2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE FULL Review! /// 302HP AND 42miles of Electric Range!

After spending a week in a brand new 2023 RAV4 Prime XSE, and I literally mean BRAND New, (huge thanks @toyotausa), I’ve come to understand why this is such a hot commodity in the crossover SUV segment and further solidifies my love for PHEVs. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

🏁 @Alllcarnews Spec Sheet:
2.5L n/a Inline-4 + Front & rear electric motors
302HP & 288 lb-ft of torque Combined
42 miles of EV range
18.1-kWh battery pack
0-60 in 5.4sec
CVT 🏁

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Highs:
-Refined PHEV powertrain offers plenty of range, quick Level 2 charging times, and lots of powertrain customizability.
-Backed by an impressive 10 year/150k mile battery system warranty.
-General materials, ride quality, and utility are more than competent for daily use & battery doesn’t eat into cargo space.

Lows:
-You can tell features are held back for Lexus models, specifically the sister NX450+ PHEV with the same powertrain.
-The digital cluster has a very annoying glare and is cluttered at times, infotainment screen isn’t the highest quality.
-WAY too many safety system beeps and alerts.
-Can get expensive in higher trims, this is around $51k (*$42k starting for Prime).
________________________________________
ACN EXTRA: Solid 8/10 and a great long term buy from Toyota! Though the competition is coming in fierce. I would still take this over a BZ4X or Solterra.

#Toyota #RAV4 #phev

Index:
0:00-0:51 Intro
0:51-2:40 PHEV Powertrain
2:40-7:22 Exterior Design an Cargo
7:22-9:16 Interior Comfort
9:16-14:44 Tech and Features
14:44-17:54 POV Drive
17:54-18:30 EV Mode
18:30-19:06 Acceleration
19:06-20:24 Highway Drive
20:24-22:15 Safety Systems
22:15-25:32 Final Thoughts

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Text/Narration/News by: Allcarnews
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[Allcarnews]

Index:
0:00-0:51 Intro
0:51-2:40 PHEV Powertrain
2:40-7:22 Exterior Design an Cargo
7:22-9:16 Interior Comfort
9:16-14:44 Tech and Features
14:44-17:54 POV Drive
17:54-18:30 EV Mode
18:30-19:06 Acceleration
19:06-20:24 Highway Drive
20:24-22:15 Safety Systems
22:15-25:32 Final Thoughts

[ehh]

unfortunately these are so overpriced its ridiculous. Trying to find one at MSRP is like finding a needle in a haystack.

[riotproductions]

Cops at 16:01.... and the look back at 16:06 LOLOLOL!!! Great review. I'm about to give up my Fj Cruiser after 328, 000 for a Prime.

[victorkrottner]

All my life I wanted a Rav4 Hybrid. This year I finally bought a brand new 2023 and I love the hybrid mileage, the ground clearance and the 4 wheel drive. I was so in love that I totally ignored all the drastic design flaws. The roof is two inches too low. I am 5'10" and I bang my head every time I get in and out and what's even worse is the serious visibility flaws. When I look 30 degrees to the right the rear view mirror is directly in front of my face. If I want to look 30 degrees to the right I have to duck my head down to see underneath the rear view mirror. The center console is three inches too wide on both sides. It digs into my right knee making it painful to my knee cap to keep my foot on the accelerator pedal. I’m thinking about gluing on some padding to ease this problem. My wife also complains about leg discomfort on her side. The side pillars are so wide that I absolutely cannot see oncoming cars at intersections of less than ninety degrees. I feel like this is going to kill me one day. The headrest is so stupidly designed that I sometimes feel like it is forcing my head down.

After four months of constantly banging my head, serious visibility problems, the most uncomfortable seating and the loudest road and wind noise of any car I have ever owned I am now sorry that I ever bought a RAV4 at all. Plus I heard of a new class action law suit because the moon roof drains are short circuiting the air bags which it claims Toyota knew about but failed to fix which the customer must now pay to fix and there is other talk about a power cable corrosion that may cost up to $6K to fix. After four months of living with this car I'm now sorry I ever bought a RAV4.

[vincedenbu]

I own a Model Y now because of the stock issues of this, but I am still hoping to I can buy one someday.

[Ozair.visual]

Brother your video quality is perfect.
try to make your audio Quality even better than video.

[terrancecloverfield]

The dealerships are responding to the demand as well. Today, I see more RAV4 Hybrids than Prius on the lot. Hoping to snag my own Prime someday....

[TheValuePro]

It is interesting that you continually reinforce that this is NOT a performance vehicle. It is the second fastest car Toyota makes. I purchased this solely because of its performance blended with the economy. There is not another car with the power and economy in the price range that you can find. I sold a 2023 Porsche GTS to get this car. Clearly, the Porshe is better, but it is more expensive and far less efficient. I appreciate the performance!!! The only problem is finding this car where the dealer will sell it at sticker. Most are getting 10-20K over sticker. To bad!!

[rolandbaranov]

We got ours 2.5 month ago, same color no roof racks, come with all weather floor liner, I added mudguards, running boards, lower body graphic, door sill protector and catalytic converted shield from Toyota, added the cargo light upgrade and few other things from Amazon, we are VERY happy with it, last week we put gas 10.5gal for the first time having 1200miles on the odometer. Things to complain: Pedestrian warning system (PWS) is very loud specially backing up, there are no ways to adjust or customize it. Side mirrors will not adjust when you use the driver seat memory button. Only one key fob was given (shortage of chips) second fob will be delivered + or - 8 month after. Cargo lighting insufficient. Wireless phone charging not always work and makes noises (may be related to my thick phone case) No clear instructions when to change engine oil since I can go 10.000 miles all electric without using the engine. I would like more information about regenerative barking limit, when the brakes begun to slow down the car or during long steep downhills if I downshift do I get more regenerative braking or is the engine holding the speed. Other than that it is an amazing car. NO RANGE ANXIETY Thanks Toyota.

[ktpinnacle]

Great option, but they don't build a lot of them so if you can find one they're MSRP+ a lot.

[johnd]

The places where PHEV's really shine, imho, is: 1) Hybrid driving in long hilly terrain - as in the Adirondacks, or I-70 west of Denver, in the Rockies, etc. Let the motive battery run down to about 50%, then go to hybrid mode. Now you have all the battery you need to assist the engine - sorry, now the engine can assist the motors all the way up the longest of inclines. Likewise, you have LOTS of battery to absorb that energy while coasting & braking down those long descents. This is with the hybrid system's target battery state of around 50%. My second favorite real world situation is (btw, I live about 5 miles from town) simply taking a short trip or 2 to town, especially in cold weather. just go all electric. Nothing's worse for an ICE engine than running it, and not letting it warm up enough to boil the moisture out of the oil.
Side note - I'm a geek, and I really wish AllCar' could have had the camera exposure set to better see that energy flow screen.

[fishizer]

Looks like there is a HUD on the windshield there. Not sure if it was mentioned.

[Apache]

Msrp More like 55k now. I just got one without the 4k premium package and it’s $50, 767 on the manufacture sticker already.

[bariqashoor]

Hello bro, just wondering if you can help me understanding this point as I am overseas and want to buy one but I need to know the difference between 2022 rav4 hybrid and the 2023 Prime XSE plugin hybrid ?
Does the latter also have the petrol engine charging the electric one while driving?
Or I should only charge it by the plugin cable?
Could you please answer this with some classification as I am overseas from Iraq and need to take a careful decison regarding this.

My best regards and wishes.

[MaxHasManyHobbies]

15:45 Thankfully you didn't keep accelerating since a cop was right there. 😅

[blz]

I haven't seen a head up display on a rav4 - how did you get one? :)

[zeinnaja]

Have you tested the full EV range? I want to see if it can actually hit 42 miles

[davidgapp]

I have owned a 2021 Rav4 for almost 2.5 years now. I love the car but could not recommend to anyone I know (or care about). Here's why: First, and most important, the recalls. My vehicle has been subject to numerous recalls including a fire risk from DC-DC convertor and, most recently, a notice that read "vehicle may lose motive power while driving'. Well, that has happened to me twice in the past three months. The second time it happened to my wife while in the middle lane of a freeway (I17, Phoenix). The car came to a sudden and complete stop with the dash screen completely blank. Fortunately my wife was not hit by swerving 18 wheelers and assorted cars. She had the presence of mind to put the car back in park and hit the 'start' button again. Fortunately the car started up immediately and she escaped.

When I took the car into the dealer they determined there were no 'codes' and that the problem must be related to a dash camera I had installed... when the vehicle was brand new. In other words, 2 years previously. Note, the only connections were piggyback fuses to B and B+. To 'clean up the extensive wiring changes' they decided I needed to give them $850 before they would proceed with any further investigation. Needless to say, I reviewed the wiring and refused their offer. This essentially left us with a 'bricked' Rav4 Prime. Sitting in the garage, unusable and unsafe.

Fast forwards two months. The urgent recall arrives in the mail. No apology from the dealer of course. Turns out the fault was introduced at the last software update. Which is why the failures dated back to the last service.

Overall, my experience with the primary dealer in Phoenix, AZ has been appalling. After the first service, which include a tire rotation, they managed to lose a wheel nut which went unnoticed until I washed the car and realized a nut was missing. The second service, they needed a spare part for the power window. They ordered-in the spare part, it arrived and... it was the wrong part.

The third service, the car was given back to me on the court yard and when I went to drive out an engine warning light came on (related to the a/c system which also cools the battery). They hastily took the vehicle back into the shop and some half hour later they had 'miraculously' fixed the problem. No explanation.

I should also note that EVERY time I have taken the vehicle into the dealer they have tried to get me to part with hundreds of dollars on 'extras'. Cleaning the air filter for the battery dc-dc convertor was apparently worth nearly $300. I did the job myself and it took less than half an hour and cost around $12 in materials. That has been the consistent theme with Toyota... how can we take more money off you?

This isn't the Toyota of old. I've been driving Toyota's since 1985 and frankly the entire attitude of the dealers, and Toyota, has fallen off a cliff. The recalls never get even a hint of an apology. I don't really expect them to fall on their sword but you get the feeling they think they are doing you a favor by fixing a recall item.

So do I love the car? Well mostly. It handles like a drunk whale and it could do with more engine noise insulation (because an Atkinson cycle engine will, by design, rev its little heart out sometimes). But the EV range is close to the advertised 42 miles and can actually be exceeded if you drive thoughtfully in-town. The car's real party trick is its power. Yes, it does put a smile on my face.

Toyota again lets itself down with the feature sets. Listen guys, if you sell a car with a power seat, it better come standard with driver position memory. Apparently Toyota think this feature is, effectively, worth thousands. It's not available on the SE and you have to get feature-loaded on the XSE to get the elusive memory. Plus, living in Arizona, I don't want a panoramic roof... period. Not even if you gave me a $1000 discount. This is the most inappropriate and useless feature - especially if you intend to actually use the roof rack (I do).

So would I buy the Rav4 Prime again? Yes, but I wish it wasn't made by Toyota.

[itsmemattt_]

Dumb question - does combined horsepower mean Ive got 302hp all the time regardless of if Im in hybrid, gas, or full electric mode or do I only sometimes have 302hp?

[Fahim-ilwz]

How hard is it to get a baby seat in the back? it doesnt look like the rear seat door is very wide.