Toyota RAV4 long-term test

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 2988 List price £49,245 Best price £45,595 Price as tested £49,530 Private price now £40,900 Dealer price now £38,947 Test economy 48.9mpg Official economy 282.5mpg Running costs (excl. depreciation) Fuel £336.10

19 November 2025 – The family friend

It’s rare that the whole family can agree on something. For example, when we’re settling in for a film night, the kids would rather watch something explode in CGI, whereas my girlfriend and I would like some real crime drama. Or if we’re picking a snack, the adults would rather plumb for savoury than sweet. But one thing we all agree on is that the Toyota RAV4 which has been our runabout for the past few months has been brilliant.

For one thing, it’s helped my bank balance. We don’t have access to a charging point at home – unless I want to dangle an extension cord over the balcony, which is ill advised – which meant I was regularly on the look-out for any available charging points. And plugging in my car whenever I could means my average fuel economy has steadily risen to around the 50mpg mark. While that’s a long way short of the official figure, it’s far better than the petrol-engined Cupra Formentor I ran previously. 

I liked that I could get up to motorway speeds on electric power alone, and that when I put my foot down, the response was immediate and peppy. This was also true when I was travelling on petrol power, or a mixture of the two sources, but one thing I won’t miss was how loud the engine became when I asked for a spurt of speed. This is because of the RAV4’s CVT automatic gearbox, and the issue of noise when accelerating is hardly one that’s limited to the Toyota, but it was one of our few issues with the car.

Another was the infotainment system, which lacked the crisp graphics and user-friendly interface of most other family SUVs. There were times when the system wouldn’t connect to my phone, too, and on more than one occasion I received an error message about a failed software update. Still, there were parts of the system which I appreciated, including a widget to show you exactly where your power was coming from, be it the battery, the engine or both. This was useful when explaining to other people – including my mother – what a plug-in hybrid was and how it worked.

I didn’t see much difference between the RAV4’s various driving modes, with the dial to turn the car from Normal to Sport or the off-road geared Trail mode yielding very little difference beyond changing the background colour of the digital instruments.

I never had any complaints about the space the RAV4 offers. When we de-camped to the Norfolk coast for a family holiday back in the summer, the Toyota swallowed all of our luggage – plus the scooters the kids insisted on bringing, and the fan I swore we’d make use of but never did. And whereas the same trip in the Formentor resulted in the kids being hemmed into the back seats by blankets, towels and other soft bags, in the RAV4 they were able to relax in palatial comfort.

They were able to stay connected, too, because the Toyota has dual USB-C charging points for the back row, alongside a wireless charging pad and more USB-C chargers for the front. And that ensured that nobody ran out of juice.

The RAV4 was the first car I’ve ever fitted IsoFix child car seats into, and, once I’d figured out the seats themselves, inserting them into the Toyota was easy. I thought it was useful that while some cars have pop-out pieces in the seat which you need to remove in order to see the IsoFix mounting behind, the RAV4 has a handy flap instead.

I made good use of the RAV4’s adaptive cruise control setup on long motorway trips, and I enjoyed that I could adjust the driver assistance settings using proper physical controls on the steering wheel. Speaking of controls, the chunky dials to adjust the temperature on the RAV4’s centre console are something I’ll miss – they’re a small addition, but are so much easier to use than prodding a touchscreen, especially on the move.

If I were to have my time with the RAV4 again, I’d probably stick with entry-level Design trim – it’s cheaper than my GR Sport model, yet still comes with all of the features I used most, including the heated seats which have become useful as the weather has gotten colder. 

The RAV4 succeeded in its brief as a family SUV, then, providing practical transport for every situation, as well as helping to keep my fuel bills in check. As an extension to my family, it was invaluable – and that too is something we all agree on.

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