When Toyota invited us to its North American headquarters for an event this week that included the global reveal of a new product, those of us that cover this industry began discussing what we would see. The consensus quickly became that it would be a new RAV4 since the current fifth-generation model is the oldest remaining product in the current lineup. Well, our speculations were correct, and the sixth-generation model is here and it’s 100% electrified, but that doesn’t mean it’s electric
It’s no secret that at the highest levels of the company, Toyota hasn’t been a fan of battery electric vehicles. The pioneer of modern hybrids Toyota has spent a lot of time over the several years talking up the concept of the 1:6:90 rule. The premise is that with the materials required to build one EV battery, you can build 6 plug-in hybrids or 90 conventional hybrids.
Consider the 30% reduction in fuel consumption between a gas and hybrid 2025 RAV4 and the corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions. Replacing 3.5 gas RAV4s with hybrids would have the same impact as a single EV equivalent. The 90 hybrids that could theoretically be produced with the materials from one EV would have a similar environmental impact of more than 25 EVs. In reality, the battery size ratio between the 74.7-kWh 2026 bZ and the 1.5-kWh hybrid battery is about 50:1. But that’s still about the equivalent of 14 bZs if the battery materials from 1 bZ were used to make RAV4 hybrids.
To their credit, Toyota has demonstrated true commitment to hybridization. They now offer electrified options in every single model line across both the Toyota and Lexus brands. The system in their longitudinal engine trucks and SUVs aren’t terribly efficient, being biased toward power instead. But the transverse engine systems remain among the most efficient in their respective vehicle segments. Indeed, many Toyota models are now exclusively available with hybrid powertrains including the Sequoia, Sienna and Camry.
Motors Everywhere
Thus it should come as no surprise that the 2026 RAV4 is exclusively propelled by hybrid powertrains, either with or without a plug. This is the first application of the fifth-generation Toyota Hybrid Drive system on an SUV or crossover. This is the latest evolution of the classic Toyota power-split hybrid architecture that we’ve had since the original Prius launched in Japan in 1997.
There are two motor-generator units with one primarily providing propulsion and the other acting as a variable ground for a planetary gear set. That gear set coupled with the motor is what provides the electronic CVT capability that has been a staple of Toyota and other hybrids for decades. In recent years, Toyota has launched two other hybrid systems, the Hybrid Max that’s on a variety of transverse engine applications like the Crown and Lexus RX, and i-Force Max which is on the body-on-frame trucks and SUVs. Both of these utilize conventional step ratio transmissions and provide better performance at the expense of the amazing fuel efficiency of the classic system. The RAV4 doesn’t get either of the Max hybrids.
As on the previous generation, both the HEV and PHEV versions of the RAV4 use an Atkinson cycle 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. The Atkinson cycle uses a shorter effective compression stroke than intake stroke and is significantly more efficient than an Otto cycle and has been used since the original Prius. The electric drive with its instant torque makes up for the lower torque output of the Atkinson. All we know so far about the battery is that it’s lithium ion but we expect it to be about the same 1.5-kWh capacity for the hybrid.
Previous generation RAV4 hybrids have only been offered with all-wheel-drive with an electrically driven rear axle. Since there won’t be a gas-only variant available going forward, a front-wheel-drive RAV4 hybrid will now be offered. The front drive hybrid will have a total power output of 226-hp compared to 203-hp for the previous gas model but with a bit more weight, the performance should be about the same. Opting for the AWD hybrid bumps that output up to 236-hp.
The PHEV gets a variety of upgrades as well for 2026. Toyota hasn’t revealed the capacity of the battery yet, but presumably it’s going to be a bit more than 18.1-kWh in the previous edition, probably about 21-22-kWh. The electric driving range is increasing from the current EPA-rated 42 miles on a charge to about 50 miles, making it even more useful for driving around in electric mode. The PHEV is again only offered with all-wheel-drive and the power goes from an already impressive 302-hp to 320-hp.
Aiding the performance and efficiency of the PHEV is the adoption of silicon-carbide in place of the silicon chips in the inverter which may well be a first in a PHEV. Until now, SiC power electronics have been mostly used in 800V battery electric vehicles like Hyundai’s E-GMP platform. The RAV4 PHEV also adds DC fast charging capability for the first time on the Woodland and XSE trims. Toyota hasn’t said what the charging speed will be, but it’s probably about 50-75 kW given the quoted 10-80% charging time of 30 minutes.
Interestingly, Toyota is sticking with a CCS charging port on the RAV4 PHEV despite introducing three BEVs last week with NACS/J3400 charging ports. This is probably due to the relative prevalence of J1772 AC chargers in public parking areas that are backward compatible with CCS. The SE and GR-Sport trims make do with J1772 and AC charging only. AC charging will be nearly twice as fast as the previous generation thanks to an 11-kW on-board charger in place of the 6.6-kW unit used previously.
Variations on a Theme
For 2026, the RAV4 is being offered in seven different trims across three main design themes, Core, Rugged and Sport. The LE, XLE and Limited trims all fall within the Core grouping and are hybrid only. The SE, XSE and new GR-Sport as expected fall into the Sport group and of course the Woodland is the Rugged version and each is available as an HEV or PHEV except for the GR-Sport that is a PHEV exclusive.
While no sheetmetal is carried over from the previous generation, Toyota has retained a similar overall approach to the design with a generally boxy, rugged kind of look and lots of chiseled creases in the sheetmetal. Fans of the current generation probably won’t be too shocked when they see the 2026 model. The biggest visual differences among the three main themes is in the front fascia. All get a crisper variation of the “hammerhead” front lighting theme first seen on the current Prius but with the headlamp between the outer ends of the horizontal running lamps rather than below.
The core trims feature an upper grille comprised of a body-color hexagonal mesh, similar to the Crown Signia and Camry.
As the more off-roady version, the Woodland gets a lift with more ground clearance, but Toyota hasn’t provided specific details yet. The grille is more blocky and features a molding at the bottom edge that is painted silver to look roughly like a skid plate, but beware, because it’s not protective.
The GR-Sport is a new trim which has had some suspension tuning input from the Gazoo Racing engineers including wider, summer performance tires and reinforcements to improve structural rigidity. There’s a large, open, GR matrix grille that implies this one needs more breathing capacity, even though it probably doesn’t. More aggressive front and rear spoilers also set it apart visually from lesser trim levels as do the gloss black wheel arch extensions rather than the flat black parts on the other trims.
Remarkably, the RAV4 has not grown from the previous generation. The core models have the same length, wheelbase and width at 180.9-inches, 105.9-inches and 73-inches respectively. The Rugged and Sport variants are 1 inch wider, while the Woodland is also 0.9 inches longer.
De Rigueur New Tech
It’s 2025 so a bunch of new tech is obviously required in the RAV4. That starts with the first production application of the Arene OS developed within Toyota’s Woven Group. Again, Toyota hasn’t provided us with much detail yet about the electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture, but we assume it has moved toward at least a domain layout if not a more centralized compute architecture. Traditional E/E architectures have discrete electronic control units for each function, for example, blindspot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and stability control. In a domain controller layout, all of these might be consolidated in a single ECU with a more powerful system on a chip. The total number of ECUs is likely reduced but not yet down to a completely centralized architecture.
Arene is designed to provide abstraction between the application layer of software and the underlying hardware. Instead of applications calling sensors and actuators directly, they call application programming interfaces (APIs) that then talk to the hardware. This allows the applications and hardware to be updated asynchronously so that each can be improved over the life of the vehicle. We don’t know how far Toyota is taking this with the RAV4, but it could potentially be classed as a software-defined vehicle if they have implemented features like over-the-air updates.
The RAV4 also gets a new version of the Toyota Multimedia system that’s enabled by Arene. It will support wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto and even when the projection systems are in use, a home button that takes you back to the embedded system will be visible. On most vehicles, it takes a couple of taps of the screen to get to an app drawer before a home button is visible. The built-in digital voice assistant is claimed to be improved with faster responses and improved accuracy, but we’ll have to wait to really judge that When using the native map and navigation system, the maps can now be displayed in the instrument cluster, much as they are with Android Automotive systems with Google Services.
The central content is displayed on one of two screen sizes, a base 10.5-inch touchscreen or an optional 12.9-inch display while a 12.3-inch digital cluster is standard across the board. The Limited and XSE are also available with a heads-up display. Unfortunately, Toyota has opted for digital climate controls that are now on the touchscreen, but at least they are constantly displayed across the bottom of the display. Still, physical climate controls are always superior and at there is at least a row of buttons to adjust temperature and turn on defrosters as well as a volume knob. Thankfully, the vents remain fully manually controlled. Depending on the trim, the seats are covered in either fabric or Toyota’s synthetic leather that’s called Softex.
For many years now, Toyota has made a comprehensive suite of advanced driver assist systems standard equipment on all new models and the 2026 RAV4 is the first to get Toyota Safety Sense 4.0. Like the multimedia system, the ADAS applications are running on the Arene platform and are claimed to have updated hardware and perception software. Beyond that, Toyota isn’t revealing other details until closer to launch.
Speaking of launch, Toyota is equally vague with no pricing and only a later this year timing. Overall, the RAV4 appears to be a notable step forward for the brand’s best-selling nameplate in North America and its second-best seller globally behind the Corolla.
Sad they put climate control on the screen in the new RAV4, but they still use buttons in the Gen 5 Prius.
Unacceptable. Hazardous to use while driving. Will not buy.

(Not in the market, but I will likely NEVER buy this year’s car.)
Summer tires, for at least half of the country, are such a bad idea. You either have to swap them twice a year, or leave it parked. I cannot see a crossover getting enough benefit from them to justify all this work. And will dealers inform the customer of the limitations. Will they inform them that they shouldn’t be driven on below ~40 F? Doubtful.
Going through the article and looking at the pictures, I was kind of, eh, not ugly. Until the last one.
That last photo alone was, I’m so glad I have a <65K mile Honda Accord V6 that will probably outlive me.
I love the idea of a well-done PHEV, and I have a garage I could charge it in, but I just can’t make an economic or vehicle dynamics case for it over what I have now.
Terrible and tragic news for Jason and all the other taillight fetishists!!!
The rear turn signals on the new RAV4 are not amber. Check out this video… Not only are they red but they appear to share the same LED elements as the brake light. Yet another car succumbing to lazy engineering and cost cutting.
An amber version obviously exists since the RAV4 is sold worldwide, and what makes this even worse is no RAV4 before this ever used this dumbed down design. Going back to the first gen they have always had amber turn signals, with the exception of some second gens (that at least still used a separate bulb for the brakes!).
In fact, Toyota didn’t sell any cars with a cheap combined signal/brake for several decades, until the final gen Avalon came out if I’m not mistaken. Imagine if the brand new RAV4 had a carbureted engine, four wheel drum brakes, and no airbags. Not only would no one buy it but it couldn’t even be sold legally. But somehow tail lights with a design obsolete for decades are just fine.
Worst of all these things will be absolutely everywhere, because it’s a RAV4, and 99% of the car buying public doesn’t know they’re getting a less safe product. It’s just a shame. For a few years now the BBL (blinking brake light) has been spreading like a cancer throughout Toyota’s once proudly amber lineup. Corolla Cross, Grand Highlander, Crown, Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, Supra, 4Runner, and maybe more have all gone BBL and I’m not here for it. There will be NO fake ass on my automobile, thank you very much.
Congrats if you made it all the way to the end of my unhinged rant. Yes, I am crazy, and I hope you learned something today. Amber turn signals save lives people!!!
So new all hybrid Corolla when? Next year?
Please Toyota: Give us a pickup version of the Rav-4. Make it look like a mini-Tacoma. Give it a 4k tow rating and a usable payload. Give it some sort of rear locker and offroad version. I want a Toyota Maverick (and 100% trade mine in for one).
These Toyota reveal vids were all over my YT algo last night. I had a feeling Id read about it here today. The rear spoiler on the GR trim is very 90s Japan
Important question from someone who won’t buy one: How much of the brake light illuminates when braking?
Because the three LEDs that light up on the current one are NOT ENOUGH.
No kidding — they are simultaneously way too small and way too sharp. I’m not sure whose idea that was, but it’s horrid.
This! Not a fan of being behind them in traffic. It’s way too concentrated of a light source and also looks dumb.
But does it have the big bar across the interior ceiling riiiiiight where my head goes?
At some point, my wife will want a new car, and the RAV4 will probably be on the list.
So much this. I sat in a current gen Rav4 at the dealer recently and that bar completely wrecked the front headroom.
They need to raise the hood higher yet and add moar shiny black plastic…
Last fall I had the old XJ Jeep out, which is lifted about 4″ higher than stock, and was parked next to a current gen Rav4. The hoods were the same height. I really wonder if the high hood heights currently used are actually necessary, or just to try to look tough.
The first time I saw that Woodland variant, my first thought was “I thought we already saw the new Forester Wilderness launch” because it’s basically a twin.
I’m a big fan of hybrids and think they should be the base offering but there is more to emissions than just CO2. Replacing a gas RAV4 with a hybrid does little to reduce the CO, NOx, HC, and PM that cars put out every mile they drive (and every day they sit leaking HC into the air)
these ugly mfs will be everywhere soon….
Damn, that GR front is ugly. How many people buying that are going to replace the expensive and short-life tires on their kid schlepper with like tires? Without sticky tires doing most of the work, I would be quite surprised if it can handle much beyond the threshold it takes to scare your anxious grandmother who never got her license (that’s actually my grandmother I’m thinking of, though she’s long dead so I imagine that not much scares her anymore). There’s more to fun than some tires and stiffening that 99% of owners will never notice and I have little faith that Toyota can imbue this thing with feel and character, but all that matters is that it makes money, I guess. Still, I suppose it’s better looking than the current one and the trim with the painted grille looks downright generifine.
It’s a GR Sport trim, not a full GR. It’s literally just supposed to add some flavor to a family crossover and since the PHEV powertrain is already quick (the current prime hits 60 in 5.5 seconds which is about the same as a GTI) all it really needs is the extra handling goodies and better tires. It also has beefier brakes, which isn’t mentioned in this article.
It’s not that deep. It’s not a full GR/track car. I have no idea why people across the internet are kvetching about it to be honest. If you want an enthusiast car around the same price or less the GR Corolla and GR86 are literally in the same showroom. This is just for people that want a little more out of their family car. It’s the same reason the CX5 and CX50 turbos exists and everyone praises those.
That’s why it’s so stupid. Summer tires for a kid-schlepper with a trim package? It would make some sense if it was (somehow) a track car. As it is, this is just going to annoy a lot of unsuspecting owners who just wanted a butchier look that soon have to replace their expensive tires for wear or because they’ve discovered how poorly those tires like cold snaps, heavy rain, etc. I have a GR86 and as the most disappointing things about it are the parts Toyota touched (clutch is definitely a traditional Toyota feel and the throttle calibration is horrible, front-loaded stupidity for a “track” car where one would think being able to use full throttle travel to fine-tune input would make more sense), I would not trust Toyota to give this thing anymore personality than the standard RAV4, so the tires are a dumb spec and a waste on what’s essentially a trim option.
To be fair good summer tires will wipe the floor with all seasons in the rain.
I don’t know about regular AS as I haven’t bought any in close to 30 years (I think the terrible Primacies that came on the ’86 were technically HPAS, though they behaved more like an early eco tire and they were so awful that I consider them an aberration and I certainly didn’t spec them) and those were for a car for which there is no real modern analog (Bridgestone Insignia, IIRC, on an ’83 Subaru GL), but that’s not been my experience comparing HPAS to summers versions of the same brands and models (Continental and General. I realize they’re the same corporation, but they are different tires.) Maybe about the same in warm and wet, but not in the cold, and the longer tread life means they resist hydroplaning for longer.
The specific comparo I have is Falken Pro G5 sport vs Bridestone Potenza Sport, so not same brand or anything.
The Potenza’s wet traction feels not far off of the Falken’s dry traction. They’re on an AWD car that when wet would easily do a 4wd burnout all the way to redline with the Falkens and now just slips clutch on the Bridestones.
There’s such a variance in brands in models and then how they are on different cars that it really is difficult to compare much of the time. Even a great site like Tire Rack might not have reviews or testing that’s a good reflection of your own car, personal preference, or driving style. In my case, I don’t track, so I don’t need massive grip and I prefer some progressive, predictable slip. I also drive a lot, so longer tread life is important, as well as good weather and temperature tolerance. But even with that, I’ve had summers that were almost HPAS in how they tolerated cold or managed an odd early light snowfall while others turned to steel in ride and grip at only 50*F (Goodyear F1s that came on my Focus ST). Then, too, the technology has changed a lot, so my experience with, say, Pirellis a few decades ago that disappointed me really isn’t relevant today. At this point, I find I really like the Continentals and Generals (C over G, but it depends on the rebates and price at the time) for how I drive, so I’ve been sticking with them for a while now, but I still check reviews in case there’s something else I might want to try. I haven’t had Bridgestones since that old Subaru, but I really liked them. A set of Falkens I had a few decades ago had a lot of grip for about 10k, then turned to hockey pucks. Or was that the Kumhos? Eh, it was so long ago that it probably doesn’t matter, anyway.
Not bad. An improvement over the profusion of spaceship creases on the previous gen.
Boxier, as expected. Also as expected, they retained the odd black molding shapes over the wheels, that will continue to make the white and light-colored cars look like there’s a big tweezer that’s shaped like one of those giant car-grabbers at a wrecking yard, trying to rip off the tires.
It looks like someone corporate insisted on applying that hideous sweep on the side panels of the Highlander and Sienna that starts at the rocker panel then blobs upward at the rear doors to then engulf the rear wheels. And thankfully they compromised and it was put in but it was allowed it to be a bit more angular. It has been bad enough looking at the plurality of cars on the street (current gen RAV4s) looking like failed spaceships for the past five years. It would be even worse having them look like the damned Highlander for the next five years.
Timing can’t be good for Subaru’s hopes for their new Forester hybrid.
Toyota owns a controlling share in Subaru and the Subaru faithful aren’t looking at Toyotas. It’s not going to be as much competition as you’d think
To quote most reviews on this site of ‘regular’ cars…it’s fine. A lot of Japanese and Korean designs are too overdone for my tastes, but this will not stop Toyota from selling a shit ton of them.
The GR Sport model looks like it took a page out of the newest Tiguan’s gaping maw visage, but the extra power is a nice addition.
This is both good and bad news.
It’s great that it’s now hybrid-only, but this will also mean a probably significant price hike. The prices of the RAV4 will surely start much higher now.
You could still get LE-trim FWD RAV4s under $30k in some cases, or the AWD one for $33k-ish.
But now the ladder will simply start higher, my guess is $35k for the FWD and $38k for the AWD.
Maybe…maybe not. Camry prices jumped about $2k for 2025 which isn’t nothing, but it’s also less than the old hybrid started at, which Toyota liked to boast. 2024 started at $26420, hybrid $28855; 2025 starts at $28.7k.
With a FWD hybrid trim added for the new RAV, I could see them making a similar claim for the new one and aim for the same or less than the outgoing hybrid, even if it isn’t a direct comparison in drivelines. Not accounting for factors like equipment changes or tariffs (some are Canadian built) of course.
FINALLY! A Rav4 that isn’t the 1st generation, and isn’t visually offensive or lacking!
I would not be ashamed to haul a family around in any of those trims. Especially the Woodland trim.
Looks a little like the Honda SM-X
https://global.honda/content/site/global-jp/news-new/pc/1996/4961118/_jcr_content/par_news-body/newscolumn/par_news-col-1/newsimage.img.jpg/1715839574596.jpg
I’m genuinely interested, since this will give me something to think about vs the CR-V I’ve been eyeing for a while. I would probably have pulled the trigger already if they had better color combos, as petty as that sounds (plus my wife lost her job in Feb, so that stings a little, too…)
I’m really getting sick of the “non-integrated screen” aesthetic that almost everyone is doing, though. Think back to the early days of screens, way back 15 years ago — the effort was usually to integrate the screen into the dash, usually with a sunshade and custom enclosure of some kind. When luxury brands started going all-in on this laptop-glued-to-dashboard approach, I thought it was just a short-lived effort to make changes with the least design effort possible. And now it’s everywhere and it still looks objectively bad (it looks subjectively horrible, but I’m trying to be inclusive here!)
I guess my layman’s mind wonders why the dashboards aren’t actually enveloping the screens a little more, rather than slapping them hastily on top of everything. It looks weird and it creates dust traps and corners to snag things and generally looks unfinished.
It may sound like minor niggles, but this is the main design element of the interior now. At least Subaru and Volvo are doing what I’m describing, probably a few others, but the overall industry theme seems to be what we’re seeing here. I’d love to hear from an ergonomics or UX specialist about whether there’s any real reason…
I’m neither a UX or ergonomics specialist, but I’m guessing “cost” is the driving factor for these tablet-slapped-on-your-dash screen designs. I also agree that it’s not attractive.
The primary design driver for the screen-on-top is ergonomics. Anything you ask a driver to look at needs to be as close to the center of the driver’s field of view as possible without blocking anything. That means it will be the highest thing on the dashboard. From that point, adding in a lot of bulk around the screen doesn’t make sense because it causes the cabin to feel more closed off.
I like this response, it’s sort of what I was thinking, but I didn’t want to answer my own question…I still feel like closing off the rear of the screen could be done without much claustrophobia, and would give a much more finished look. But we also have a lot of cars now where the screen size varies by trimline, so the semi-detached approach does give some flexibility there. 100% on the sightline comment. I don’t disagree with the more wraparound dash/screen approaches that people like Mercedes and Hyundai are doing. It’s at least cohesive and well thought-out, regardless of your opinion of screens.
You are spot on with the issues about screen sizes changing. It makes building the rest of the dash difficult if the screen is integrated. The fact that screens of various sizes and proportions are becoming more common and less expensive will undoubtedly change the design language moving forward. The single dash to the center stack screen being the most obvious change.
I think one reason is that it gives a psychological impression of roominess. With the sctreen standing forward of a general dash surface that recedes back, the thin screen registers as only a minor intrusion. Of the perimeter of the screen were melded backwards (ans especially back- and sidewards) into the dash, now the dash is taking up your passenger volume, both physically and by the way it feels.
Yep, agreed — see my reply to Ignatius directly above. The irony of claustrophobia, though, is that we’re sitting in cars with mostly high beltlines and tons of black interiors, then worrying about several cubic inches of visual intrusion 🙂
Not niggles when you are plunking down this kind of money. I’m still taken aback at how casually people spend $50K and up on car when the median household income in 2023 was about $80k.
My A4 had the vertically projecting screen and it provided a nice basically invisible place to stash the ezpass transponder – my newer A6 has it’s screens integrated into the dash and with all the additional electronics by the rearview mirror discrete mounting is not really possible.