IMOTO: TOYOTA RAV4
The sales and marketing officer of Toyota South Africa Motors, Leon Theron, at the beginning of the year made it clear that they are not afraid of their competitors.
Theron was speaking at the company’s State of the Motor Industry meeting in Johannesburg, where the state of the industry in general, Toyota’s and the company’s plans were discussed.
“We accept (competition), we love it because it makes us better,” he said.
He was no longer pregnant because one of the cars he has improved is the new RAV4 that has been introduced.
The current model is the sixth since it went on sale in 1994.
The RAV4 is the car that wrapped 2025 as the best seller in the world even though in this country it is facing many competitors and it is not the same as before.
Previously, it included the Volkswagen Tiguan and Mazda CX-5, to name a few. Currently, it has imported Chinese ones including GWM H6, Jaecoo J7, Jetour T2, Omoda C9 and others.
Toyota says they will not be able to compete with these companies on price and that is why they are moving up to a slightly higher level.
The new IRAV4 comes in five variants namely GX, VX, VX hybrid, the first ever GR-S and plug in hybrid.
I found it to look good and may take many. Toyota has not cut back on the things it comes with, which shows that although they will not be able to compete on price with competitors, it is still intensifying the competition.
The GX has LED headlights, 18-inch rims, roof rails, dual-zone automatic climate control, power boot, 10.5-inch multimedia display, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and more.
In addition to the GX, the VX has leather seats, a moonroof, a 12.9-inch Head-Up Display and JBL speakers.
In the hybrid VX, there is a panoramic sunroof that opens, the center mirror and the rear view camera, heated and cooled seats and a small gear instead of a long one.
The first GR-S looks sporty. They put 20 inch rims, changed the suspension and it is lower than other models. Inside, the seats are engraved with a different name and it has a moonroof.
The last and most powerful one in the PHEV (plug-in electric vehicle) family has 20 inch black rims, heated and cooled seats, a heated steering wheel that made it fun to drive around Cape Town in the cold, panoramic sunroof and an electric boot.
It has a 25.4 kWh battery which when I asked they said you can’t use it to connect household appliances (vehicle to home) like other countries.
The VX that I had more time with when it was launched in Cape Town I liked that it was spacious inside for five passengers. The boot is also large and they have fitted a spare tire with a rim.
Up front the touchscreen infotainment system is large and bright. It is easy to use as the buttons are transparent. It shows the direction, you connect the mobile phone with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, you can adjust the temperature in the car, it shows the outside so you don’t crash and so on.
As the RAV4 comes in different models, so do the engines.
The VX has a 2.0 liter non-turbo engine. It has a power of 127kW and a torque of 203Nm and the gearbox is an automatic machine.
The other engine is a 2.5 liter hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) which they say produces a combined power of 163kW and a torque of 221Nm.
I drove the VX HEV and felt comfortable even if there were no bad roads we drove on. Even in the corners, it gripped when you turned at speed. The noise when pedaling as the gearbox is CVT is there but it was not too loud.
The plug in hybrid was not very loud.
It has a power of 225kW.
Its 25.4kWh battery is said to make it travel 142 kilometers when fully charged. You can charge it in public places with DC and AC outlets. If you want you can buy a wallbox for charging at home.
Since Toyota has not reduced the RAV4’s features, they have not lacked safety
It is the first to come with Toyota Safety Sense 4.0 in South Africa.
It includes driver aids that tell you if you are not paying attention, help you park, can read road signs, help you turn the steering wheel in case of danger, have adaptive cruise control and much more.
Price:
RAV4 2.5 HEV GX – R770 500
RAV4 2.0 VX – R799 900
RAV4 2.5 HEV VX – R927 800
RAV4 2.5 HEV GR-S – R941 800
RAV4 2.5 PHEV – R1 043 900
All come with a service plan of six services or 90,000km and a warranty of three years or 100,000km. The battery has a warranty of eight years or 160 000km.