2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime Reviews, Pricing & Specs

It makes sense that Toyota would offer its most impressive PHEV technology in the RAV4 compact crossover SUV, the automaker’s best-selling model and one of Canada’s best-selling compact SUVs. There is one other Prime-badged model in the Toyota lineup: a PHEV version of the Prius, the Prius Prime, which can’t match the RAV4 Prime for power, performance, or electric-only driving range.

As you might expect, the Prime models are the most expensive versions of the RAV4. Two trim levels are available with starting prices ranging from $46,090 for a Toyota RAV4 Prime SE to $52,690 for the XSE (not including a $1,890 destination charge). However, RAV4 Prime is eligible for the $5,000 maximum federal iZEV purchase rebate as well as the maximum rebates in Quebec and British Columbia.

Our U.S.-spec test vehicle had XSE trim and content that’s included in the optional Technology Package in Canada such as an embedded navigation system, a head-up display, a digital rearview mirror, a 360-degree surround-view camera, and front and rear parking sensors with automatic braking. Additionally, it installs a panoramic glass sunroof, and ventilated front seats. Heated front seats are standard, and heated rear seats are included with the XSE.

Are you ready to learn what our RAV4 Prime XSE would cost in Canadian dollars? Hold on to your butts: we’re looking at just over $60,000, including destination but not including accessories. Just keep reminding yourself about those rebates, particularly if you live in Quebec or B.C., where they bring the price down low enough that a RAV4 Prime is more affordable than a RAV4 Hybrid. To save cash, you can skip the contents of the Technology Package and the dealer add-ons, most of which you can live without.

As far as the styling is concerned, the RAV4 Prime XSE looks about as good as a RAV4 can. The exclusive machined-finish 19-inch alloy wheels are appealing, and the XSE features trendy black roof paint paired with the body colour. But aside from a handful of Prime-specific tweaks, the Prime looks like any other RAV4. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is up to you.

The same is true of the interior, though red stitching and blue ambient lighting help to add some visual excitement. Like the exterior, the RAV4 Prime’s interior emphasizes purposeful utility. The control layout holds no surprises, though the huge, rubberized knobs for the climate control system are almost obscene. Soft-touch and rubber surfaces blend with the hard, glossy plastic materials you expect to find in a basic compact crossover.

The RAV4 Prime uses a 2.5-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine paired with a 18.1-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, a 134-kilowatt front electric motor, and a 40-kW rear electric motor. The dual electric motors mean the RAV4 Prime has standard all-wheel drive (AWD). What Toyota calls an “electronic continuously variable transmission” (eCVT) distributes the power.

Toyota says the total output for this powertrain is 302 horsepower, enough to scoot the RAV4 Prime to 100 kilometres per hour in an estimated 5.9 seconds. The electric driving range is 68 kilometres, according to the official Natural Resources Canada estimate. When used only in hybrid mode with the gasoline engine, the RAV4 Prime earns a combined fuel consumption rating of 6.0 L/100 km. Start with a full battery and then drain the 55-litre fuel tank, and you should be able to travel more than 900 kilometres.

Drivers can choose from numerous driving modes. The standard set includes Eco, Normal, Sport, and Trail. The PHEV set includes EV (electric only), HV (hybrid only), Auto (automatically adjusts between EV and HV), and Charge (gas engine only; charges the battery while driving).

One nice thing about the RAV4 Prime’s drivetrain is that the electric motors are powerful enough to move the SUV without resorting to an assist from the gasoline engine. This way, you can drive purely on electricity until the battery reaches its minimum state of charge, at which time it switches to HV mode.

If you keep the RAV4 Prime’s battery charged—which is easy to do overnight using a standard household-style power outlet—you can save a considerable amount of money on gas. In fact, Natural Resources Canada thinks that RAV4 Prime drivers will spend an average of $833 per year on fuel.

We drove this SUV under variable weather and passenger-load conditions, and our real-world electric-only driving range results spanned between 56 kilometres on a hot day with four people aboard to 74 kilometres on a cool day with only a driver in the vehicle. During the entire week, the RAV4 Prime averaged 5.5 L/100 km between using electricity and gasoline.

Though RAV4s are ubiquitous on North American roads, you can’t help but be impressed by the Prime PHEV. For driving on pavement, this is the most entertaining RAV4 you can buy. Pair the Sport mode with the HV mode, and you’ll find a generous amount of power and downright speedy acceleration. However, even in Normal and EV modes, the RAV4 Prime is energetic and can tackle hills without using the gas engine, even with four people aboard.

In town or traffic, the regenerative brakes can make the brake pedal feel a little touchy under your foot, making it harder to brake smoothly and evenly. Also, the CVT can sometimes groan and sound unpleasant. But there are so many benefits to the PHEV powertrain that the good things about it overshadow these two minor complaints.

In addition to rapid acceleration when you want it and pure electric driving without leaning on the gas engine for support, the RAV4 Prime offers an excellent blend of ride compliance and competent handling.

Though you can feel the added weight of the PHEV components mounted low in the chassis, Toyota tunes the RAV4 to eradicate much of the choppy ride quality that commonly accompanies this hardware. As far as handling goes, that added weight low in the SUV, combined with the XSE’s larger 19-inch wheels and tires, contributes to unexpectedly athletic handling.

Hold on. Don’t get too excited. The steering isn’t what we’d characterize as crisp and responsive, and the all-season rubber makes its discomfort known if you decide to hustle the RAV4 Prime on a mountain road. But there is a competence here that helps you to enjoy the drive in a way you haven’t in RAV4 since the third-generation RAV4 Sport trim equipped with a V6 engine.

Every 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime has an eight-way power driver’s seat, heated front seats, and a heated steering wheel. With the SE trim, you get cloth upholstery, while the XSE features SofTex simulated leather and heated rear seats. The XSE’s optional Technology Package added ventilated front seats and a panoramic glass sunroof.

Everyone who rides in the RAV4 is comfortable, though on hot days the XSE’s SofTex can trap sweat and keep you damp unless you have the Technology Package’s ventilated front seats. Even the front passenger, who does not benefit from a cushion height adjuster, won’t complain too much because that seating location offers decent leg support.

The RAV4 Prime’s back seat offers plenty of legroom, headroom, and foot room for adults. Plus, the rear cushion is large and supportive if perhaps mounted a little too low for optimal comfort. The rear doors open wide, making it easy to get into and out of the SUV, and the RAV4 Prime has rear air conditioning vents and two USB charging ports for back-seat passengers.

You won’t have any trouble finding places to put things inside a Toyota RAV4. In addition to a generous centre console storage bin under the softly padded centre armrest, there are bottle holders in the lower door panels, a tray with an available wireless smartphone charging pad forward of the transmission shifter, and a good-sized glove compartment. But the deep tray running the length of the dashboard, including to the left of the steering wheel, is a feature more automakers should copy.

The RAV4 Prime’s cargo space isn’t quite as generous as what you’ll find in other versions of the SUV, but it’s still roomy. Behind the back seat, the SUV provides 949 litres of volume. Fold the rear seats down to create 1,976 litres of cargo space.

A 7-inch digital instrumentation panel separates secondary analog gauges and provides access to numerous displays and menus through which you can reference data or calibrate vehicle settings.

Additionally, the RAV4 Prime SE has an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system equipped with numerous features. They include Bluetooth, satellite radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and three different connected services plans. Safety Connect adds safety-related features with a complimentary 12-month subscription. Service Connect is free to use for eight years.

Choose the RAV4 Prime XSE for a larger 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It adds a complimentary year of Remote Connect service and pairs with an 11-speaker JBL premium sound system. Destination Assist is part of the Technology Package and comes with a one-year trial subscription.

While the voice recognition system doesn’t control the RAV4 Prime’s climate control system, it did accurately perceive and respond to all of our usual test commands. However, in response to a request for directions to the nearest hospital, the results were cluttered with health-related businesses in addition to hospitals.

Additional tech in the test vehicle included a 10-inch colour head-up display, a digital rearview mirror, and a 120-volt/1,500-watt power outlet in the cargo area. The camera-based digital rearview mirror, in combination with the test vehicle’s surround-view camera system and front and rear parking sensors, makes it easy to maneuver the RAV4 Prime in parking lots.

Safety Connect is one of three connected service plans that are offered in the RAV4 Prime. You get complimentary service for one year, and then you must pay extra to continue accessing automatic collision notification, SOS emergency calling, a stolen vehicle locator, and more.

Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 (TSS 2.0) is standard on the RAV4 Prime. This collection of driver-assist and collision avoidance systems includes forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centring assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beam headlights. Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert is also standard.

When driving with the adaptive cruise control and lane-centring assist active, the steering can occasionally seem unnatural with regard to its corrections and inputs. This is particularly noticeable when you’re in the right lane and driving past long breaks in the right lane marker for freeway exits and on-ramps, when you’re traveling over scarred pavement from past highway repair work, or when you’re on winding sections of highway.

Otherwise, we had no issues with TSS 2.0’s accuracy and effectiveness. The adaptive cruise control is not quick to respond to clearing traffic conditions by rapidly accelerating back up to the set speed, but it reacts smoothly when other motorists cut into the gap between the RAV4 Prime and the vehicle ahead.

As far as crash-test ratings go, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the RAV4 Prime top marks for occupant protection. However, the IIHS has not fully assessed the model’s safety features, so it doesn’t offer an overall rating for this model. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not rated the RAV4 Prime for crash protection.

Though our test vehicle was loaded up with options and accessories, pushing the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) above $60,000, we still think the RAV4 Prime is a cost-effective choice in a compact crossover SUV. And that is especially true if you live somewhere that offers provincial rebates on top of the Canadian federal incentives for an electrified vehicle purchase.

Consider how much room is inside of the RAV4 for people and cargo. Add the long list of standard features, generous trial periods to connected services, the strong IIHS crash-test ratings, and the reputation for reliability for which Toyota is known. Oh, and don’t forget the great fuel economy that comes with this compact SUV.

Are you getting the idea that a RAV4 Prime is a good deal? You should be.

Based on our week with the Prime, it’s easy to say it’s our favourite version of the RAV4. Skip all the unnecessary fancy, and this PHEV is more than just cost-effective as a new vehicle. It can serve a multitude of purposes for years to come.

Note: Images show a US model.