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Used 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime Consumer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
87 reviews

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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2022 RAV4 Prime, so we've included reviews for other years of the RAV4 Prime since its last redesign.

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Pros
Cons
3 out of 5 stars

Just getting to know it…

R. MacL, 08/30/2021
updated 04/18/2022
2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
18 of 23 people found this review helpful

Just purchased this vehicle. Somewhat disoriented considering the outrageous mark-ups some dealers demanded, AND the extent to which Edmunds is complicit with the less scrupulous dealers in misleading consumers. I really want to trust Edmunds, but after doing extensive research during the purchase process, I am stunned at how Edmunds enables bait-and-switch schemes…and how they are sort of defiant about it. Edmunds published prices are NOT validated; in fact, they are misleading…don’t rely on them; call around on your own — you will quickly begin to separate the sleazy dealers from the from the credible ones. The Rav4 Prime XSE is nice, powerful, large. Not a lot of vehicles like it, and given the remarkable drive train, it sits in a very special category. I’m glad I went through what I went through to get it. But it does not rise to the level of being so special that a $10K, $5K, or even $1K premium over MSRP is warranted—get a Tesla instead… I have encountered a few rattles; passenger head rest when raised and passenger seat unoccupied (simply lower it), passenger seat belt when not used rattles against plastic. Other than that, the vehicle is a solid brick. Awesome sensation when it is accelerating silently in EV mode. It is tough to get into; the seats are high (even in their lowest position) and the roof is low, so you gotta squeeze in while bending your neck into unnatural contortions. Out of curiosity, I compared specifications with other similar vehicle and RAV4 is short on front head room. Some common tech is missing, ie: proximity alerts when backing up or parking, the Ap is not very well thought-out, the EV meter is expressed in percentages-of-full charge (rather than range expressed in distance/miles), WiFi hot spot is a promoted feature but what you get is a 3-month trial period with AT&T, and an option to purchase the service thereafter. Driving is a real pleasure, though the short wheel base doesn’t do the vehicle justice. The transition between electric and gas is almost imperceptible. Still getting to know the car, but…definitely NOT worth the premium some dealers demand (one which I came across was demanding sticker + $29,995! $77K! 😂 — PS don’t shop for this vehicle in Oakland CA!). Looking forward to this vehicle growing on me and performing in a way that justifies higher ratings. UPDATE: I’ve had my Rav 4 Prime XSE for 6 months and have driven 6000 miles. Sorry, but I can not recommend this vehicle. As the current darling of the ‘new’ generation of sporty, active, earthy car-buying ‘set,’ the R4P (as they call it) falls short on many fronts; value primarily, overall engineering, and fine-tuning. With so many capable electric vehicles hitting the market, the Rav4 Prime may seem like a safe investment, when in fact it lacks fundamental technology, engineering, and benefits so many buyers are seeking. Given the hefty mark-ups that have become a part of the entry ticket to drive this dinosaur, buyers are better off ignoring the popularity contest and move-on to vehicles more advanced, more appropriate for our time. From a mathematical perspective, I could sell my car tomorrow for $10k more than I bought it, and be rolling around in a much better engineered and capable and clean vehicle. That is my current plan. The ergonomics are crappy and I never feel comfortable in it…nobody does. It’s clumsy. The interior tech is only mediocre, Bluetooth transitions are not consistent, spotty. Interior comes in black…or black…or black; not too comfy in California heat. With gas prices as high as they are (and carbon concentrations in the atmosphere as high as they are), there is little justification for buying a vehicle burdened with the weight and drag of an ICE engine.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
3 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
Value
3 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Just got my latest dream car RAV4 prime

Cargeek, 12/04/2021
updated 06/06/2022
2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime SE 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
12 of 15 people found this review helpful

I am a car geek! I have owned a broad range from junk ( Opal,Kadet, et,al) to 03 mustang Cobra convertible tweaked to 600 hp/540ft/lbs. I traded a low mileage 2004 Porsche 911 turbo for a Toyota Avalon limited hybrid that I now traded for a2021 RAV4 Prime. I enjoy exploring the engineering of vehicles the Avalon did way more with a gallon of gas than the 911. The 911 was boring compared to the 600 hp Cobra. I had 22 solar panels put on my house last year that produced110% of the electricity I consume . That will change now that I got my plug in hybrid and will use the excess for driving. 95% of my driving nowadays will be less than the 40 mile range of the Prime. I can tow a real trailer, I can sell my ginormous Mercedes sprinter that I’ve used for Home Depot runs. I had a tesla model Y on order but got pissed off by their terrible customer service, people that ordered one a year after me were getting deliveries and I got excuses. There was one service center in Wisconsin 11/2 hours from my house. They don’t have loaners. The build quality harkens back to the opal kadett in regards to panel fit and leaky trunk seals. I bought my Kids a college commuter 1997 Camry it had 200 k on it when I bought it and everything on it still worked when we sold it with 300 k on the odometer. I would never own another German car out of warranty. I loved my BMW X5 with V8 and the sport package, but the dealer could not fix my power windows that went down on their own whenever they felt like it . 6 trips under warranty and no fix, replace switches and stuff and they just shrug me off. They can’t fix power windows why Would I trust them to make a reliable electric car? Mercedes dealer said I had to replace the seats on my all wheel drive e class wagon if I wanted the seat heaters to work( only $3,500.00). Toyota is the largest car manufacturer in the world and arguably the best engineering for practical cars that work problem free for a long long time. I'm getting old, yes and I dislike needing triple A roadside service. They won’t tow my sprinter anyway ( it’s a long tall dually ) so I’m going to try and just have one car for a while. I do have a deposit on a Ford lightning but there are 200,000 people ahead of me. Update 6/6/22; ok 6 months and nearly 9000 miles in. Now that it's summer I usually see 52-54 miles of electric range on the read out and most of my driving is electric (I currently have gone 1800 miles on 4 gallons of gas) I did a road trip to Rhode island and it gets 36 mpg at 75 mph and most hotels do not have any outlets for charging. I did an experiment and found that I can go 100 miles on gas after the trip computer says zero miles. I don't understand why Toyota calibrates their hybrid cars like this . My 2011 prius is also inaccurate, but not to this extent. Plus with the battery backup it was an experiment without the consequence of being stranded. This is a tremendous piece of engineering achievement. There are a number of strategies available I can use charging mode driving to Chicago and have plenty of energy for the stop and go inner city driving. Having done a couple thousand miles of interstate my overall mpg is 77.4 . My range anxiety is 0.0 I can drive anywhere anytime and not worry about charging if I choose to. It is a comfortable car for the long haul and has all wheel drive, can tow 2500 lbs and fit four adults in comfort with luggage . I will probably have to use the remaining gas to avoid it going stale this summer, unless I do another road trip.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Near perfect

Laz, 10/02/2023
2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Got a new Rav4Prime for my wife in 2022. We qualified for the $7500 federal and $2500 state electric vehicle credit, which made it somewhat affordable. The dealer took half of it when they charged an extra $5k over the sticker - despite telling us when we signed up for the car they wouldn't. Still, at the time everyone charged these overages, and we had been waiting for 6 months, so we took it. Net net with tax, tag, title was about $47000 after the rebates. The car looks nice, it has all the bells and whistles - even the ones we didn't want and my wife doesn't use. I'm looking at you, panoramic sunroof - not once has she opened the cloth shade under the glass. It's a dumb fad in my opinion and a safety hazard, but that's just my opinion. The electric range is perfect. My wife charges it every 2-3 days - in the summer every 3 days, in the winter every 2 days. It's plenty for going to work, running errands, shopping etc. We ended up not installing any special charging equipment, we are charging from a standard wall socket, charges the battery full overnight. Our electricity bell went up about $30 per month, which is cheaper than the roughly $60/mo she used to spend on gas in her previous Hyundai Santa Fe. The car is running in electric mode about 85% of the time. We have taken a 1200 mile road trip in it, had to fill up 3 times, great fuel economy when it's in hybrid mode. Also use it on some weekend 150-200 mile trips in the mountains, which trigger the hybrid mode. So far in about 16 months, we filled up the gas tank 5 times, including the 3 fill-ups on our road trip. The acceleration in electric mode is very good. The feeling when it jumps away from standing is exhilarating! That instant torque is addictive. Interestingly, when in hybrid mode, the car is supposed to be much quicker - but I'm not feeling the improvement. Maybe it's because in hybrid mode the neck-snapping off-the-line acceleration is not there. Also, when we are in the mountains and on a steep section on the highway, the car struggles to keep 75 mph - the engine is howling at a high rpm and I can't get the CVT transmission to upshift even in manual mode. Can be annoying, but it still trots up to the summit. The car has very nice features, like heated and ventilated front seats that work great. It has a very nice adaptive cruise and lane-center assist (I love these), as well as the blind-spot monitors and rearview camera/rearview mirror work great. The digital dash looks great. If anything it provides too much info, though my wife uses some that I don't care about. Phone pairing and the Apple Car connection are great. The issue that plagues many of the lower trim RAV4-s, a noisy cabin, is gone from this trim - the car is very quiet in most cases (except going up on a steep hill at high speed). Materials are nice, the vinyl "leather" on the seats is soft and looks great. The rain sensing wipers work very well. The seats are comfortable, front and back, with good space in the back. The trunk has good space even with the battery underneath. There are a few minor issues I found besides the . The system that holds the breaks at stop light has to be reactivated every time the car is started up - this is annoying. The 360 degree surround view that shows all the cars and obstacles around you only works during parking and it goes away after about 20 seconds - since they have the tech already installed it would be great to use the feature while traveling. The touchscreen works fine, but the look is so outdated it looks like something from the 90s. The headrest angles can't be adjusted, they are fixed - I guess it's for safety, but still a bit annoying. I love how the car is running on batteries most of the time but we can go on road trips without long charging stops. For us it's the perfect car right now.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
3 out of 5 stars
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3 out of 5 stars

Nice power and MPG, mediocre otherwise

Pickles&Bones, 06/17/2022
2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime SE 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful

It is a quiet cruiser on the highway. It is not sporty at all, but I’m not sure it is intended to be (even though it is an SE), it is more of a utility vehicle. The electronic interface needs to be rethought, it sucks. Lifetime MPG with 13,000 miles is 49, with 80% highway using hybrid mode and 20% suburban and urban driving on battery only….the more battery you use the higher the MPG climbs. Highway speeds of about 75-80 yield 36-38 MPG. Summer battery charge indicates 54 miles available, but it is not realistic, subtract 5-10% for realistic numbers. Winter battery charge indicates 32 ish miles, also not realistic. The heat exchanger is loud! If the gas engine has not run for some time (several days), expect a rough start (as if something is wrong with the engine) for about 3-5 seconds. I will likely look elsewhere for a vehicle when the time comes to get rid if it.

Safety
3 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Interior
2 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
3 out of 5 stars
Value
2 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

First Plug-in electric SUV

Mr Gadget, 10/06/2021
updated 10/11/2022
2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
8 of 10 people found this review helpful

Could not be happier with the car. Gas at 8/Gallon, do not care. Peppy, powerful, spacious and a fuel sipper. This is my 4th EV / Plugin EV after 2011 Leaf, 2015 CMAX Energi, 2017 Prius Prime. Purchase Exp - Dealers Wanted anywhere from 4K to 10K over MSRP. Difficult to find one on the Lot (Although I found mine since the previous purchaser Backed out / did not qualify for the loan). Ride : Peppy little Car, Firm and comfortable ride. Tons of power, Excellent breaking. Excellent steering feel. Amazing EV Range (42+ Miles) and even better EV + Gas range (600+ Miles). I have seen 60 Miles of EV only range in LA traffic a couple of times. Build Quality : Fine so far Creature comforts : Heated / Cooled Ventilated front seats, heated back seats Heated steering wheel, Blind spot monitoring, Lane keep assist and forward collision mitigation, rain sensing wipers, 12 speaker JBL audio is excellent. Did I mention Spare tire? (un heard of now a days, thank you toyota) Cons : Cost (for a RAV), Not a big fan of dual tone color for XSE (stands out in the crowd though) 6 Months in. Love the car. Performance has been unbelievable. Wifey thinks that her V8 Merc is slow. The Car had not been to a gas station in months now. Replaced my interior lights to LED (common grip for 2021 RAV's).

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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