Used 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime SUV Consumer Reviews
Happy RAV4 Prime owner
The vehicle is all I hoped it would be and more. The ride is smooth and comfortable. I have 550 miles on the odometer and have yet purchased gas as I have only used a quarter of a tank so far. The vehicle feels solid and is quiet even when it switches over to gas operation. Most of the mileage has been on the battery as I obtain 44-48 miles on battery before it needs to be recharged which I do overnight. I am very pleased with the vehicle.
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3 years of hindsight car geek delights
Perfect fit for retired car geek with solar panels at home. I took delivery December 3rd 2021, so I have nearly 11/2 years of hindsight. I drove 20,000 miles the first 12 months of ownership. Approximately 12,000 miles were on electricity my solar panels generated. I live in Wisconsin and did a couple of road trips to Boston and Denver. On the interstate I get 32 to 34 mpg. I am a Iead foot, not a hyper miler. I put a level 2 charger in my garage and get about 10 to 12 miles of charger per hour of charging. I am pretty diligent about keeping it plugged in between errands so I rarely run out of juice around town. The heat pump isn’t that good below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and I run the gas engine at the start of trips when it’s cold. I have the base version with the cold package the heated steering wheel is nice. Below 20 degrees the dash shows as low as 35 miles of range at about 68 degrees it shows as much as 53 miles of range! In the warmer months I can go 2 to 3 months without getting any gasoline if I don’t do a road trip. I also own a 3500 sprinter currently. I have a trailer hitch for a utility trailer for Home Depot runs . The versatility is great. I have not reset the dash mpg reading yet and it shows 78.9 mpg since new. I now have 24,000 miles on it and have done a couple of shorter road trips to Chicago and Iowa. I would guess that now at 24,000 miles today 14,000 miles have been electric. I can make the tires chirp with all the motors turned on but traction control kicks in. On ramps are definitely not a problem with all 300 hp, and I can leave the traffic behind me easily. Really it’s amazing to have an all wheel drive 4 passenger suv that has great cargo capacity and can pull a 2500 lb trailer that gets nearly 80 MPG over 24,000 miles. I have had zero problems and I’m just about ready to replace the crappy oem tires with some Michelins I expect to get fewer mpg with new rubber but perhaps better wet pavement performance. I have owned a 2003 mustang cobra tweaked to 600 rwhp dyno tuned, a 911 turbo cabriolet, BMW X5 with v8 and sport package ( pre m version loved to drive that one. Too many electrical gremlins to keep after lease expired) and a host of others. My first sports car was a 1967 mk3 triumph spitfire with a race prepped engine that was bulletproof. I love what Toyota hybrids can do with a gallon of gas ! I will add that on my road trip back from Colorado it was 109 degrees Fahrenheit around ft Collins and the air conditioner was great. My road trip to Boston was in February and white out conditions along lake Erie and single digits and heat was excellent. I never have range anxiety. Update 10/25/23 Coming up on two years of ownership and 35 k mixed driving. My mpg readout (indicator has not been reset since mile zero) is showing 95.6 mpg. I put new Michelins on it at 26 k and mileage improved noticeably. Not one issue other than minor recall. Comfortable and quiet and very different driving experience than non hybrid and base hybrid RAV4 due to battery weight and thicker glass. Also “made in Japan” quality!!! No range anxiety ever. Update 5/15/24. Just about 50 k miles over 21/2 years. Another long road trip to Savanna and back recently. I’m thinking that this could easily be a million mile car for me. 70% of my miles are electric and I’m changing the oil every 6 months and doing dealer maintenance schedule. If my current driving pattern doesn’t change then at a million miles the gas engine will have 300k. I had a 300 thousand mile Camry that everything worked perfectly it needed a radiator every 100 k the seats really fit good. I’m thinking the brake pads may go 140k. One interesting side note, when I put my new Michelins on I got about a 12% improvement in electric mileage per dash computer. old tires showing 2.7 miles per kilowatt hour and new tire showing 3.2 miles. This has since declined to 2.9 miles after 22 k miles driven on the newer tires.No issues. I expect it to run through tires more often due to weighing a thousand pounds more than a regular Rav 4. The best engineered car on the planet! No one does hybrid and electronics better than Toyota. Update 11/24. 3 years an 60,000 miles. Recent 1400 mile road trip average 30.4 mpg driving in the left lane. E mileage is showing 3.0 miles per kilowatt hour. I have 34k miles on the Michelins and I may get 50k out of them. 70% of my driving is electric from my solar panels it turbocharged the payback for the solar system. No squeaks or rattles nothing but routine service and a couple of minor recalls. I still expect this to be at least a million mile car.
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- SE Plug-In Hybrid 4dr SUVMSRP: $30,974485 mi away
- XSE Plug-In Hybrid 4dr SUVMSRP: $38,500216 mi away
- SE Plug-In Hybrid 4dr SUVMSRP: $32,488378 mi away
Great Car, Buying Experience is Challenging
Two parts. Part one is the buying experience, part two is the driving experience. Part One: I have been shopping for this vehicle in CA since January 2022. It's a vehicle that's not readily available; dealers get one or two a month. The trend is for dealers to sell the vehicle in transit always above MSRP from between $3,000 and $20,000 depending on the dealer. I sent out a "wanted" flyer to 141 Toyota dealers in CA. I tracked it carefully. I received calls/texts from 21 dealers offering a deal or kindly responding that I could be on their list when one becomes available. All but one conversation was very pleasant and professional. One conversation was purely based on greed; I kept it short. I eventually purchased a Prime SXE from the I-10 Toyota Dealership in Indio, CA. I did all the contract via DocuSign and flew there the following day to finish up and drive the vehicle home. The dealer was very nice. One person at the dealership kept on telling me I was so lucky. I didn't feel lucky at all. The deal was made through hard work on my part shopping and working a deal. I drove the car home, about 550 miles or so. Part two: My drive home was smooth with a 41 MPG efficiency. I've had the car for about a month with no difficulty learning all the features in the SUV. I have spent some time daily reading the Owners Manual and checking out everything. It will take a week or so I get everything familiarized. I have been getting about 44 miles EV so far. The HV is like any other hybrid, it's smooth and very quiet. In EV mode, the heat pump works fine for me. After 10 minutes on high, I usually turn it off. Since my daily commute is about 22 miles, the EV mode is 100% of my driving. In this first month, I have used HV very little. One thing that wasn't explained at the dealership was how to install the cargo net accessory. I couldn't figure it out. I YouTubed it and got it. If you want a Plug-in Hybrid, this is my model of choice and would recommend it if you can get a reasonable deal. UPDATE: I've owned a 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE for 3.5 months and have driven it 3,200 miles. Comfortable car over all. Fuel economy is 42ish EV on a full charge then 40ish MPG on gas. I'm in CA and use PG&E as my utility. The best rate plan equals an EV fill at about $3.85/gal doing the conversion from EV charge to gasoline. I wouldn't buy it again because I can never recoup the added cost of the plug-in feature. May as well buy a hybrid. I received $1,000 rebate from CA and a $3,750 tax credit federal. I spent a year trying to find a good deal on this vehicle. In the end I paid $5,000 over MSRP when I had to buy a car or walk. My decision, I'll live with it. BTW, already had one new windshield replacement due to rocks. New Toyota glass windshield was $1,596 from Speedy Glass in Davis, CA. State Farm Insurance covered it with zero deductible on my comprehensive coverage.
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Great Plug in Hybrid-Research Before You Buy
I bought my 2022 SE just over a year ago, and so far have driven 15000 miles. I like my Prime. It’s roomy on the inside without being a big car. It’s sportier than a lot other CUVs. Its a smooth ride, and has plenty of power. The transition between EV mode and HV mode is seamless. Best of all, it’s easy on gas. I’ve driven the last 3,000 miles (warm weather, mostly to and from work, a 40 mile round trip) on less than half a tank of gas. Our home is solar powered, so I charge it every night with minimal impact on the environment or the wallet. It’s a great car, but I’m still not sure it’s worth the inflated price. Luckily prices are coming down now that the tax incentive is going away. The battery is supposed to have a pretty long life span, but it will be a major expense down the road. Right now I can drive over 50 miles on EV alone, depending on driving conditions including speed, hills climbed, use of air conditioner/heat, and temperature. It remains to be seen how that range will change over time. I have found that while the AC depletes the battery range slightly, using the heat has a huge effect. I try to use the heated steering wheel and forego the heat as much as possible in order to make it to work and home on a single charge. Unfortunately, I’ve found that if I want the comfort of a nice warm car to and from work during winter, my range dips to about 33 miles. It seems that this car may be best suited for mild climates. During warm weather, the dash usually tells me I have 56 miles EV when I start up, during winter it usually starts around 50. I could probably increase my range if I were to keep my speed around 40 and avoid hills. I’ve learned to switch out of EV when on the interstate and when climbing mountains, as they are a huge drain on the battery. Things I love about the car: I’m cutting down on CO2 emissions. I’m saving over $1,000/year on gas. It starts conversations and lets people know that better fuel economy is an option. Its roomy and comfortable on trips with the family. It looks sharp (if not a little robotic). A few other things I’m not crazy about: The average miles per gallon shown on the dash only goes up to 99.9. Come on, Toyota! It’s an EV. My mileage is way over 100mpg, and I’d like to be able to see it on the screen. The ICE motor can be quite loud sometimes, and there can be what seems like an excessive amount of valve clacking when it first starts up. The cloth interior seems pretty cheapy. I don't care for the red stitching. The heated steering wheel button is in a weird, hard to find place. It would make sense to put it on the steering wheel or beside the heated seat button. The dash is a little busy. I wish there was a physical on/off button for the entertainment display (as it is you have to navigate through 3 screens to get to it). The automatic trunk open button is hard to locate on the trunk. The space ship sound it makes at low speeds is really weird. Dual exhaust-why, when it’s supposed to be an eco friendly car? Most annoying of all-there is no way to disable the seatbelt warning sound! I am an avid seatbelt wearer, but I live on a farm with multiple gates that must be opened and closed on the driveway. That means I have to put on and take off my seatbelt three times as I creep down the gravel driveway to get to the road, or else listen to the incessant beeping. The tires that came on it are not great in wet conditions, and after a year it looks like they will need replaced soon. Something I just learned is that most tires are not recommended for EVs due to friction, weight & efficiency. I’m hoping to find a better tire that doesn’t compromise efficiency too much. Overall, I’m happy with the car, but l’d be a lot happier if I hadn't paid over MSRP just to get my hands on one. It came with a luxury price tag, but it is not a luxury car. Just a really cool car, that has to be plugged in every night. Before you buy, consider these things: 1. This car is not good for cold climate. (Heat uses up your EV) 2. This car is not good for interstate driving (high speeds use up your EV, it's best if you can keep it under 60) 3. Do you have a regular schedule and a place to charge it daily (it takes about 11 hours to charge with regular charger) 4. Does your commute fall within the EV range, or will you be using gas every day 5. What is the cost to charge-this will vary by location. If you have solar panels, that’s a plus. 6. Depending on your situation, the regular hybrid model may make more sense.
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Much better than expected
Traded in 2019 RAV4 hybrid Limited for 2022 XSE Prime a few months ago and immediately was impressed. Much better than expected. Immediately I noticed a ton of improvements. My old 2019 RAV 4 was an excellent vehicle with a few annoyances for example brake pedal was clicking each time your press it and dealer told me that it was normal. Entertainment screen would often freeze and than reboot, 360 cameras sometimes would refuse to turn on, most of the buttons would lack an illumination, tires were super slippery in rain and snow to the point that it was hazardous to drive unless I moved super slow, also passengers seat was manual. Very loud engine and road noise would be so annoying. All of this shortcomings were addressed in 2022 Prime plus much more features were added like better integration with Toyota app, real time tire pressure information in the car display and on the app, 110 AC outlet in the trunk fast charging USB C everywhere etc. The driving experience of 2022 Prime reminds me of my 2013 Mercedes ML 350, it feels heavier than Hybrid models which is not a bad thing. Wider better quality tires make driving pleasant and they grip the road much better. I love quet ride, great acceleration and an exterior looks more premium. As far as fuel economy I get up to 57.5 miles on a single charge in all electric mode, of course to get that range a climate control must be off and the outside temperature shouldn't be less than 45 degrees, also I was diving no faster than 55 miles an hour with slow smooth acceleration. Otherwise I get between 36 and 42 miles on all electric mode. I love the fact that you can charge the battery while you drive and it charges it pretty fast. I am very happy with my RAV 4 Prime XSE despite a few imperfections and I have a wish list for Toyota to consider. Lets start. 1. High beams are not that great. Weak and aiming too low. 2. Adaptive lights are not working. I can't see them moving in any direction under any condition. 3. Premium JBL sound system doesn't sound Premium it all. 4. Entertainment screen could be higher resolution and so the cameras. Cameras are really not that sharp. 5. The steering wheel is a bit more disconnected than on my 2019 Hybrid 6. I would prefer a bit larger fonts on information display where the speedometer is. I can barely see the time, my trip odometer, range info etc. 7. Alexa is not working, multimedia apps are finicky, navigational system always chooses the worst route and "getting the directions from the cloud" feature sometimes freeze up navigation. (I use Google on my phone so I don't care about it that much) 8. Beautiful heads up display but I wish it would have more adjustments so I can turn it a bit clockwise to make it perfectly aligned with the road and horizon. 9. One pedal driving would be very nice All these imperfections doesn't bother me at all for most people it shouldn't be a deal breaker. I'm very happy with RAV4 Prime, it is ahead of many competitors and for the price you get a lot of options, quality and reliability. That's why I am giving 2022 RAV4 Prime 5 stars.
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