Toyota RAV4 2026 review: PHEV - Australian first drive

This is a big moment for Toyota in Australia. The biggest in recent memory, even.

Because it’s not just when, at last, its best-selling model, the RAV4, scores one of the fastest-growing powertrain choices in Australia, the plug-in hybrid. It’s also the brand tip-toeing into the powertrain solution that will no doubt eventually end up driving all of its icons, from HiLux to LandCruiser and everything in between. 

And there's another way to look at it, too, and that is that many of the rush of new brands in Australia – BYD, Geely etc – have arrived with a mid-size plug-in in their arsenal. This is Toyota returning serve.

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Explore the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Range

Toyota RAV4 2026 review: PHEV - Australian first drive

Well, kind of. If you're expecting Chinese pricing, think again. The RAV4 PHEV is currently offered in three guises across two grades, with the XSE 2WD ($58,840), the XSE AWD ($63,340) and the new big dog of the range, the GR Sport AWD ($66,340).

The RAV4’s biggest competitor these days is probably the BYD Sealion 6, which tops out below where the plug-in Toyota starts, with the Premium listed at $52,990 before on-road costs. Something like a Geely Starray EM-i is even cheaper, starting at less than $38,000. The Toyota does start below something like a VW Tayron eHybrid, in which the Elegance starts from $62,390.

In terms of bang for bucks, the XSE trims mirror their non-plugged sibling – and we have a story detailing all the equipment here – while the GR Sport adds a unique exterior package, including a new grille, bumpers and a rear spoiler. There’s also a whole bunch of mechanical stuff you can’t see, too, like a 20mm wider track, sportier front damping, extra rear bracing for better lateral stiffness and a shift-by-wire continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The big difference between the two grades, at least in terms of look, is the front-end treatment, with the XSE cars getting the perforated-style grille that reminds me a little of a chain-link fence, and the GR Sport scoring the deeper mesh grille with far more gloss black. Now I would never be so bold as to tell you which one you should like better, beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all that, but I will say this; if it’s not the GR Sport, then you’re wrong.

2026 Toyota RAV4 PHEV

The plug-in power here comes from the combination of a 2.5-litre petrol engine, a 22.7kWh battery, and a front electric motor in 2WD spec, and a second rear electric motor in the AWD trims. Toyota doesn’t quote a combined torque figure, but power is at 201kW for the single motor, and 227kW for the AWD, officially making this the most potent RAV4 we’ve ever seen in Australia. The GR Sport, for example, will clip 100km/h in a brisk 5.8secs – provided the battery is topped up.

Like most makers of plug-in hybrids, Toyota's claim of 0.7L/100km on the combined cycle are fanciful, you will never get close to that. We were averaging around 3.0L with the battery topped up, which is good. But if you want to use no fuel, Toyota says the 2WD version will travel 121kms on electric power alone, while the AWDs will take you 113kms.

The rest is fairly RAV4, so we’ll summarise before we get to the good stuff. The PHEV models benefit from the tech upgrade delivered on the rest of the new RAV4 range, and it makes the interior a far nicer, more modern-feeling space. The backseat is sparse but spacious, though the tunnel does cut into the middle-seat leg room, and I had no problems getting my 175cm frame comfy in the window seats. And the boot is slightly smaller, now at 655L VDA rather than the regular hybrid’s 705 litres. Kudos to Toyota, though, for fitting a space-saving spare wheel.

OK, caught up? Let’s drive this thing. 

Climb behind the wheel of the RAV4 PHEV and – and I know this is going to sound a little bit boring – you’ll find it drives a lot like a RAV4 Hybrid, only with a plug. That is not a criticism of this car, it’s consistently among our best-selling vehicles for a reason.

The GR Sport is the grade we spent the most time in, and it gets the wider track, the sportier ride and handling and, of course, all the power, at 227kW with the battery fully charged. And the end result is an SUV that is actually really fun to take around corners. There is a balance and a composure to this car that is simply not present on some plug-in hybrid products.

Now there is a catch, of course, that’s 227kW with everything topped up. I spent a fair chunk of the test in a vehicle with its battery depleted, which meant I was relying on ICE power above all else, and it felt slower (particularly under rolling acceleration) and you could certainly hear the engine and the gearbox working away under heavy revs.

The other catch is that once the battery is depleted, there's no coming back. Some plug-in hybrids have a charge function, where you can use the petrol engine to recharge the battery on the fly. That's not the case here. It will recoup some charge from the regenerative braking, but nowhere near enough to fully charge the battery. You need to plug it back to meaningfully top it up. 

The only minor downside to the drive experience, or the thing that differs a little bit from the regular RAV4 Hybrid, is the weight of this vehicle. Using round numbers, there appears to be around 250kg in extra weight on board the plug-in hybrid version – pushing the kerb weight to around two tonnes – and you can feel it around you at times.

They have upgraded the brakes on the PHEV vehicles to deal with the extra weight, but it doesn't disguise it completely. It can feel heavy under braking when you're on a slippery downhill into a corner, which takes a little bit of getting used to.

The other quirk is that, in some of vehicles we tested, when you put your foot down you could hear the faintest whine of what seemed to be the electric motor spinning, which, if you're a bit like me and a tiny bit OCD about these things, might eventually drive you crazy.

Final quirk – and it’s a complicated one, but I’ll try and sum it up quickly – is that the RAV4 PHEV was developed for 2025 ANCAP protocols, not 2026, but a launch delay saw it miss that testing window. Updates are being made, and the brand is confident it will be issued a five-star rating later this year, but that won’t be retroactive. The cars now are unrated, and will remain so, even after a new ANCAP result is issued this year. Whether that's a problem is a decision for you.