The hybrid engine is very similar to the?the?unit in the Camry, where it produces 204bhp, a 10% increase over the previous engine. In the Camry, it improves fuel consumption over its predecessor by?20-30%. This should ensure Toyota is able to claim combined consumption for the RAV4 of close to 70mpg,?with a sub-100g/km CO2 output by current means of measurement.
In the absence of any diesel model (Toyota has pledged to phase out all oil-burners before the year's close), a?second hybrid powertrain is expected to be offered after launch, but it's not yet known whether it'll be of 1.8-litre or 2.0-litre capacity. Both of those engines are offered with the recently revealed?Auris.
Compared with the current car, the upcoming RAV4 is wider and sits on a longer wheelbase to improve ride quality and interior space, but it is?both shorter and lower. The cabin has a far more luxurious feel, a raft of additional sensor and radar-based active safety systems and a bigger boot.
Whether that is enough to displace the?Qashqai as Britain’s best-selling compact SUV remains to be seen. Much will depend on Toyota’s bet that diesel will shortly cease to be a major player in the market. The brand is so set on this plan that it has ditched several diesel models in recent months, including the slow-selling Auris diesel.
Q&A Yoshikazu Saeki, Toyota RAV4 chief engineer
What was your chief priority when engineering this car?
"My biggest issue was to bring to back to being a true SUV. I want to focus on it being an SUV everyone can rely on, wherever they live, whatever the conditions they find. It may be that very few customers use it off road, but it is important to me that they know that they could and that the car would be tough and capable enough to cope with it."
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