The next-generation Toyota RAV4 may have been snapped testing in North America ahead of an expected launch next year.
While unconfirmed, the images are thought to show an evolutionary update of Toyota’s outrageously popular mid-size SUV.
While many of the design cues seem familiar, overall it has a more upright appearance, also featuring Toyota’s latest ‘hammerhead’ frontal styling. So the new RAV4 will likely be a major update of the existing model, meaning a fresh body on familiar underpinnings. The TNGA-K platform underpinning RAV4 will go largely unchanged, it’s thought.
That follows a similar update for the Camry sedan with some new features but many carry-over body panels.
The refresh comes during record RAV4 sales, despite the current model nearing the end of its life. People cannot get enough of Toyota hybrids at present, it would seem.
That said, the new RAV4 will introduce Toyota’s latest hybrid technology. It combines the existing 2.5-litre petrol engine with new-generation electric motors and batteries. So cue an increase in power and a drop in fuel use and emissions. And the current RAV4 is already a benchmark in its sector.
One key tweak apparent in the spy shots is a window line that no longer dips below the level of the bonnet. The shape of the windows appears more upright, the rear wheel arches are more prominent, and the nose seems longer.
C- or L-shaped headlights connect with a bar across the car’s nose, while there’s a new mesh grille below that.
Expect the RAV4 interior to sport a pair of larger 12.3-inch screens and a general cabin refresh.
Australasia will power on with a hybrid under the hood for 2025 whereas other markets will also be offered a plug-in hybrid and potentially even a BEV variant of RAV4.
A Toyota spokesperson from North America said the people have “spoken clearly with what they want with the RAV4. The size, the packaging, the level of performance, technology. We could sell 500,000 of those things a year if we could build them, so we do not want to mess up that formula”.
