All-new Toyota RAV4 gets the nod for South Africa

Officially shown at its annual State of the Motoring Industry (SOMI) conference yesterday, Toyota South Africa Motors also released tentative details of the incoming all-new RAV4, reports The Citizen.

Three trim levels

Revealed globally last year, the internally named XA60 or sixth generation RAV4 will have three trim levels when it goes on-sale locally; GX, VX and the first-time GR Sport.

Market unique powerplant option

Unveiled in the latter guise at the conference, the local line-up will have a choice of three powertrains, a conventional petrol, self-charging hybrid and a plug-in hybrid.

Based on speculation, the mentioned outputs could well be similar to the North American version instead of the European example, where emissions regulations resulted in decreases for both the latter pair.

As such, expect the hybrid to produce 166kW in front-wheel drive form, and 174kW in the all-wheel drive E-Four.

A unique to South Africa option, though, is the confirmation of the normally aspirated powertrain seeing as the RAV4 no longer has non-hybrid assistance in either Europe or the States.

Speculatively, this could come in the shape of the normally aspirated 2.0-litre used in its Chinese market sibling, the rebadged Wildlander.

If so, expect an output of 125kW/206Nm delivered to the front or all four wheels through a CVT.

For the plug-in hybrid, which will become a mainstream option in South Africa after an almost three-year trial period using the previous generation, a single option will be provided.

Based around the same 2.5-litre engine used in the hybrid, the unit now comes paired to a 22.7-kWh battery pack powering two electric motors.

The result is a combined 235kW, making it more powerful than both the GR Yaris and GR Corolla, and also the third generation’s 3.5-litre V6 that produced 200kW.

As in other markets, the plug-in hybrid is anticipated to be the sole option for the South African-spec GR Sport.

Fundamentals

In replacing the fifth generation, which took the accolade of the world’s best-selling vehicle in 2024, the AX60 also gains on all the respective dimensional fronts.

Using a revised version of the TNGA-K platform, the RAV4 measures 4 600 mm long, 1 680 mm tall and 1 860 mm wide. The wheelbase is 2 690 mm, and the claimed boot space, for the non-plug-in hybrid, 749-litres.

Inside

Styled to resemble the Tacoma and Camry, the redesigned interior features a 10.5-inch or optional 12.9-inch infotainment system, a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a steering wheel with physical buttons taken from the all-electric bZ4X.

Elsewhere, the redesigned centre console retains physical switchgear, however, the gear lever comes in either a traditional or toggle switch design depending on the trim level.

Dominating the Land Cruiser Prado-styled console further is a storage area that doubles up as an armrest, type-C USB ports and a wireless smartphone charging pad.

Despite the multitude of buttons, the interface for the climate control moves to the infotainment display.

Stay tuned

Set to launch within the coming months, the new RAV4 will come with a significant price premium over the outgoing model.

As such, expect pricing to possibly start around the R750 000 to R780 000 mark based on the current variant’s starting sticker of R719 800.

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