Non-hybrid RAV4s are also hauled around by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, though it’s a bit less powerful, churning out 176 horses and 172 lb-ft of torque. All told, this electrified drivetrain puts out 194 horsepower and 206 lb-ft of torque. It’s fed by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack with a capacity of 6.5 ampere hours. This is great for hybrids and other applications where efficiency is paramount, though lousy for all-out performance.Ī compact, high-torque electric motor augments this conventional internal-combustion engine. By delaying the closing of the intake valves, the engine is allowed to extract more out of the provided air-fuel mixture. It runs on the Atkinson cycle, a unique adaptation of the conventional four-stroke process. Hybrid variants feature a specially modified 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. A “regular” all-wheel-drive RAV4 squeezes just 25 combined miles out of a gallon of dinosaur juice. Those figures are significantly better than what the standard model can muster. Combined, it averages a claimed 33 mpg according to the U.S. Out of the gate, it stickers at 34 miles per gallon highway and 31 in around-town motoring. The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid brings some impressive digits to the table. Greater Efficiency AND Improved Performance This recipe has been a sales success for 20 years and the addition of a gasoline-electric model looks like it’s only going to continue this tradition. It offered a groundbreaking blend of car-like handling, comfort and efficiency in a package that provided station wagon versatility and soft-road capability. Transmission: Continuously variable automaticįuel Economy: 34 miles per gallon highway, 31 city, 33 MPG combinedīase Price: $29,270, including $900 in destination feesĪt the time of its introduction, customers were buying traditional, body-on-frame SUVs at a biblical pace, driving them onto public roads like a plague of insects descending on verdant farmland no parking space or suburban thoroughfare was safe when this horde arrived.ĭespite intense competition from these ungainly behemoths, something compounded by the inexpensive petroleum distillates that fueled them, Toyota found a sweet spot with its right-sized RAV4. Total system output: 194 horsepower, 206 lb-ft of torque

FAST FACTSĮngine: 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder, high-torque electric motor. It debuted about two decades ago when this nascent segment was little more than a glimmer of the blinding glory it would eventually achieve in the 21 st century. The Toyota RAV4 is a pioneering compact crossover.

2016 rav4 hybrid