately, that 10 miles that I added to the battery were used up pretty quickly the next couple of times I drove the car, leaving me with a slightly more-powerful RAV4 Hybrid once all the juice was depleted again.

Don’t get me wrong, the RAV4 Prime is powerful and it’s not too bad driving on the hybrid powertrain alone. But if you can’t plug the car in regularly and use its full all-electric potential more often than not, then you might be better off with the normal RAV4 Hybrid.

Does the RAV4 Hybrid Self charge?

Can RAV4 Hybrid run on battery only?