It feels quick enough to be a fun drive, and not as cumbersome as you might fear, probably because the instant slug of torque that's on tap whenever you accelerate belies the extra weight of all that battery technology the RAV4 EV lugs around.
The vehicle is quiet, but not completely noiseless, with a distinct whine as its noise signature. There's not much wind noise owning to the fact that the RAV4 EV, with a drag coefficient of 0.30, is even more slippery than a conventional Toyota RAV4.
One drawback is that the hushed nature of the vehicle's powertrain highlights noisy road surfaces, such as those we experienced on our test drive in Michigan.
In its wisdom, Toyota has fitted a button that switches the RAV4 EV into so-called 'Sport' mode. Press it, and the instrument dials behind the steering wheel glow devilishly red instead of calming blue and an extra dollop of power is unleashed.
The SUV gathers pace quickly, reaching 60mph in just 7.0 seconds on its way to a top speed of 100mph. However, such wanton disregard for power consumption scuppers any hope you might have of matching Toyota's claimed maximum range of 103 miles.
In truth, though, the RAV4 EV is more intended for urban cruising. The steering feels very light and is fairly direct, lending itself well to city driving.
Under braking you're reminded that you're carrying an extra 200kg or so compared to a regular RAV4. The battery pack has been mounted low in the middle of the vehicle to make the centre of gravity as low as possible.
The driver has a full range of EV instrumentation to play with, including a three-mode climate control system that can tease out more battery life in its most frugal setting.
An eco cluster includes the power meter, driving range, battery gauge, speedometer, shift indicator and multi-information display. Information such as driving range, trip efficiency and one of those pretty but pointless trees showing how much CO2 your vehicle hasn't emitted can be called up on the multi-information display.
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Bit Late
These pictures show the old model, not the new model just released in Europe. Why didn't they fit the EV tech to the new one?
I guess when the EV project
The RAV4 gets bloatier and
The RAV4 gets bloatier and uglier with each succeeding version.
Bring back the dinky original!
EVs are all rage
Yet another electric car from yet another manufacturer. But I've seen only one electric car so far that is genuinely impressive and lights a trail for much larger car makers.
What was it ?
fadyady - "But I've seen only one electric car so far that is genuinely impressive and lights a trail for much larger car makers."
What was it ?