Congratulations, you’ve done it. You’ve grown out of your side-fringed, 128 kbps MP3-listening, stick-and-poke youth, traded Four Loko for lattes, gone to a good college, graduated with excellent grades, launched a successful career, found someone, got married, settled down, bought a house, set up retirement accounts, bought life insurance, had a lawyer draft a will, and brought at least one child into this world along the way.
You aren’t just a technical adult, you’re a professional adult, with all the freedom and responsibilities that come with being a modern parent. Don’t worry, you still listen to “Sweet Disposition” by The Temper Trap like it’s 2008 and you’re hoping the job market recovers, and your kids think you’re cool, but you’re older, wiser, and better-intentioned than you used to be. You’re also about to make the hardest car buying decision of your entire life, and the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition might even be on your shortlist. [Ed note: If you’re a parent, setting up a will and guardianship is extremely important, it’s also the absolute worst. Just rip the bandaid off and get it done ASAP. – MH
This crossover promises it’s the answer to all manner of questions. What if you have the average number of 1.94 children and all their things, and maybe one or two of their friends to tote alone? What if you need a car to function like gravity — constant, reliable, unyielding? What if you have no time for foolishness? What if you also want to be kinder to the world, but don’t have a place to plug in a vehicle? Oh, and what if you want to do it all with a little bit of unique style, and slightly tougher suspension for the gravel tracks that come with occasional hiking and camping? See, lots of promises, so let’s see if it lives up to its end of the bargain.
[Full disclosure: Toyota Canada let me borrow this RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition for a week so long as I returned it with a full tank of fuel and wrote a review of it.]
The Basics
As-Tested Price: $37,720 ($44,500 in Canada)
Engine: 2.5-liter 16-valve twin-cam four-cylinder engine with both direct and port fuel injection.
Transmission: eCVT with integrated 118-horsepower electric motor.
Drive: eAWD, 54-horsepower motor on the rear axle.
Battery: 1.6 kWh nickel metal hydride battery pack, 244.8 nominal volts.
Combined Output: 219 horsepower, no torque figure claimed.
Curb Weight: 3,775 pounds (1,712 kg).
Fuel Economy: 38 mpg city, 35 highway, 37 combined (6.1 L/100km city, 6.8 highway, 6.4 combined).
Minimum Fuel Grade: AKI 87 Octane
Body Style: Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle.
Why Does It Exist?
On some days, the Toyota RAV4 feels like the iPhone of compact crossovers. It’s been around for ages, will still be around at the very end, and has an almost unwavering reputation for reliability. Sure, the second-generation RAV4 did have issues with oil consumption and the iPhone 6S Plus did bend in your back pocket, but that’s all water under the bridge now. In the years since, the iPhone and the RAV4 have both proven themselves in daily use, capable machines that take a licking and keep on ticking.
As for this RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition, it’s Toyota’s attempt at bringing some extra soft-road cred to the popular RAV4 Hybrid Crossover. Think Subaru Forester Wilderness, but electrified. That means it gets Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, special TRD suspension, and a litany of cosmetic and practical flourishes to attract people who really like trail mix. Come to think of it, almost everyone who isn’t allergic to nuts likes trail mix, so this massaged RAV4 Hybrid ought to be exceptionally popular.
How Does It Look?
The first question around any off-road visual treatment is whether or not it works. After all, the concept of an active lifestyle vehicle gave us both the Subaru Outback and the Pontiac Aztek, and only one of those enjoyed largely positive press. So, does the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition look special? Well, it’s offered in dark green paint and comes standard on bronze wheels, and that combination works on just about anything from a Ferrari 458 Italia to a Schwinn. Add in some mud flaps, a smattering of black accents, a roof rack, and a black roof, and you get a RAV4 that just looks more desirable than any other RAV4. Job done on that.
As for the RAV4 itself, it looks fine. The contour line around the greenhouse is funky, and the contrasting roof is executed reasonably well for the segment. It’s definitely not the prettiest compact crossover around, but it’s certainly not the ugliest either. This is an inoffensive vehicle to look at, in classic Toyota tradition.
How About The Inside?
The RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition is made for hauling people and stuff, so you get a massive cargo area with a low liftover height, heaps of rear seat space, and plenty of room to get into your ideal driving position. Speaking of space, the center console bin is deep, the front cup holders are commodious, and the door bins are decently sized. I particularly like the little shelves in the dashboard for flotsam and jetsam acquired through general vehicle use. Parking receipts, spent gift cards, that sort of stuff. One weird omission? No map pocket in the back of the driver’s seat. Odd, but the seat itself is comfy, so that’s alright.
As for design flourishes, a few flourishes of alu-plastic trim keep the black interior from appearing dour, the selection of soft-touch materials is good, and I’m particularly fond of the turbine-like ribbed volume knob. Oh, and did I mention the fantastic rubber floor mats with trees molded into them? Still, this is more of a utilitarian cabin than a space for experimental forms, which makes the enormous drive mode commander in the center console seem unnecessary. Cram it full of whatever you like, the rock-solid build quality gives you confidence that the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition can handle it.
How Does It Drive?
Toyota is a master at nailing a mass-market briefing, and the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition drives exactly how you’d expect it to drive. Think compliant ride quality, light steering, some modicum of acceleration, and reasonably low road noise. Not enthusiast-oriented in the slightest, but that’s not the goal here. This family ride doesn’t shrink around you on a short on-ramp, but it doesn’t feel like captaining the Ever Given through the Suez Canal. It’s a compact crossover that, for the most part, drives like a textbook example of the breed. The suspension package is particularly impressive, as body control is substantially tighter than on the Hybrid SE trim, but potholes never feel like they go all the way down to the core of the Earth.
Of course, motivation deviates from the norm, for under the skin sits a series-parallel hybrid powertrain that gets the job done reasonably well. With a little bit of a downward slope, you can cruise on electric power alone at highway speeds, and silently exit residential areas, earning kudos from the neighbors. You do feel the handoff between engine and battery power, although it’s subtle, like a single downshift in an older six-speed automatic transmission instead of a cast iron bathtub being dropped out of a tenth-story window. The result is that everything feels natural, until you fill up with fuel. Even in cold weather and on aggressive Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 winter tires, my test car averaged 32 mpg (7.3 L/100km) over a week of driving, and although that’s not quite the 37 mpg promised by the EPA’s figures, it’s not half bad considering the circumstances.
Mind you, there are two operating quirks to keep an eye on. On winter tires, torque steer is fierce for the segment. If you ever need to open the taps all the way, keep a tight grip on the helm. Also, although the blending between regenerative braking and actual hydraulic braking is — there’s no other word for it — perfect, brake pedal modulation is a game of estimation. Between soggy pedal feel and non-linear bite, even slowing to a stop at a red light can occasionally feel like a trust game. If that’s the price to pay for above-average fuel economy, that’s certainly not the worst tradeoff in the world.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
The RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition may be a mid-range trim, but it still gets wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a fast eight-inch infotainment touchscreen, automatic climate control, a solid backup camera, LED headlights, a gaggle of USB ports, and even a two-pin household socket in the cargo area for charging larger electronics. Heated front seats and a heated steering wheel are optional on American examples and standard on Canadian Woodland Edition RAV4s, and they do the job alright. Heated cloth beats heated leather any day of the week, although Canadian cars beat American cars when it comes to sunshine, as a moonroof is only available north of the border. C’est la vie.
Three Things To Know About The 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition:
- Green with bronze wheels really scratches the itch.
- It has the most whimsical floor mats of any new vehicle sold in America.
- As ever, your mileage may vary.
Does It Fulfill Its Purpose?
The 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition doesn’t just fulfill its purpose, it fulfills its purpose better than anything else out there. If you want a mobile catch-all crossover for life in your 30s that’s sensible, pragmatic, has a mildly rugged appearance, and sports a hybrid powertrain, this is it. Sure, you could sacrifice electrification and go for a Ford Bronco Sport or a Subaru Forester Wilderness, but there’s just something reassuring about a RAV4.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition?
For families with matching Merrell boots and no time for foolishness, the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition is all that and a bag of chips.
(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)
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Honestly, the Rav4 hybrid is about as close to the hybrid station wagon I actually want that currently exists in the market.
My coworker’s 2015 Rav4 engine has to be replaced at 90,000 miles. Is this the same 2.5l or were there changes made after thqt MY?
It’s nice to read reviews and comments of people actually praising these things instead of every other car “enthusiast” shaming those who want a nice all-rounder vehicle (bonus points for Ontario also).
I’ll keep saying it: my CRV has been better than any sedan, wagon or hatch I’ve owned. It has the best all of them combined into 1 and when you can only afford 1 vehicle, these types of vehicles are a no-brainer.
I wear LL Bean and have an Android Pixel, but otherwise I can’t really argue with this review. Would like to try it myself to see how the TRD suspension is different then my Limited ed., but otherwise the RAV4-H is the best car I’ve ever owned.
I like all the features and specs of the RAV, I even thought of trading my T4R for they hybrid version when gas was 5 bucks/gal. I thought about it, watched a bunch of reviews, then concluded I had zero excitement about owning a RAV4.
As Clarkson would say, just look at it! The proportions are so odd, why is the nose so long?? This is desperately in need of a redesign. Hopefully one is around the corner, and they just make it look like a mini 4Runner (and I suppose the 4Runner will look like a mini Sequoia, which is not a bad thing).
I will say though, on this particular model, the green paint if flippin’ FANTASTIC. I love that jade green that Toyota has been doing since the 90’s. This looks more Army Green, but still a solid color choice.
The Rav4 hybrid has one flaw, particularly for drivers switching from a Subaru. The eAWD means the rear wheels are only electrically driven, not mechanically driven. When you go into a corner on a slippery surface, the rear power has a tendency to surge on and make the car feel unpredictable. I’ve had two friends who switched from Outbacks put their Rav4s into a field during the first winter of ownership.
Love the green paint, hate the bronze wheels. I’m not a WRX bro, so lose those.
Last year I waited for 4 months to buy my wife’s new Corolla Cross because that’s how long it took to get it in Cypress green. It doesn’t seem to be an exact match to the woodland green but darn close.
That 32mpg seems low. The hybrid SE / XSE (aka “sport”) gets like 38 on the highway and 40 in town. Do the tires make that big of a difference, or is it compounded by little aero differences like the mudflaps?
Both are factors, and the EPA ratings were likely made on less aggressive tires than these Blizzaks.
Now in my late 30s, I can’t argue with any of the points made – we bought a 2020 RAV4 Hybrid XLE this past fall to be our household “backbone” vehicle considering prior to the Toyota our two cars had a combined age of 38 years
As the non-Woodland hybrid with more eco focused tires, our mileage is more in the 35 – 40mpg range and likely to increase as weather warms up. We would absolutely love that Woodland green paint though. It is the most well-rounded vehicle I’ve ever had and was a purchase 100% based on having a sensible daily for hopefully many years. If I want more excitement I’ve several motorcycles in the garage, otherwise gimme the transportation appliance!
Thank you for always including the price in CAD. I really appreciate you thinking of your fellow Canadians
You could sell a whole slew of Rav4s with that opening monologue…
Honestly, it’s a silly trim/equipment combo for something like this, but hey, it looks pretty good. I’m not going to be negative about any practical green car. And those wheels are a bit of fun without going full tacky (and they aren’t black!).
I will say this, that rear cargo mat is corny as hell (and impractical, those trees look like they’re going to hold onto crap and not let go) and the woodland trim being commemorated with a damn sticker is… sad.
The intro to this article could have been edgy and snarky and depressing, yet it wasn’t and instead it was wholesome and uplifting, while at the same time sporting a wry grin I imagine is permanently attached to Thomas’s face. Well done.
I actually, I love, love, love, everything about this. The colors, the interior, the wheels, etc. I’m pretty sure I’ve already reached my health insurance deductible for the year and can seek counseling tomorrow without breaking my bank. Never dreamed I’d love a CUV like this one
What’s wrong with wanting a car, any car?
I always thought this gen Rav4 had the nicest Toyota interior.
Do you need to buy a different version for the desert? What about grasslands? Will it even still work if there aren’t any trees around?!
It feeds on trees like a Mustang feeds on pedestrians.
It works, but outside its favored terrain it loses the ability to add its proficiency bonus to Athletics and Animal Handling checks.
My review:
Pro: Color, wheels, economy
Con: looks from headlights forward, eCVT
Neutral: everything else
Tell me you’ve never driven a Toyota eCVT without telling me etc, etc. eCVTs are excellent and arguably the best transmission you can get for a hybrid. They’re nothing like a belt-driven CVT.
Warning: Rant – I’ve driven and been driven in my mom’s TRD of the same gen. It’s about as dull as you think but actually bad in some unexpected areas. The low roofline combined with the high seats necessitate ducking to get into the front seats, regardless of how tall you are. I think it averages about 32 mpg with all-terrain tires in eco mode so what is even the point of this hybrid? I don’t expect heart-stopping acceleration but there’s about a 2 second delay between putting your foot down and the car actually accelerating to merge on to a short on-ramp. I have been genuinely worried I’d get run off the road from a semi because I wasn’t able to accelerate fast enough. The noise and kick-down from the CVT is genuinely jarring and unpleasant. I don’t believe 32 mpg from a hybrid in 2024 is good at all.
In short – buy a Mazda if you want a reliable Japanese daily or buy a Bronco sport if you want to do some soft-roading.
And if you’re tall and have to put the seat all the way back, there is a bar going across the interior ceiling that takes away a couple of inches of headroom. No est bueno!
Yes, other reviews I’ve read confirm that the RAV4 is smaller on the inside compared to competitors that are the same size on the outside.
The TRD is similar to the Woodland edition in that it has extra drag inducing add-ons along with draggier wheels and A/T tires stock. If the tires were not stock, they may have worse rolling resistance since the aftermarket doesn’t worry about fuel economy much. All these factors contribute to the worse fuel economy, especially if you drive over 60mph often. Eco mode doesn’t do much except delay throttle response, so that’d explain your on ramp issues. The car might’ve also been in a low battery SoC state by chance, further compounding the acceleration response issues.
My mom’s TRD is the non-hybrid and it’s getting the same MPG as the hybrid in this review so that’s where my questioning came from. Why pay more for the hybrid if you’re getting the same economy? I worded the rhetorical poorly. It has the factory A/T tires and wheels.
I understand the purpose and function of eco mode but it’s done so poorly compared to other cars I’ve driven in eco mode. When you step on the gas in other cars, the acceleration is slower than other drvie modes but it still gives an immediate reaction. The Rav has a lag where literally nothing happens, and then the engine revs, and then the car go faster. The disconnect between input and effect is disorienting.
The point of buying the hybrid is that it is easier to consistently get good mileage regardless of the type of driving you are doing. Additionally, those who drive consistently on hills or surface streets rather than on the freeway will see much better mpg for the hybrid than the non-hybrid. Also, the hybrid has more overall horsepower and greater acceleration.
The fact that your Mom’s TRD got similar mileage to the hybrid in this review does not tell us a lot of things. We don’t know how much the winter tires on the RAV4 in this review affected that number. We also don’t know how cold it was, or the percentage of city/highway driving that was done for the review car compared to the type of driving you do. So you’re comparing apples to oranges.
I saw the Falken A/Ts and TRD suspension mentioned as standard on this trim and wrote many words saying how similar they, in fact, were. Then I fact-checked myself and saw that this test was done on Blizzaks. ::facepalm::
I still stand by the fact that the car is not competitive against its rivals, despite being a “good” product in itself.
Why only own 20% of Subaru? When you can become Subaru!
A better Subaru.
Slap 7 stars on the badge and you’ve got yourself a sale
We can’t offer you a Subaru but we can offer you a RAV4 badged as a Suzuki in the U.K.: https://cars.suzuki.co.uk/new-cars/across/
That color combo is making me think this could potentially be a RAV4 I could be happy owning. Usually my barrier with crossovers is that if I walked out to my parking lot and saw it there I wouldn’t feel happy, but that’s some good paint.
That said, my freakish body and Toyota packaging are frequently at odds. May this model set a trend.
Sit in one before you commit. The seats are so far forward and tall that I have to duck to get in and I’m under 5’6″.
Last time I was in a RAV4 it was an Uber and there wasn’t anywhere for my feet to go in the back. But I haven’t driven one in ages.
That doesn’t ring true to me at all. I’m a solid 6′ even, 220, and it’s not like that unless my wife left the seat adjusted high and forward. Plenty of room for adjustment back and down.
Could be the specific seats on the one I’ve driven. All the more reason to sit in one.
Possibly because the people in the target market for this are unlikely to use paper maps.
An iPad will metaphorically drown in a pocket that is large enough for a gazetteer, but if the pocket is tablet-sized the gazetteer will not fit in a reasonable way. Eventually all seat-back pockets will start to look tatty anyway, so I get why Toyota didn’t include it.
I have a 2020 Rav4 Hybrid that is my wife’s car (but I drive it every day to save fuel). To sum it up it’s basically a tall Prius with AWD and a bit more spacious an interior.
Pros
Cons
Would the engine sound better if you know it achieves 41% thermal efficiency (best you can buy)?
It’s efficient but unfortunately obnoxious sounding under load
There’s something to be said for total anonymity.
This is correct. Unfortunately when I see like 100 of them out in the wild in a few months I’m sure it’ll be just another RAV4 but on it’s own damn does it look good. Even without the bronze wheels the green is a good green. It looks a bit darker than the Corolla Cross green. I’m not in the market for a CUV but if I was I’d get one of those two options in green.
And I just realized why I like it so much. I had a 94 Camry in dark green and this is making me think back to the freedom that car gave me when I was but a wee teen.
My co-worker bought a new Camry in 1992 in that beautiful dark green, and man did I admire that car. That iteration (V30) is still the best Camry IMO, because it set a new standard in terms of features & style, and blew the competition away (including that year’s dull Accord). Every Camry since then has basically been a phoned-in copy that does nothing better than any competitor.
Pretty much. I loved my 94 even though it was beat to shit before I got it. I still miss it. It also started my obsession with sunroofs. I can’t get a car without one ever since.
While I have been dismissive of appliances, I drove a 15yo 92 Camry 9 hours to Rochester & back, and must admit that it was damned competent. As it was gold, I kept the headlights on at all times, but otherwise it ate miles comfortably. Even was able to come through when I suddenly realized I needed to be 5 lanes over just outside NYC in heavy traffic. Fairly easy to work on as well: I did 3 timing belts before my boss sold it somewhere around 330k miles. Had it been a manual, I would have bought it.
We had a 1992 Camry Wagon (also in dark green) for the whole family. The best feature was that the 3rd row seats sat facing backwards (and that it was mostly indestructible). That was such a great car. Also the reason why my family pretty much has only had Toyotas since then.
Gold/bronze wheels, I am not sure how I feel about that. Is it the new color of the pretend off-road trims now?
It’s about 10000% better than black though. Probably more.
it goes with dark green like an eddie bauer ford bronco.
Which is a fantastic combo ????
it seemed cool back in the 80-90s and was at least not white, black or grey.
Enough with the black wheels. I thought that “trend” was over a decade ago, but here I am shopping for cars and keep seeing black wheels that look terrible.
Back in the ’90s/early ’00s, they were big on Jeep Cherokees/Grand Cherokees. My father owned them in every color with the bronze wheels. It’s a surprisingly nice look with a black body too.
I had factory gold rim on a 95 forest green grand cherokee.
With the snowflake wheels, right? Good looking, and I’ve noticed Jeep has produced a contemporary version of them of late.
yep gold snowflake.
I painted snow tire steelies bronze. For a RAV4, ironically enough. It’s blue but it works. Although seeing a RAV4 on 225/75-16 balloons of snow tires is a bit goofy. Whatever, sidewall is good in the winter and AWD plus snow tires means it’s a beast up through about 8″ of unplowed snow.
I’m enjoying that mental picture.
Enjoy your ride—and, if you’re gonna be goofy, lean into it! 🙂
It makes me smile when I see it. And it kinda has the capability to back up the look.
They’ve been popular on Subarus for years now
Wow this color scheme looks really, really nice. And kudos to the Sweet Disposition reference, it’s in my head now which isn’t a bad thing at all.