New Toyota RAV4 debuts as a hybrid only, more equipped and with up to 324 hp

The Toyota RAV4 is, without exaggeration, the most important car for the brand today. The medium SUV was the company’s best-selling model in 2024, surpassing the Corolla. This shows the challenge it was to develop the sixth generation of the utility, which has just been officially revealed.

With the TNGA line of modular platforms, Toyota has reached a point where it only invests in architectural updates rather than changing the base completely. This was the case with the RAV4, which maintained the TNGA-K platform, reinforcing the structure and adding an adhesive to the bodywork to reduce micro-vibrations and noise.

Without having to change much in the structural part, the focus was on the rest of the vehicle. Your design will generate many discussions. Although the body shape is very close to the current one, its style is very different from the current one and from almost the entire Toyota portfolio. It brought the idea of ​​the “U” shaped headlights used in recent launches, such as the new Camry, with full-led technology.

To give it an air of robustness, it adopted a huge rectangular grille that goes all the way to the bumper and, just above, is a small closed plastic piece with the Toyota logo. The designers used strong lines and differences in levels between the pieces to make it appear more robust.

The rear has very long and more rounded taillights, instead of the rectangular shape of the previous ones. Its design makes it integrate well with the contour of the rear window and ends in a small black area with the car’s name in full.

While the exterior is somewhat exaggerated in detail, the same cannot be said about the interior, where Toyota decided to simplify the number of buttons, especially on the center console. An example is the air conditioning control, which lost its physical controls and is now located in the multimedia center, permanently positioned at the bottom.

An old weakness for the manufacturer, embedded technology was a concern. Toyota says it has taken a step towards having a “fully software-defined” vehicle with the addition of the Arene system, used in multimedia. It promises to have all modern connectivity functions and also received version 4.0 of Toyota Safety Sense, the brand’s package of safety items and driving aids – which has not yet been detailed.

As the platform didn’t change much, all the difference in size came from the body itself. The wheelbase is the same, measuring 2.69 meters. The length reaches 4.62 m, just 2 cm more than its predecessor, while the height is now 1.72 m, 12 cm more. The trunk gained a little more capacity, going from 733 liters to 749 l, thanks to the new design of the rear seats.

Embracing electrification more and more, the RAV4 lost its versions with a pure combustion engine, now having a hybrid system in all configurations. It is always equipped with the well-known 2.5 naturally aspirated engine, available with both full hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology.