2025 Toyota RAV4 – toyota.com | Shop 2025 Toyota RAV4 on Carsforsale.com
Five years into its 5th generation, not too much has changed with the RAV4. For 2025 Toyota has dropped the Prime badge from its PHEV lineup. Additionally, Toyota has dropped the TRD and Adventure models from the lineup this year leaving the Woodland Edition as its only off-road inspired trim.
Generally, a handsome vehicle
Decent off-road with multiple drive modes
Choice of ICE, PHEV, or Hybrid drivetrains
Poor acceleration
We miss the TRD
Expensive upper trim levels
The RAV4 leads in fuel economy and safety
If there’s one thing the auto industry is missing, it’s the variety of engine options native to one model, like older cars and trucks often have. You might not get a choice of four, six, or eight cylinders like you used to, but the RAV4 fixes this with ICE, hybrid, and PHEV options galore.
The base ICE powerplant is perfectly fine, a 2.5-liter, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine developing 203 horsepower and paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission. For your trouble, you get zero to 60 times in the low eight-second range and 27 MPG city and 35 highway for fuel economy with leeway between the front and all-wheel-drive.
The hybrid powerplant adds a couple of electric motors, a 1.6 kWh nickel-metal-hydride battery, and an eCVT pack to the party. Great for fuel economy, bringing 41 MPG in the city and 38 on the highway. But not so much for performance; we’re talking a zero to 60 sprint in the mid-sevens.
But here’s the real kicker. If you are accustomed to pokey, slow RAV4? Well, the RAV4 PHEV proves you wrong. Along with an engine tune that gives more low-end torque than the hybrid model, the RAV4 PHEV has 302 horsepower at its disposal. That works out to a scarcely believable 5.5-second zero to 60 sprint. A superior acceleration and an amazing 94 MPGe combined fuel economy? Sign us up!
With dimensions of 181x73x67 inches, the RAV4 is within the margins of competitors like the Hyundai Tuscon and Honda CR-V. With this in mind, interior space is similar between the three. Rear passengers in the RAV4 are treated to 37.8 inches of legroom, in contrast to 41.3 in the Tuscon and 41 in the CR-V. So, the Toyota is not the most spacious in the segment, but it’s hardly a GT-86 in the back, either.
Cargo space is also solid, 37.6 cubic feet with the rear seats extended and 69.8 cubic feet when they’re in the stowed position. A bit less than a CR-V, admittedly, but not so egregious that most would see it as a deterrent from purchasing a RAV4.
There’s still plenty of space to go around, plus a breadth of solid build materials. No leather seats, unfortunately, but the SofTex vegan leather native to the range is no less supple. The fabric seats with polygon patterns elsewhere in the range are definitely a throwback that we don’t mind indulging in. Add it all together, and the RAV4 is competent where it needs to be, even if it’s not a class leader in interior space.
Nearly $19,000 in options, extras, and drivetrain choices separate the base ICE-only RAV4 and the range-topping PHEV trim. In that space, you’d expect plenty of variety in the level of tech and features.
As far as center screens go, lower-trimmed RAV4s make do with an eight-inch infotainment unit with iOS and Android connectivity. You also get Toyota’s Safety Connect 4G emergency assistance feature for a staggering ten years. Right from the jump, even the base trim gets a tantalizing selection of different drive modes through the available Multi-Terrain Select feature.
A seven-inch digital gauge cluster comes standard on lower trims, in line with most new vehicles sporting screens behind the steering wheel even on lower trims. Moving up the range, you net goodies like a larger 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 10.5-inch touch screen. That’s creeping up on a 25 percent increase in center screen size over the base trim.
An 11-speaker JBL audio system should make the top end of the range feel more exciting, with USB-C connectivity up front and in the back adding to the convenience. The padded two-tone dashboard in higher trims aids in this premium feel as well.
The Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver assistants seems space age if you’re only familiar with older RAV4s. In truth, it’s about on par with the rest of the industry. But this is a very tasteful, well-thought-out set of features with lots of little things executed well. It’s about as Toyota-pilled as you can get in 2025.
The entry point to the RAV4 family, a basic screen, SofTex vegan leather seats, and a digital display cluster standard even on the base trim. Not bad for around $30 grand.
Same trims and features as the ICE LE, but with a more efficient battery-hybrid drivetrain for more power and better fuel economy.
Trim-specific 17-inch alloy wheels are the best telltale sign of a RAV4 XLE. Also, you get fabric seat coverings with funky patterns instead of SofTex.
Same trims and features as the ICE XLE, but with a more efficient battery-hybrid drivetrain for more power and better fuel economy
The mid-range of the RAV4 Hybrid line nets you a leather-wrapped steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, and a headliner trimmed in soft-touch black fabric with matching black 18-inch alloy wheels.
A funky off-road trim decked out with Falken all-terrain tires and native all-wheel drive to go along with the fabric-trimmed interior and 18-inch TRD flow-formed alloy wheels and black lug nuts.
Special 19-inch alloy wheels, the largest fitted to a 2025 RAV4, make the XLE premium stand out from the rest. You also get SofTex seats over fabric seats and the option of the larger 10.5-inch center screen and digital rearview mirror.
The exciting additions of the XLE Premium trim paired to the RAV4’s hybrid drivetrain.
The Limited Trim adds a power-tilt, one-touch moonroof, and the larger center screen as standard, along with the 11-speaker JBL sound system.
The penultimate RAV4 Hybrid trim is specked out similarly to the ICE limited trim but with the Bose sound system locked under an options package. As is The Smart Key System applied to all four doors plus the rear liftgate
The range-topping RAV4 Hybrid comes with all the bells and whistles on offer from the factory as standard, plus dark black metallic alloy wheels to distinguish it from its straight-ICE cousin.
The plug-in hybrid RAV4 is a very different beast from the rest of the range and has a price point that matches. All the goodies of the high end of the range are available to you, save for the JBL audio unit. All with a zippy 300-plus horsepower PHEV drivetrain.
Everything you have in the SE PHEV, plus an 11-speaker JBL audio unit, standard two-tone paint with a black metallic roof, and trim-specific 19-inch wheels. In short, it’s the most powerful, capable, fastest, and well-equipped RAV4 Toyota’s ever produced.
In truth, we think the RAV4’s biggest competition comes not from Honda, Ford, Chevy, or Hyundai. Rather, it comes from the rest of the Toyota lineup. The slightly smaller Corolla Cross and Corolla Cross hybrid offer nearly as much value and arguably even more efficiency than a RAV4, and an RAV4’s higher trims put it right in line with the all-electric bZ4X. When you reach the flagship PHEV trims, you’re way past the larger base Crown Signia in price and very nearly in Grand Highlander territory.
Holy moly! If overwhelming trim and feature options are a common complaint with new cars these days, the RAV4 is among the worst offenders. Seriously, it’s almost Jeep Grand Cherokee levels of staggering trim selection. But what that means for you is there’s a RAV4 trim for every family in America.
2025 Toyota RAV4 Exterior – toyota.com | Shop 2025 Toyota RAV4 on Carsforsale.com
Compared to its rivals, the RAV4 might be a little smaller and a little less spacious. Still, Toyota makes a yearly routine out of beating Honda, Hyundai, Ford, and Chevrolet in this market segment for a reason.
Never before has the SUV space been so thoroughly saturated by one OEM the way Toyota manages nowadays. In their own rights, the Corolla Cross, Grand Highlander, and Crown Signia are spectacular value in their own right. But the RAV4 proves it’s still the king of the roost with superior selection.
Nearly $19,000 in options, extras, and drivetrain choices separate the base FWD RAV4 LE at $28,850, and the range-topper XSE PHEV at $47,735.
Our money goes to the SE PHEV at $43,865. A sweet drivetrain, all the features you could want, save for a fancy sound system, and phenomenal fuel economy.
Three years/36,000 mi basic, 5 years/60,000 mi powertrain. 10-year/150,000-mile limited hybrid battery warranty coverage.