Here's Why the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid Has Two Different Charging Ports

written by Nick Yekikian^{Senior News Editor
Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.}
edited by Steven Ewing^{Director, Editorial Content
Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and drive his 2000 BMW M Roadster.}
5/20/2025
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There are two ways to charge the 2026 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, and it depends on which trim you get.
SE and GR Sport models get an older J1772 Level 2 socket. Woodland and XSE models have a DC fast-charging port.
We asked why Toyota decided to take on the extra complexity, and the answer isn't surprising.

The 2026 Toyota RAV4 is all-new and hybrid only, including a plug-in hybrid option. Four versions of the RAV4 will be offered with the updated PHEV system: SE, XSE, Woodland and GR Sport. But between those four trims are, weirdly, two different ways to charge.

The GR Sport and SE models both come with the Level 2 J1772 charging port and can juice up their battery at 11 kW (more than the 6.6 kW of the previous RAV4 PHEV). If you've owned a plug-in hybrid before, you'll be familiar with this five-pin charge port. It's slower than DC fast charging, but it's the one you'll find in homes and apartment complexes across the country.

Level 2 is the most common way plug-in hybrids charge up, their smaller batteries not necessarily needing the extra juice provided by the ability to charge at higher rates. However, Toyota didn't think one way to charge was enough, so the Woodland and XSE models have a DC fast-charging port. Toyota says this will allow the RAV4 to charge from 10% to 80% in approximately 30 minutes.

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Having two completely different ways to charge is, frankly, a production hassle. It's not just the parts that make up the ports. The cars will need different wiring and different software to handle the different charge rates. It also increases manufacturing complexity.

So, what gives? The reason is fairly simple: cost. A Toyota spokesperson said that the choices were made to help keep the prices of some models from ballooning out of control. Take the GR Sport, for example: It gets upgraded brakes, new wheels, sticky tires, and different calibrations for the suspension, drive modes and steering. All of that costs money, and adding the CCS port to the GR Sport would have made this version even more expensive, likely putting it out of reach for potential buyers. The SE model is the cheapest way to get a RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, so having the Level 2 J1772 port on this version makes sense in order to keep prices lower on the base model.

It's nice that Toyota's taking on the extra complexity to try to keep costs down, but we also think everyone would have benefited from just having a CCS port — both for the sake of simplicity and the fact that faster charging times are just better. Either way, buyers of the GR Sport and SE models will have to live with slower charging times but will save a little coin as a result.

by Nick Yekikian

Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.

edited by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and drive his 2000 BMW M Roadster.

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Here's Why the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid Has Two Different Charging Ports

Two versions of the RAV4 come with a Level 3 CCS port and two others come with the Level 2 J1772. What gives?

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