Toyota RAV4 2023 Problems

It all sounds a bit counter-intuitive, doesn’t it: That a smaller engine could use more fuel thana larger one? But, in fact, it’s all down to the hybrid driveline in the 2.5-litre version of the RAV4. Because the hybrid version also has an electric motor to help propel the vehicle, the petrol engine has less work to do. So, it uses less fuel, particularly on the official test cycle that determines these numbers.

In fact, in the hybrid RAV4, the petrol engine isn’t even running a lot of the time, especially in stop-start traffic. The electric motor can draw from the batteries on board to get the vehicle rolling, and when it’s slowing down, the electric motor recharges those batteries for the next green light. And when the car is running on electric power, it’s not using any petrol at all.

By contrast, the non-hybrid RAV4 is running its petrol engine the whole time (apart from when it’s at a complete standstill). And that, in a nutshell, is how a bigger engine can use less fuel than a smaller one in the same make and model.