Toyota RAV4 long-term test: report 5

The car Toyota RAV4 PHEV GR Sport Bi-Tone Run by Darren Moss, deputy editor

Why it’s here To show that plug-in hybrid power makes sense for a growing family, even when you can’t charge up at home

Needs to Provide comfortable family transport, lots of space for luggage, and keep fuel costs minimal

Mileage 2566 List price £49,245 Best price £45,595 Price as tested £49,530 Test economy 48.9mpg Official economy 282.5mpg

9 November 2025 – There and back again

There are surely better ways to spend a Saturday, but if you happen to be faced with a 320-mile round trip to deliver the kids to Nanny’s house for a half-term holiday, then I wager that my Toyota RAV4 is a good place to spend the day.

Leaving London in the early morning autumn mist, we blasted away the cobwebs with my car’s nine-speaker JBL stereo. This is an upgrade on the six-speaker setup fitted to non GR-Sport models, and while our music choice was limited to whatever our seven-year-old DJ fancied, the sound quality was impressive. And that’s just as well because, as I’ve noted previously, the RAV4 is louder at motorway speeds than most other family SUVs, so you’re likely to have the volume turned up.

The kids were also happy, because they could keep their devices topped up using the pair of USB-C charging ports in the back of the centre console. And since the RAV4’s centre seat also folds down to become an armrest with two additional cup holders – something you only get on GR Sport models – they’ve got somewhere to put their drinks bottles too. It's clearly a comfortable place to be, since both kids have no trouble in falling asleep in the car.

Leaving Stoke-on-Trent for the return leg in the evening, the weather had turned very autumnal, with rain and wind lashing the car on the motorway. I was grateful for the RAV4’s head-up display, which is both bright and puts the most useful information right into my eyeline, meaning I didn’t have to take my eyes off the road. I was also grateful for the RAV4’s standard-fit LED headlights and rain-sensing wipers.

Now call me pedantic if you like, but while I like that the RAV4’s heated seats are controlled with a physical switch rather than via the touchscreen, I do wish they had more than two settings. The low offering feels barely warm enough to register, while the higher setting is uncomfortably hot – in most rivals, there’s a third middle-ground option which I find myself missing in the Toyota. At least the one-option heated steering wheel is a good temperature, and we made use of it on the long drive back to London.

The RAV4 handled the journey with ease, keeping us comfortable and returning decent fuel economy to boot, despite spending much of the time on petrol rather than electric power. It’s not quite Nanny, but our Toyota feels like an extra member of the family.

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