[radeonboy]

Leaked press release:

https://dapxmanyn62war.archive.ph/d90HA/f92883c4d79509505c2c1412a69ebcde109adcc8.webp


https://archive.ph/d90HA

Plano, TX – Toyota dramatically upgrades its RAV4 lineup for 2026. Already the top selling utility vehicle of an size in the U.S., the compact CUV’s lineup will further entice customers with an improved plug-in hybrid variant with greater range than today’s model and an upgraded hybrid system.

All ’26 RAVs will be electrified with no 100% internal-combustion engine variant offered.

Toyota is also introducing two new trims to the RAV4 lineup; a Woodland package that has a higher ground clearance, more off-roading features and side body cladding; and the first-ever Sport trim in the RAV lineup, developed with Gazoo Racing, with GR tuning, a PHEV powertrain and exterior styling tweaks.

The new Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) system debuting on the ’26 RAV4 a 2.5L, 4-cylinder engine with two electric motors and high-capacity traction battery. For the new system, Toyota has adopted silicon carbide semiconductors in the front axle to achieve miniaturization and high efficiency, the company says. This change, in combination with the larger battery, increases the CUV’s total all-electric range to 50 miles (24 km) on battery alone. The current ’25 RAV4 PHEV achieves up to 42 miles (68 km) AER.

The PHEV propulsion system expands from two to four model grades in model year 2026, with the Woodland and GR SPORT models joining the previously available SE and XSE. All PHEV models will have standard AWD. The PHEV XSE and Woodland grades will have DC fast charging, capable of charging from 10% to 80% in approximately 30 minutes. The latest PHEV system also adds output, with up to 320 combined system net hp churned out, up 18 hp over the outgoing system.

https://dapxmanyn62war.archive.ph/d90HA/971451fb6739eba0f4177a8bec673910e86b2f3d.webp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1ILEFKALjE

[trollface]

Order now and you can have yours by 2029

[bcrdukes]

Order now and you can have yours by 2029

Don't forget all the markups, options, and Corollas you need to buy to get an allocation! :heckno:

Eff you, Toyota! :2finger:

[RabidRat]

What. It looks the same as before!.

[JDMDreams]

It's alright, not worth fighting and playing dealer games over.

[bcrdukes]

.
https://i.imgur.com/1O0xlgw.jpeg

[TypeRNammer]

Order now and you can have yours by 2029

Absolutely, if you have an existing RAV4 Prime to trade in, we can bump up your allocation to 2028.5 at Open Road Toyota

[bcrdukes]

I made a typo: It was meant to be 2026, not 2025. I am not having a good day.

[supafamous]

I think this one looks WAY better than the current one - not quite the same upgrade in looks as the current Civic vs the previous generation but a big improvement.

Note that the GR Sport version comes with summer tires.

The interior will probably still be cheap and it'll probably still be noisy but these improvements bring it a bit closer to the Crown Signia, maybe uncomfortably so. Toyota should have put the hybrid max powertrain in the Crown Signia in the first place.

[twitchyzero]

meh if rides/feels anything like the current-gen, i'll take a 13 year old with a smooth v6/250 torque and go on a few nice vacations with the difference

https://preview.redd.it/qhccs6j0z9l81.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&10f8f736

[AstulzerRZD]

PHEV is the only way to buy this with the way the gas engine sounds like a blender.

[Alpine]

Order now and you can have yours by 2029

Selling my reservation for 5k /s.

[supafamous]

PHEV is the only way to buy this with the way the gas engine sounds like a blender.

It puzzles me that Toyota's 2.5L is so unrefined when it's also used in the Lexus lineup. They can make a silky smooth 6 and 8 cylinder but their commodity 4 cylinder is a piece of shit.

[Badhobz]

its also a piece of shit in the lexus. Just look at the new RX or NX or anything from their modern day lineup (other than the LC) its all a heaping pile of garbage.

[bcrdukes]

Is Toyota just ignoring negative feedback on the engine and their cars?

[Badhobz]

They've gotten so big, and their reputation so solid that they are basically coasting on it.

Even their internal kaizen policies are failing. How else can you explain all these v6TT engine recalls? I'm sure someone should have noticed that metal shavings in the block. They used to X ray scan each block to ensure quality. how much you wanna bet they don't do that anymore?

"1UR-FSE undergoes X-ray inspection and a CT scan to ensure minimal deformation after the die-casting process. Camshafts are hollow to minimize weight."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_UR_engine

[bcrdukes]

I love how an engine gets a CT scan while people who are ill and desperate for treatment need to wait 6+ months for a CT scan.

[AstulzerRZD]

It puzzles me that Toyota's 2.5L is so unrefined when it's also used in the Lexus lineup. They can make a silky smooth 6 and 8 cylinder but their commodity 4 cylinder is a piece of shit.

Kind of. By program targets it has insane thermal efficiency and borrows a lot from Slyactiv motors which weren’t particularly refined either.

I also disagree than the 2GR is smooth - coming from a J series I find them quite industrial and more of a SUV engine. Rode in a V6 RAV recently and I found it kind of loud and had a fair bit of road noise too

[AstulzerRZD]

They've gotten so big, and their reputation so solid that they are basically coasting on it.

Even their internal kaizen policies are failing. How else can you explain all these v6TT engine recalls?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_UR_engine

It’s always money and timelines.

Car program isn’t just design and materials/manufacturing cost.
But also the tooling, automation, worker training, etc.

North America got a shoestring budget to lead the Tundra variant since there was never an expectation they would sell many.

Anyone who followed the LS500 bottom end failures knew that this design had issues, the redesign for the Tundra and truck applications doesn’t seem to have helped.

[trollface]

Wait i was told Toyota can do no wrong and all BMW and VW explode.

[supafamous]

Kind of. By program targets it has insane thermal efficiency and borrows a lot from Slyactiv motors which weren’t particularly refined either.

I would have thought that usage in a Lexus would require that the engine is reasonably refined - I haven't driven one but every review I read of them calls out the terrible noise levels and refinement. It sounds like it might be one of the worst 4 cylinders out there right now for refinement.

I also disagree than the 2GR is smooth - coming from a J series I find them quite industrial and more of a SUV engine. Rode in a V6 RAV recently and I found it kind of loud and had a fair bit of road noise too

Shoutout to the J series - launched in 1996 and still going strong. Other than shitty fuel economy (and some VCM issues) the J is a pretty impressive motor.

[JDMDreams]

I've called it since the 2000s Yaris that Toyota 4 cylinders suck. Sounds like a washing machine, even their lift Celica motors were pretty undrivable on the streets. Nothing happens till lift at like 6500 and redline is 8200, how am I supposed to keep it always in that range. Even the V6 in the rx350 was loud. And they just keep getting worse. Only good engine was their v8s.

[bcrdukes]

Wait i was told Toyota can do no wrong and all BMW and VW explode.

100% agreed.

[Badhobz]

I also disagree than the 2GR is smooth - coming from a J series I find them quite industrial and more of a SUV engine. Rode in a V6 RAV recently and I found it kind of loud and had a fair bit of road noise too

2GR FE is very smooth in Lexus application. Especially with my 2010 ES350.

The 2GR-FKS in my wife's RX is also relatively smooth but its hampered by that god awful 8 speed automatic that likes to hunt for gears and the droney ass exhaust. For some reason, that car has a really bad exhaust tone. Its okay if you're below 2k rpm which you are 90% of the time, but if you rev it, it sounds like shit.

Anyways, toyota is now dead to me too. New stuff keeps getting worse and worse every year.

[bcrdukes]

Soooo that begs the question: What, if anything, is better than Toyota/Lexus for the same amount of money?

[AstulzerRZD]

I would have thought that usage in a Lexus would require that the engine is reasonably refined - I haven't driven one but every review I read of them calls out the terrible noise levels and refinement.

This is true for every country except for America, which is also their biggest market.

Lexus driven by very conservative people who buy them for their 'durability' and resale value but really their head is so far up their ass that they haven't tried or known anything else.

You have to be _really_ 'special' to blow 900 a month on a TX/RX350. An aged Cayenne GTS demo or Macan is the same cost... while a GLC350e is 370 a month and an M340i is 500.

https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/may-25-chicagoland-porsche-macan-cayenne-911-718-panamera-taycan/674522

2024 Macan Demo CPO
Dolomite Silver, Standard Interior in Black, Premium Plus, 20" Wheels, and more
MSRP: $71,xxx
$5,000 Due At Signing Plus Tax, Title, Registration
39 Months: $945/mo, 7.5k miles

CPO Cayenne GTS
$4,000 Due At Signing Plus Tax, Title, Registration
12 Months/15,000 Miles: $9xx/mo

[bcrdukes]

You have to be _really_ 'special' to blow 900 a month on a TX/RX350. A Cayenne GTS demo or Macan is the same cost... while a GLC350e is 370 a month and an M340i is 500.

You just predicted Badhobz' future cars. The Macan being the most likely of them all. :D

[Badhobz]

a chinese E bicycle. Its reliable, its cheap, its the next best thing to having a Chinese EV (which they wont allow here).

[AstulzerRZD]

You just predicted Badhobz' future cars. The Macan being the most likely of them all. :D

Nothing like paying extra for an even worse driving Golf R and EA888

[roastpuff]

Soooo that begs the question: What, if anything, is better than Toyota/Lexus for the same amount of money?

Define better

[bcrdukes]

Define better

Everything not what these guys are crying about likes noises and loudness etc. Should be butter smooth and super refined like a royal princess or something.

Is this forum targeting geriatrics?

[trollface]

Rolls Royce

[supafamous]

So Toyotas have gravelly engines while Hondas have way too much road noise. (My RDX has way too much road noise for its price point IMO - it's not the volume but the sound quality).

[trollface]

Sound quality of the road noise?

Wtf you guys have carbon mono leaks in your exhaust getting into the cabin.

[bcrdukes]

Rolls Royce

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So with Toyota and Honda being trash, all that's left is Mazda and Nissan. Are their engines better or equally just as bad as Honda and Toyota? I forgot about Mitsubishi. I've never owned a different Japanese marque besides Toyota, so I'm genuinely unsure of the competition.

If they are all equally trash, what options are there for you guys? Chinese eBike? Tesla? Some kind of EV? For sure there will be no engine noise, so..... :whistle:

[Traum]

Nissan is probably all trash because most of their designs are ancient at this point.

Mazdas have really nicely appointed interiors for their price points, but I haven't ridden in anything new from them besides a Mazda3, and that isn't exactly a premium subcompact (although that's what it is trying to be).

[supafamous]

Sound quality of the road noise?

Wtf you guys have carbon mono leaks in your exhaust getting into the cabin.

Ha. The road noise (on rougher surfaces) is very coarse and noise cancellation does a shit job with handling it - it goes from pretty quiet and calm to grind your teeth in a flash. It's definitely worse than say a CX-9 where the noise floor is higher but it doesn't rise as much over bad surfaces.

Basically I think Honda is using noise cancellation as their band-aid to not having good soundproofing but when noise cancellation can't handle something then things get a lot louder than in comparable cars.

[EvoFire]

Soooo that begs the question: What, if anything, is better than Toyota/Lexus for the same amount of money?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So with Toyota and Honda being trash, all that's left is Mazda and Nissan. Are their engines better or equally just as bad as Honda and Toyota? I forgot about Mitsubishi. I've never owned a different Japanese marque besides Toyota, so I'm genuinely unsure of the competition.

If they are all equally trash, what options are there for you guys? Chinese eBike? Tesla? Some kind of EV? For sure there will be no engine noise, so..... :whistle:

For something better I vote Honda's 4cylinder hybrid system, that's similar to how the Chevy Volt/diesel locomotive works. It's been widely lauded as good and supposed to be more efficient that Toyota's hybrid system.

Toyota's system hasn't seen much innovation other than bigger motors, new battery formulation, and decoupling the rear with e-AWD. The planetary gear system is roughly the same as when it debuted with the Prius almost 30 years ago. It goes to show how innovative Toyota was when the same drive system is still competitive after 30 years. We'll just have to wait for the next big thing from Toyota.

Toyota's win with the Hybrid Synergy Drive is they've been building it for SO LONG with minimal changes that they've ironed almost all the issues. If you want a hybrid system that's reliable and will go 300k, look no further than Toyota.


Mazda's Skyactiv 4 cylinder was novel when it debuted in 2014 as they could easily beat the rated fuel economy. They haven't made much gains since as they've ran into multiple deadends. The Skyactiv D was much more money while not returning any better fuel economy. Skyactiv X kind of just withered away after getting a ton of fanfare. The Skyactiv T 4 cylinders look great on paper, but a lot of the tricks used in the NA engines don't translate to a turbo (high compression, 4-2-1 headers) and they are an also ran. Their new i6 turbos had a lot of promise, but just like Honda's V6T it's getting thoroughly trounced by BMW.

Nissan, why would you touch a Nissan? Their Rogue is decent being that you can get a car that is competent but doesn't excel for a low price.

Mitsubishi has the honours for being the lowest priced PHEV SUV with decent range in the Outlander. The Outlander Sport is 15 years old at this point, and the Mirage is a penalty box.

So uh... wait for the Honda hybrid system to show up in the Integra? It should have better NVH isolation than the Civic.

Or you know go get a 4 cylinder Audi or 6 cylinder BMW.

[roastpuff]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So with Toyota and Honda being trash, all that's left is Mazda and Nissan. Are their engines better or equally just as bad as Honda and Toyota? I forgot about Mitsubishi. I've never owned a different Japanese marque besides Toyota, so I'm genuinely unsure of the competition.


Sounds like you should broaden your horizons. Get a Type R like Matsuda :drunk:

I think Honda engines are far more refined and pleasing than the Toyota equivalents. Supa is complaining about sound deadening (or lack thereof) which Honda does suffer from. At least the K/J series engines sound good revving out.

[bcrdukes]

Damn, I put a deposit down for a Crown. :okay:

[Badhobz]

I think the crown is okay. At least it’s the same platform as the LC. Just unsure of how that engine will be for reliability

[EvoFire]

I have come around with the Crown's styling, and I think it's a great car. My parents are considering one as well to replace my dad's Genesis Coupe. The problem is there's no inventory around here and we couldn't test drive it.

[bcrdukes]

Toyota is garbage. :seriously:

[radeonboy]

There's no non-electrified engine in the RAV4 segment that is smooth and sounds good per consensus here, but I don't think the majority of the buying demographic cares about engine sound either.

A hybrid powertrain removes most of the low-end grunt accelerating from a stop, and noise is minimal once you get going assuming you're driving the car smoothly and not gunning it everywhere.

I'm more worried about the aunties having access to 300+HP RAV4s when they mix the pedal again and ram another Richmond storefront. You know those aunties will get RAV4 Primes early because they have no problem or clue getting gouged by local dealers.

[bcrdukes]

I don't think the majority of the buying demographic cares about engine sound either.

Thank you for being the voice of reason. We're a very small minority among all the Richmond aunties and ah baks that exist out there who would happily pay the premium for a vehicle of this calibre. We're all just a bunch of old jerks going through a mid-life crisis on this forum now.

[JDMDreams]

Outlander phev, ride is good and quiet. I think the 25 version is even better. I dunno what wizardry they did but even the gas version was really quiet and comfortable.

[noclue]

On the subject of 4-cylinders, Avis gave me a subaru crosstrek rental and it wasn't too bad compared to a toyota 4-cylinder aside from the CVT drone climbing uphill. However I had to double check if subaru was still using boxer engines as it sounded exactly like a inline 4. Where's the unequal headers for the subie rumble?

[bcrdukes]

lol i forgot about Subaru :fuckthatshit:

[JDMDreams]

I don't think headers are unequal from the factory

[RabidRat]

Outlander phev, ride is good and quiet. I think the 25 version is even better. I dunno what wizardry they did but even the gas version was really quiet and comfortable.

Too bad it looks like this:

https://media.dealeralchemist.com/jellies/Mitsubishi/Outlander%20Plug-In%20Hybrid/C457605_P62_Front.png

That damn handlebar mustache.

[JDMDreams]

It looks fine just don't get the base

https://www.mitsubishicars.com/content/dam/mitsubishi-motors-us/images/siteimages/cars/outlander-phev/my25/vlp/2024-2025-mitsubishi-outlander-phev-white-Mobile.jpg?width=960&auto=webp&quality=70

Is that a leather dash

https://www.mitsubishi-motors-pr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-Outlander-new-interior-from-rear-SM.jpg

[JDMDreams]

Black plastic everything

https://www.motortrend.com/files/682cd84db718ac0009551765/2026toyotarav4hybridsuvcrossover-17.jpg

[jing]

https://media.drive.com.au/obj/tx_q:50,rs:auto:3840:2160:1/driveau/upload/cms/uploads/xqwqjyqguevqihnziken

[AstulzerRZD]

Outlander is a total POS.

Pre-refresh, it has a tiny 1.4T that's noisy af on the highway.
Post-refresh, it has 300hp but now it gets worse highway gas mileage than a B58 X3 smh

[Badhobz]

I had one in Australia. Utter utter piece of shit. Inside was plastic Tupperware bin.
Handling was garbage. Brakes were garbage. Everything about it was pretty much 20-50% worse than even a ford Everest.

[bcrdukes]

JDMDreams - you are a lie and a waste of time!

[dark0821]

Tucson PHEV gais!!! gais???

Lol, if I were more wealthy, I think I will pitch the RAV4 Prime to my wife, to replace the prius prime...

[68style]

Whoa whoa whoa settle down big fella, don’t get too wild dark, that’s edge of the seat shit man suggesting a RAV4 to your wife ballsy as fuck :fuckyea:

[JDMDreams]

What does it say about you when the hot car you are explaining to your wife to buy is a Rav 4 phev.

FeelsBadMan