Toyota RAV4 News
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"I want a fuel-efficient car, but I live in a snowy area, and won't buy one without all-wheel drive; what's the best?" It's a question we hear often. Whether or not you agree that AWD is a must-have in wintry climes, the selection of cars with high fuel economy and AWD is limited. DON'T MISS: 2014 BMW 328d xDrive: 40-MPG Diesel Sport Wagon Reviewed Fuel prices may be cheap at the moment, but six years of steadily rising corporate average fuel economy rules have had an effect on EPA ratings for 2017 vehicles. For many years, the Subaru Impreza compact sedan and hatchback had the highest EPA...
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Toyota now sells almost 1.5 million hybrids a year
Toyota is on track to sell 1.4 million hybrids this year, new analysis says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Is Toyota RAV4 Hybrid SUV hurting Prius V wagon sales?
The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is the sole mass-market crossover SUV that offers a hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive. That was a market pioneered by the Ford Escape Hybrid, in 2004, and one that Ford walked away from for 2013. It turns out that there seems to be a market for compact crossovers...
John Voelcker -
All-wheel-drive hybrid cars, SUVs: why are there so few?
Fifty years ago, a now-forgotten British luxury coupe called the Jensen FF went into production, offering the first modern all-wheel drive system on any passenger car in the world. Four-wheel drive had been offered only on a few specialized truck models to that point, but the traction and braking...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3: 215-mile, $35,000 electric car revealed
At a launch event held in Hawthorne, California, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk introduced the Model 3 sedan, the company's highest-volume, lowest-priced effort yet. The Model 3 quite closely follows the style of the Model S sedan and Model X crossover, and it’s unmistakably a Tesla. Yet at a far...
Bengt Halvorson -
2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review
The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is the first mass-market crossover utility with a hybrid powertrain since the demise of the Ford Escape Hybrid in 2012. Granted, there's the luxury Lexus NX hybrid (using some of the same underpinninngs), and the low-volume Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid, with a mild-hybrid...
John Voelcker -
Toyota may cut the number of Prius models, but will keep the plug-in hybrid.
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2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Price To Start At $29,270
The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid will start at just under $30,000.
Stephen Edelstein -
Supplier ZF: Intriguing EV Ideas, But No Plans To Get In The Battery Business
The supplier ZF has designed and engineered a city-sized EV. Yet it has no plans to build such a model; the one-off prototype is just a means for the German supplier, touting its combined capabilities with TRW Automotive, which it finished acquiring earlier this spring, to flex its muscle on safety...
Bengt Halvorson -
Why We Call Out Compliance Cars Among All Electric Vehicles
Often reader comments raise issues that are worth covering for a broader audience. So when our reader Brian Lakatos wrote to ask us about the tone of recent coverage of electric cars, we responded at some length--and then decided to turn the response into an article. (Plus, we hate wasting copy...
John Voelcker -
2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid To Launch At New York Auto Show
It took a bit longer than expected, but Toyota will launch a hybrid-electric version of its popular RAV4 compact crossover utility vehicle at next week's New York Auto Show. The company sent out a teaser photo this morning, showing the rear of a RAV4 with badges saying "Hybrid" and "Limited" on the...
John Voelcker -
Toyota RAV4 EV Electric Car Recalled For Shift Flaw In Tesla Software
Toyota is recalling certain RAV4 EV electric cars over a software issue.
Stephen Edelstein -
Nearly five years ago, as a tidal wave of charging stations were rapidly planned for some West Coast regions, in support of a new wave of all-electric and plug-in vehicles, the question may have become, 'Where can the stations be installed?'—when it shouldn't have budged from, 'Where should they be installed?' And therein lies one significant likely regret, among policymakers and advocates—and one likely reason why, today, so many publicly available charging stations sit mostly unused. Federal data, as compiled and reported earlier this year, showed that public chargers installed...
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Toyota Too Reveals It Sold Some Tesla Shares, As Daimler Did
Well, that makes two: Toyota confirmed yesterday that it had sold a portion of its shares in electric-car maker Tesla Motors. The Japanese company's sales appear to have taken place at roughly the same time that German automaker Daimler sold its 4 percent stake in Tesla, adding $780 million in cash...
John Voelcker -
More Tesla-Toyota Plans In The Pipeline? Musk Hints At Possibility
Tesla can now add Japan to the list of countries that its Model S electric sedan is roaming the roads. CEO Elon Musk appeared at a recent ceremony to launch the car, but also used the occasion to hint that there may be another project with Toyota in the pipeline. According to Automotive News, Tesla...
Antony Ingram -
In Effort To Sell RAV4 Electric SUVs, Toyota Puts 'Cash On Hood'
The all-electric Toyota RAV4 EV, even with its Tesla-designed powertrain, isn't exactly flying out of dealerships. While it's a low-volume compliance car sold to meet California regulations, Toyota still has to move 2,600 of them over a three-year period that began in September 2012. So Toyota is...
John Voelcker -
Compliance Car Update: Which Electric Cars Are Loss Leaders?
The Fiat 500e is perhaps the most critically lauded new all-electric vehicle that arrived in 2013. It's received rave reviews from unlikely sources, like buff-book magazines—even from Consumer Reports. There's reportedly been a long waiting list for these cars, with a $199/month lease deal...
Bengt Halvorson -
Buying An Electric 'Compliance Car'? Think Hard About Servicing First
There are now more than a dozen plug-in electric cars for sale in the U.S., but not all electric cars are created equal. And a pair of recent articles about service challenges experienced by owners of the Toyota RAV4 EV underscores that buyers should be fully aware of the context in which their...
John Voelcker -
Ads for the RAV4 EV will target specific, tech-savvy buyers in the California cities where the car is sold.
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Toyota RAV4 EV Lease Cut To Just $299 Per Month
Electric car prices have tumbled in the past year, with price cuts and lease deals making them far more affordable than they were just a couple of years ago. Latest to join the party is Toyota. While the company has been slow to get behind electric cars with any real force, a new no-interest...
Antony Ingram -
Electric Vehicle Tourism Sparks Washington State: TEDx Video
Back in February, the folks at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington hosted a TEDx conference. One of the event's speakers was Ron Johnston-Rodriguez. Johnstron-Rodriguez founded Plug In North Central Washington. That sounds as if it might be a regional chapter of Plug In America, but its...
Richard Read -
Learning To Drive In A Nissan Leaf: Video
Last year, Michael Thwaite wrote about the experience of teaching his daughter to drive in a MINI E. As he pointed out, the all-electric car made for a smooth ride, which helped cool his nerves and those of his daughter. Also, the low speeds they maintained on the training course meant that hours...
Richard Read -
New Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Is Likely On The Way, And Soon Too
Today, if you want a crossover utility vehicle that gets good fuel economy, you can have a hybrid or a diesel--but only in a mid-size vehicle. There are no hybrid compact crossovers sold today, but Toyota may be about to change that. A hybrid version of the new 2013 Toyota RAV4 crossover "would not...
John Voelcker -
Want To Get A 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV? Here's How
It might be a compliance car, built by Toyota for the sole purpose of meeting California’s regulations for zero-emission vehicles, but the 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV is one of the most highly-anticipated plug-in cars of 2012. The anticipation is with good reason. Combining the practicality of a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield