2023 RAV4 PRIME

14v6 said:

My wife has a similar commute. Regular hybrid will save more bucks but the driving experience is different with the Prime. It's effortless. How often does he fill up now, twice a month? I think that's a lot easier than charging daily. If you keep the price around 35k for the Regular hybrid it's about 8k less than a typical Prime SE. However both of these models are NOT luxurious they are just basic which means if you go to a Limited Hybrid and an XSE Prime you're into the 40's and 50's that's pricey for put put transportation.

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My parents drive so little on top of my brothers commute, that your estimate is spot on with fueling every other week and it's only a half tank of fuel at that! Quite the contrast to my fuel every 4 work days. The hybrid was quite economical for the 3 weeks the truck was in the shop and we were all sharing one car.... but I found the ride a bit harsh for a long commute.

The cost is one of the things that have kept us from actually getting a replacement vehicle, as we would be looking for a higher trim like the Limited. With the pandemic prices, low payout on the totaled car despite low miles, and the fact that two years have passed without actually needing that 3rd vehicle...another car would just be a luxury. But as inventories recover and EV prices go down, once we're looking in the 40's-50's range... we are starting to consider skipping the hybrid or prime, spending even a bit more, and going full EV. My dad has limited diving years left and he has always been fond of electrons (as an EE), so he would probably quite enjoy owning an EV for the sake of owning an EV.

14v6 said:

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All I can say is wow.

Doesn't feel heavy

Engine never turns on less than 50 mph

Way way quicker on battery only than I could have imagine on battery only. This is very surprising. It really doesn't need the engine. I can see future designs giving a bigger battery and a smaller engine.

It does die off after 50

I'm going to get into a lot of trouble.

When everyone starts driving EV's the govt. is going to have to intervene. Folks are going to take advantage of the capabilities and do things that you think aren't possible.

If I charge this thing up I rarely go over 30 miles so it's pretty much an EV but were down to 2 cars now so it's nice to know it can operate like a regular hybrid.



Complaints:
No Home link. I think it was there in 2022.
The Matts that were port options for $309 are carpet. I'll have to go to the aftermarket for rubber ones for this climate.
Is it worth 46k sticker in today's market? Probably. I would say the regular hybrid is all you need and the gas model only for those that do lots of highway miles. Never thought I'd get a taste of this in my lifetime.

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I wish my brother could have got a Prime instead of a Hybrid - I think my and his husband's Teslas would have been less rain on his parade. A few months ago when he got his Hybrid, that's all he talked about. Now, all I hear him talk about is the Tesla - I think he's laid more claim to it than my brother-in-law.

A friend of mine recently bought a new Grand Cherokee 4xe. He said he gets about 25 miles of EV range before the gas engine starts. Based on this photo he posted, he must be charging from a potato battery - 13 hours to add 21 miles of range! How are you charging and how long does it take?

Yeah, its gloss black a bit too flashy for an older dude but the good news is I'll be able to wax right over it. A darker color would have dulled it. I could have had blue which would tone it down or red. Highlanders were discounted 4k. There are subtle differences in RAV4 trims but my favorite is the hybrid SE with the black wheels. The rear bumper has a silver insert which tones down the black gloss.

Seems like it will take 12 hours to charge from a regular outlet, even longer if the battery isn't preconditioned. It has a 6.6 kwh on board charger which used to be an upgrade. If a level 2 charger is used (which would require running stove or dryer setup from the main panel) l it would take 2.5 hours. The cable is bulky and needs to be supported at the house plug end so I'll have to fabricate something. It will take time but I want to do an experiment of driving it like a regular hybrid vs plugging in and see how the wallet feels.

Toyota updated the infotainment so it's all new but the wireless carplay makes everything familiar. Just start it up and hit spotify, love it.

Lots of little things to do.

Reduce tire pressure PDI screw up
Add body plugs (that were in glove box) PDI screw up
swap out home link mirror from daughter's RAV
swap out rubber matts from daughter's RAV
install dash cam
install EZ Pass
install wheel locks
gutter guard mod for grille
order seat covers
order console cover
order console organizer
READ the manual (multimedia is 260 pages alone)

Only have 28 miles on it but this thing matches what my perception of what an EV is while the regular Hybrid drove more like an ICE with a good amount of battery assist. It's really tough to go back I hope that they can figure this EV stuff out and make recharging as easy as filling up with the same range as gas. But the drive itself is a whole new world. It's not an evolution it's a completely different approach.

Hate to say it but the Passport feels like ancient history now, wouldn't even be a consideration anymore. Glad I waited and didn't try the turbo thing. That whole deal with engine and transmission being married to each other and calibrated incorrectly is totally bypassed with this setup of no gears, no lags, no waiting, no noise (that could be bad actually)
I powered out of a turn on a country road last night and it was impressive but that's not how a RAV should be driven. I'm gonna have fun pissing off the morons that try to cut in front of me at an exit and that's where I'm going to get in trouble. My Accord V6 was very good for that but this is levels higher. I did notice when you downshift on a hill the engine comes on and does its regen thing so it's a nice option to have in the mountains or if you want the engine on to power out of a turn.

If your thing is luxury and interiors this is not the one, its minimal. I think the only thing it has over a XLE (which is the second lowest trim) is rear seat heaters One thing I wouldn't compromise on is heated wheel which heats small sections but I could leave them on all year and watch the battery drop, love it. Bride takes it out for a drive and says "50k no leather?"

For now this is a nice place to hang out, RAV Prime kind of does a little of everything and is under the radar. I'll certainly follow if Toyota continues to improve. I've noticed that Toyota makes decent improvements in model cycles so it appears to be year 3 or 4 when there's perfection. All Primes are Japan built but at first glance I don't notice too much difference.