RPM News Weekly correspondent Rich Taber travels to Union Point, MA, 12 miles south of Boston – a new city that’s rising out of the remnants of an old military airfield. Situated between Weymouth and Rockland, this city is different. It’s intended to be a sustainable city, but like many other cities it shares some of the look of an urban development.
Similarly, the featured RAV4 Hybrid SE looks, feels and could be confused with its conventionally powered siblings. However, there are many differences. Toyota introduced the SE trim of the RAV4 Hybrid late in the 2017 model year and it essentially carries over into 2018 with an MSRP that’s just a little over $32,000. A new 2018 entry level LE Hybrid trim priced at about $27,000 opens an even more affordable way to get into this very practical compact crossover.
In the upper trims, like the SE featured in the video, the front and rear fascias get a silver-painted bumper garnish giving the vehicle a bit of a rugged off-road purpose. Upper trims also get fog lights and heated side mirrors.
Inside the base RAV4 Hybrid, a 6.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth® connectivity is standard equipment. But, the SE test vehicle came with the optional Advanced Technology Package that includes a 7-in. system with integrated navigation and a Bird’s Eye View camera –very useful when getting in and out of tight parking spots. The SE features amenities such as heated front seats that got a good workout in the New England November weather.
So far, the hybrid is not so different than the conventionally powered RAV4. But the similarities quickly end with the hybrid’s better city fuel economy – rated at 34 mile per gallon in city driving. The non-hybrid RAV4 musters only 22 mpg in the city – a 12 miles per gallon difference. Coincidentally, 12 miles is the distance between Boston and Union Point.
The RAV4 Hybrid delivers a combined hybrid system output of 194 horsepower, seamlessly utilizing either the 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine or the electric motor, or both, as needed. Power goes through a continuously variable transmission, while electrical energy from regenerative braking is stored in a nickel-metal hydride battery pack. Acceleration from zero-to-60 miles-per-hour is as fast as 8.1 seconds – nearly a second faster than the conventional RAV4.
Included on every RAV4 Hybrid is the Toyota Safety Sense-P suite of advanced safety technology with pre-collision warning, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure assist and automatic high beams.
Compact crossovers are crazy popular right now. Their combination of utility vehicle versatility and car-like handling is hard to ignore. When you can add strong performance AND efficiency to that, it’s definitely worth taking a closer look. Whether or not you’re driving back and forth to the city of the future.
