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Surprise! 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime is a 302-HP Plug-In Hybrid With a Quick 0-60 Time

With the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime, Toyota is extending the Prius Prime plug-in brand to its SUV lineup. But fear not, the bigger battery and Prime badging do not in this case bring with them a disfiguring re-style of the bodywork. In fact, the 2021 RAV4 Prime, with its available Supersonic Red paint and contrasting roof, looks about as attractive as will the monthly fuel billat least for drivers who achieve its estimated 90-mpg-e combined city/highway fuel economy rating. Of course, that may be easier said than done, because that kind of fuel efficiency almost certainly doesnt attend the sort of 5.8-second 0-60-mph jackrabbit driving this 302-hp electrified AWD drivetrain is likely to encourage. Yes, Toyota says the RAV4 Prime will be the brands second-quickest accelerating vehicle, which suggests that 5.8-second figure may be a few tenths conservative, because the second-quickest accelerating modern Toyota in our database is the 5.8-second Camry XSE V-6 . Differences relative to the existing RAV4 Hybrid (which hits 60 mph in 7.5 seconds for us), include revised tuning of the 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four cylinder to produce the same 176 hp but a more robust 168 lb-ft at 2,800 rpm instead of the 163 lb-ft at 3,600-5,200 rpm (still burning regular unleaded fuel). Then along with the larger battery pack (the exact size hasnt been revealed) come an uprated booster/converter and more powerful motor-generators that combine to give the RAV4 Prime model its 83-horsepower increase. The electric rear axle concept is the same as on the un-primed Hybrid. One battery detail we do knowits warranty is extended from the current eight years/100,000 miles to 10 years/150,000 miles (effective beginning with 2020 model year hybrids). For those who can take it easy on the gas pedal, Toyota says the RAV4 Primes 90-mpg-e efficiency should yield 39 miles of electric driving range, which the company claims is the highest EV range of any plug-in SUV. The Prime also shares the Hybrids Predictive Efficient Drive feature, which leverages the available navigation system to read the road and learn the drivers patterns to optimize hybrid battery charging and discharging operations based on conditions. The system remembers where the hills and stoplights are and adjusts the hybrid powertrains behavior to maximize efficiency. All that having been said, the RAV4 Prime is being marketed as a sporty vehicle, in SE and XSE trims only, with the latter getting RAV4s first use of shift paddles. The SE gets its own sporty grille, piano-black exterior trim, rear diffuser, and black machined aluminum 18-inch wheels. The XSE adds two-tone paint, 19-inch two-tone wheels (the largest ever on a RAV4 Hybrid), adaptive front lighting and unique LED daytime running lights. Add the Premium package to an XSE model and you get a color head-up displaya RAV4 firstplus heated front and rear outboard SofTex vegan leather seats, a heated steering wheel, a pano-roof, kick-to-open hatch, and more. Pricing for the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime will be announced closer to its summer 2020 on-sale date. The post Surprise! 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime is a 302-HP Plug-In Hybrid With a Quick 0-60 Time appeared first on MotorTrend .

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/toyota/rav4/2021/2021-toyota-rav4-prime-plug-in-hybrid-photos-info/

 

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