The 302 Hp 2021 Toyota Rav4 Prime Will Start Under $40,000

The 302 hp 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime will start under $40,000

The 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime SE will ring the till at $39,220 (including a $1,120 destination charge) when it goes on sale this summer, Toyota announced Friday, as the company looks to claim the performance high ground in the compact crossover segment with its high-output plug-in hybrid. 

So far, hybrid variants of smaller mainstream two-row crossovers have been focused entirely on efficiency; even Toyota's own RAV4 Hybrid is rated at 41 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 40 combined on the strength of its 219-horsepower conventional hybrid drive system. 

Toyota Rav4 Gets Lamborghini Urus Looks With This Body Kit

Toyota RAV4 gets Lamborghini Urus looks with this body kit

Like your Toyota RAV4 but wish it looked a little more, I dunno, like a Lamborghini Urus? Well, a Japanese tuning shop may have just answered your prayers.

Spotted by Carscoops, it's called the XR51 body kit and it's offered by an outfit named Albermo, which uses as its tagline, "Design of Caesar." Technically, the kit is offered in three packages, which are available separately or as a complete package, including installation and body-color paint.

You Could Own This Jdm 1994 Toyota Rav4 Awd Listed On Bring A Trailer

You could own this JDM 1994 Toyota RAV4 AWD listed on Bring a Trailer

Need a good dose of 1990s nostalgia? How about this all-wheel drive JDM 1994 Toyota RAV4 listed on Bring a Trailer with no reserve? 

The 1990s were the decade of green. Name a car or truck, and it probably came in at least one or two shades. Your author's family had not one, not two, but three different cars painted in various shades of dark green simultaneously: a 1996 Volkswagen Passat VR6, a 1994 Dodge Caravan and a 1996 Dodge Dakota. This RAV4 would have been right at home next to the bright red Toyota Tercel that shared the same driveway. 

Toyota Rav4 Sales Hit 10 Million

Toyota RAV4 sales hit 10 million

The Toyota RAV4 is quickly cementing itself as one of the bestselling car models in the world. At the end of February, the compact crossover's total sales since the introduction of the first generation in 1994 crossed over the 10 million mark. Specifically, Toyota had sold 10,080,834 examples. And since the crossover is still on sale, that number will continue to increase.

In comparison to some of the most famous top-selling cars, it's closing rapidly on the Ford Model T, which sold over 15 million examples, and is about halfway to matching the original VW Beetle's over 20 million sales. It still has a ways to go to catch the Corolla, which as of 2016, had sold over 44 million units over the model's multi-generational history.

2020 Toyota Rav4 Trd Off-road | Road Trip, Fuel Economy, Comfort

2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road | Road trip, fuel economy, comfort

This 2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road would spend more time on boats than off road. The Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail tires would be more noteworthy for their elevated road noise than their puncture resistant design or severe snow rating. My selection from the Multi-Terrain Select system among Mud & Sand, Rock & Trail and Snow was always "none of the above." Admittedly, then, driving from Portland, Ore., to Victoria and Vancouver, B.C. with a few ferry trips along the way is hardly a tall task for the RAV4's new, most-rugged trim level.

Part of me knows this is a bit lame (or a lot), but the rest knows that if you're really game for serious off-roading, no amount of upgrades to a RAV4 will make it a great choice. You'll find better approach/departure angles and a 4WD Low setting in a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, while a used 4Runner would be the obvious Toyota alternative for similar money. That said, the new-for-2020 RAV4 TRD Off-Road has plenty of appeal, especially for folks who like the idea of a rugged, off-road ready SUV but know that A) they're unlikely to take it off-road much and B) appreciate the RAV4's superior fuel economy and family-friendly space. Basically, folks like myself.

Toyota Rav4 Passes Swedish Moose Test On Second Try After Software Tuning

Toyota RAV4 passes Swedish moose test on second try after software tuning

Last year, Swedish publication Teknikens Värld gave the Toyota RAV4 a failing grade after it showed video of it performing poorly on the so-called moose test. That's a test that puts a vehicle under maximum load through an abrupt S-shaped course correction to simulate how it would react if a moose or some other object suddenly appeared on the road before it, forcing the driver to take evasive action. Video of the magazine's test of two identically equipped, all-wheel drive RAV4s, including the one pictured below, showed the crossovers bouncing and skidding, the rear ends fishtailing badly and inner wheels briefly lifting off the pavement.

Now the publication is back with a followup test after having communicated with Toyota, and the results are much improved.

The magazine says Toyota arranged for a new test with its editors at a race track near Seville, Spain, along with a RAV4 it custom-prepped for the test. Instead of using actual passengers in the rear seats, as Teknikens Värld usually does, Toyota secured weights into the rear seats and attached a pair of lightweight aluminum outriggers to the rear doors to ensure the car wouldn't roll over.

Those changes make the test a little easier, the magazine says, but it still gave the fifth-generation RAV4 passing marks after Toyota engineers said they simply tuned the software controlling the Vehicle Stability Control system to make the electronic stability control stronger and more assertive. The RAV4 passed the Moose Test at 65 kilometers per hour (40 mph), 68 km/h (42 mph), 70 km/h (43.5 mph) and 72 km/h (45 mph). In the previous test, the RAV4 could handle no better than 68 km/h.

But there's a hitch: According to the magazine, the fix Toyota made to the RAV4 isn't yet included in production versions of the crossover unless European customers specifically request it from dealers. Toyota told it the modifications would be made available during the second quarter of 2020 for Europe-bound models.

What this means, if anything, for U.S. versions of the wildly popular crossover is unclear; Toyota hadn't respond to Autoblog's request for comment, but we'll update this post if we hear back. Toyota had previously said the RAV4, which was redesigned for 2019 as a slightly higher-riding vehicle with a lower center of gravity, had previously passed the moose test under its own supervision. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives the 2020 model four out of five stars for rollover crash risk and an overall five-star rating.