![]() The emissions aren’t stunningly low, but you’re driving to the future nevertheless. ![]() The top speed isn’t dramatic, but nothing was laboured. The combined system output is nearly 200bhp and it shows: overtaking, cruising, everything you’d do on a motorway was a pleasure. It feels more expensive than it is, without feeling self-defeatingly extravagant. I also found the brakes a bit wimpy, not taking much notice of a nudge, requiring more of a slam. The RAV4 Hybrid gets down the road at a quick pace, I was pleasantly surprised and when we strapped on the test gear, we got from 0-60 in 7.2 seconds. I used the horn so much that I can now do a passable impression of it, like David Attenborough and the woodpecker. The one other niggle (it applies to all hybrids but is particularly hairy in such a big one) is the constant threat from pedestrians who mainly cross roads with their ears. Maybe I sound like Baldrick but I found it a bit too compelling, following the arrows with my eyes, going “good energy usage bad energy usage”, and I didn’t always watch the road. At optimum efficiency speeds, you get little green arrows at higher speeds, red ones going the opposite way. These prices compare to 27,670 for the RAV4 all-wheel drive XLE and 32,910 for the all-wheel drive Limited edition. You probably know this, but indulge me: all Toyotas have the stop-start system, where you’re using your battery or your tank, to maintain the performance/efficiency tightrope. The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid costs 28,370 for the XLE and 33,610 for the Limited. The dash is serious-minded, and my only slight quibble is that the graphics describing your energy use are a bit distracting. (I particularly like a push-button boot closer, even though the manoeuvre this obviates – lifting your arm – is not one I ever found onerous.) The acceleration is impressive, even if you’re used to the sleek new Prius. The Rav4 is an attractive beast, high-riding and pearlised, with fancy-pants details that fetch the odd admiring glance in a supermarket car park.
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